Book Smart Kate

Book: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Audiobook: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 Spice: Closed Door

by Charlotte Vassal (August 6, 2024). Many thanks to @prhaudio for an advanced listening copy of the second book in the Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp series. Below is my honest review.

Detective Inspector Caius Beauchamp returns, working two unusual cold cases. First, a dead body found in the Themes is that of a person who disappeared years ago, suspected of embezzling from their employer. Then, a man who had been obsessed with the case of a missing girl twenty years ago is found dead in Beauchamp’s row at the theater. As Caius and his colleagues investigate these two complex cases, they again have to navigate the elite high society of British politicians and aristocracy, forcing them to cross paths with some unscrupulous characters from the first book as they unravel the truth in both cases.

In the first book, I enjoyed Beauchamp, but all the characters were insufferable; I wished more had died. In this one, we get some fantastic new characters in the mix, and the mysteries at the core are complex and well-designed. I was surprised about how things turned out. As with book one, although Beauchamp is the primary character, the story is told through multiple POVs, where you get to know those involved outside of their interactions with the police, which is a fun take. When I went back to read my review of book one, I had hoped for more background on Beauchamp, and we got that here. I enjoyed how his character evolved.

These books are intensely British, and I’m confident I missed some references because that’s not where I live. However, I love that this is not a cozy mystery series but more of a darkly sardonic millennial cozy mystery series.

The audiobook was loads of fun. When narrators have strong British accents, I listen at a 1.5 speed rather than a 2.0 (my normal).