Silence in the Library is the second book in Katharine Schellman’s Lily Adler Mystery series. This cozy Regency mystery opens with Lily’s estranged father unexpectedly visiting. Lily feels that her father resents having a daughter rather than a son, and they seem unable to have a conversation without arguing. Tensions rise even more when her father’s good friend, Sir Charles Wyatt, is found dead. The Wyatt family insists the death is an accident, but Inspector Simon Page suspects murder. With the help of her friends, including Captain Jack Hartley, Lily begins to investigate Sir Charles’s death. When a maid in the Wyatt household is later poisoned, it becomes apparent that a member of the Wyatt family may be a killer. But why? For money or to keep secrets hidden? In the end, Lily will need her father’s assistance, but you’ll have to read the book to find out the answer to the mystery!
I enjoyed this book as much as the first in the series, The Body in The Garden. The Regency London setting transports the reader back in history and the characters are fun and witty. The heroine, Lily, is clever and holds her own despite the restrictions of 1800s English society. I recommend this series to fans of cozy historical mysteries with a touch of romance (the ending of Silence in the Library hints at a love triangle in future books!). I look forward to the next book in the series.
Posted in: Cozy Mystery, Gentle Read, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Reviewed by Lauren