Death by Misadventure by Tasha Alexander

Death by Misadventure
by Tasha Alexander

ISBN-13: 9781250872364
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Released: September 24, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection--as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness' boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead.

Almost forty years earlier, Niels, a young German lord, sings to himself in the forest surrounding those same alps, capturing the attention of a not-yet-mad King Ludwig. Niels and the king become fast friends, their relationship deepening into something more as their time together stretches on.

Decades later, Emily continues to investigate Kaspar's increasingly lethal "mishaps" when tragedy strikes, ensnaring the guests in a web of fear and suspicion. It's up to Emily to sift through old secrets and motivations, some stretching far into the past, to unmask the killer.


My Review:
Death by Misadventure is a mystery set in 1906 in the Bavarian alps. There's also a secondary story going on in 1868 that details a romance between the king and the husband of one of the characters in the 1906 timeline.

Emily and Colin asked good questions, followed up on clues, and considered possible scenarios until she figured out what was going on. Frankly, I guessed whodunit before the murder even happened then decided it was too obvious. By the end, I felt like this whodunit wasn't really convincing. Mostly, the murder need so much planning and preparation yet whodunit couldn't have known the opportunity would present itself until it did. I don't know. The mystery just didn't seem realistic or satisfying, and I didn't find the 1868 story interesting. It could have been completely cut without affecting the mystery.

There were no sex scenes, though sex was implied. There were only a few uses of bad language. This book is the 18th in a series. You can understand this book without reading the previous ones, and this story didn't spoil the mysteries or major events of the previous books.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.