A charming, witty, Regency outing

A Brazen Curiosity by Lynn Messina proved to be the perfect lightweight audiobook listening during the post-Christmas downtime before the New Year, allowing me to recuperate from the demands of the season in charming company. One moment in particular made me laugh out loud, and I look forward to Bea's future adventures - for a woman as curious as she is will surely have plenty!

Though the plot feels a little like a Jane Austen themed game of Cluedo (which is impossible to avoid when one finds a corpse beside a bloodied candlestick in the library) it is highly enjoyable. As with all my favourite Regency novels, the heroine - Beatrice Hyde-Clare - is a spirited, forthright, 'blue-stocking' type, who defies the era's meek, mild, ideals and is not averse to a little sarcastic sparring with a well-placed Duke. (At times Bea reminds me of another favourite period heroine; Alexia Tarrabotti from Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series.) The mystery is not a particularly demanding or tortuous one, with just enough red-herrings to keep it - and the frisson between the protagonists - simmering until the denouement.

Unfortunately, narrator Jill Smith's cut-glass English accent is unconvincing. Some of it is well done but there are enough mispronunciations that - at first - it is hard to feel as though we are hearing the character's natural voice due to the repeated reminders that it is merely an actor performing a part. The distance this creates between oneself and the protagonist meant that it took quite a while longer to settle into the story than it otherwise would. Whilst a growing (rather ironic) urge to begin throwing dinner rolls each time I heard the words 'calm' or 'penchant' mangled did help me empathise with Bea's frustrations, Smith's pronunciation of Amersham was irredeemable. Using the French pronunciation for the card game Piquet was uncomfortably anachronistic for the period, and as a fan of other Regency works I was disappointed that something so obvious was left uncorrected in its many instances. Smith does have a pleasant tone to her voice over-all, however, and adds character to many of the supporting cast of friends and relations, delivering neatly upon the atmospheric promise of a 'Regency cosy'.

This audiobook has all the hallmarks of a splendid period tale. It is such a shame that a more native speaker could not have been employed to bring it to life, but hopefully future novels in the series will benefit from the opportunity. (And if not, I hope the narrator will listen to a little Georgette Heyer before her next outing, to better familiarise herself with the peculiarities of Regency/Georgian language, for I feel that she would make a much more satisfying job of it with a little more preparation.) The issues with the narration were not insurmountable, and the book was strong enough to overcome them and continued to hold my attention throughout.

Despite those concerns it remained good fun, and when I was half way through the book it was with dismay that I realised my time with Miss Hyde-Clare was drawing to a close. I will certainly keep an eager eye, and ear, out for other audiobooks in this series, and heartily recommend it to anyone who enjoys genteel Regency novels and cosy mysteries.


*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

4 people found this helpful

Wonderful Historic Mystery!

A Brazen Curiosity: A Regency Cozy is the first of the Beatrice Hyde-Clare Mysteries. I so much enjoyed this book. The characters were fun and quirky. The story was nicely read by the narrator. This is a great series. I look forward to the next book! This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

3 people found this helpful

Excellent.

I am thrilled to have found a new regency mystery romance series.
A Brazen Curiosity is choc full of humour as well as having a great 'who dunnit' to solve. The banter between Beatrice and the Duke, especially after having found the body and suspecting each other of the murder, was incredibly drole and entertaining. I enjoyed watching their friendship develop and seeing Beatrice grow in confidence as the story progressed. I can't wait to read more in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reading audio copy.

3 people found this helpful

Witty and entertaining

Really enjoyed this book, it kept a good pace and was witty and entertaining. Please, please audible, get book 2 up and running ASAP!!!

2 people found this helpful

A delightful and witty series ... almost

Delightfully written and witty, with engaging characters and villains. Her female lead is a surprising and we see her slowly develop from a troublesome caustic frump onto a spirited and interesting young woman.

It's a real pity though, that the author overindulges in repeating past scenes - repeatedly in each book that follows - as if she simply delights in remembering how surprising her idea was. For the reader though, it becomes so tiresome and offputting. She should take a leaf out of Pam Lecky's writing and notice how the connections flow through each book in a subtle yet pervasive way, creating an underlying tension, rather than disruption.

1 person found this helpful

Narrator has weird accent at times......

Really love this author and although this series took me a while to get into, I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.
I’d read the Hoydens series first and I really enjoyed the humour along with the plot, and this series is similar but with the added murder mystery.
(I loved Julia Quinn’s early books and Lynn Messinas characters are similar in personality).
So I put up with the strange accent (her voice Is very pleasant).

A light-hearted Regency cozy crime

An entertaining cozy crime set during the Regency Era, this audiobook is light-hearted and amusing to listen to.

For me, this audiobook is let down by the narrator. Although the expression and emotion used by the narrator is excellent, it’s a shame that her rather obvious American accent keeps sneaking its way in. This may not be an issue for American listeners, but as a British listener, it stands out a lot to start with. After a while I became used to it, and no longer noticed (except for an occasional word that was pronounced so oddly I had to think about what it was). I’m told this has improved for the next book, which I shall certainly be listening to.

The story itself, however, is great fun. Though not necessarily highly accurate to the Regency Era (I wouldn’t know, all I know about the era comes from Heyer and Austen), there was nothing that stood out to me as an anachronism. I greatly enjoyed Bea’s character, I found it very amusing how she pretends faintness to find out information. I
enjoyed her sensible acceptance of how things are, and ability to absorb information under difficult circumstances. Most of all, I appreciated the general silliness and levity of this tale. I laughed several times, which is unusual for me, even when I am amused by a book. The cozy crime aspect had enough excitement to hold my interest, whilst not being too grisly or gritty for my taste. In short, everything I’ve come to expect and enjoy from Lynn Messina’s writing.

If you’re looking for a light-hearted and engaging Regency cozy crime, and you don’t struggle if accents are a little off (or you can persist until you get your ear in, as I did), then this is the audiobook for you.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.