Dare I say my favourites among historical fiction has tilted in favour of Lady Charlotte and Lord Wrexford. They have been giving a good fight since the beginning, in fact, they were my top tier couple for a time before I came across Lady Kiera and Mr Gage. While my heart may yearn for Sebastian Gage more, I have to admit Wrexford and Charlotte have a far better relationship and are able to handle themselves with far more grace and logic than Kiera can.

But a detective couple cannot be scrutinised on their relationship outside of an investigation so let me tell you why the world that Andrea Penrose has created in Murder at the Royal Botanical Gardens makes a stunning stage for these two to shine on. You may have read my reviews of her other books or you may have not but let me reiterate what I mentioned in Murder at Queen’s Landing. I love a plot where there are a pool of suspects who are throwing our characters in for a loop as they unravel the mystery. It makes the foreshadowing and details worth it in the end when it’s not easy to pinpoint who it is. I felt like, while there was a larger suspect pool, the perps were easy to identify in Murder at Queen’s Landing and I wished for a case where the number of people were similar but their actions were shadowed a little more. Murder at the Royal Botanical Gardens fulfils that wish. It was deliciously difficult to work out who was telling the truth, who was omitting relevant information, who was hiding their identity and who was behind the dastardly plot (can you tell I’ve picked up some phrasing from these characters?) due to the large suspect list and the obscurity of their actions.

Another thing about this one is that we get a completely different side of science to explore. I do find the chemistry and engineering and mechanical aspects of Industrial Revolution era science incredibly interesting, but the age of botany and discoveries of a great many things like medicine, as is addressed in this book, are just as engaging to me. It also serves as a great backdrop and contrast to the murders – lush life and early death make for an intriguing image. not to say that the deaths in earlier books haven’t been getting me immersed right into the crevices of these novels but dirty backstreets and hard steel come with the warning of danger.

We also have another novel where the two households are both involved, as are that of Kit, Cordelia, and Lady Peake. Expanding the “good” characters to balance out the “bad” keeps things in check and makes sure that all the little details can be evenly spread across perceptive eyes, drawing the tension tight and keeping that anticipation growing until we free-fall into the climax. We also get a mixture of third-person narratives where the information can be received, shared, kept or ignored in different ways. While Andrea Penrose keeps her third-person perspectives a touch removed from their emotions, we still get the individual characteristics coming through which is great to see.

Given I’m telling you why our happy couple have redeemed their crowns, I want to mention that throughout their investigations they have a strong sense of morality and righteousness that they cannot ignore, even if their flawed selves rings up insecurities and fears to block their path. They continue to do what is right through sheer will to protect friends, family, and each other and each interaction and hurdle in their way brings yet another moment of clarity towards the other person’s being. What a look or a sigh means. What a certain phrase or habit means. What a pause for half a second too long means. Each moment shines a light on the truth of the other person and how Wrexford and Charlotte chose to act with that information only serves to justify their perfection as a pairing. I’m still very annoyed with Kiera and her naive ignorance of people and the world if you couldn’t tell.

I should mention that this book is well deserving of 4.5/5 in my mind. Andrea Penrose has created a compelling concoction of glamour, shadows and blood that is tremendously difficult to put down.