Dear Reader,

You asked about my day, so I shall tell you. Only you must destroy this correspondence as soon as you finish reading it. For you see, nobody knows the real identity of Lady Agony, the pen name of my agony column.

I’m secretly employed by a weekly magazine, giving advice to correspondents who write to me for help. 1860 London houses multitudes of people, and their questions are many and sundry. How might one change hair color, freckles, or fate? Such quandaries as these I’ve addressed in my column. I’ve also addressed more pressing problems, pardon the pun, like seamstresses’ deplorable working conditions. Some consider my opinion plucky, but I think it’s honest.

Although I am heir to one of the largest fortunes in London, I grew up in the small stopping town of Mells. My family owns a respectable inn there, where I worked my entire life. Until a man swept me off my feet and out of Mells, that is. Then we married and moved to London, but our happiness did not last. He was ill, and he grew sicker still, passing a mere two months after our marriage. It’s been two years since his death, and I occupy my time with his niece, my missives, and now murder.

I pride myself on having nerves of steel, friends. One does not manage road-weary guests, a secret occupation, and a surly aunt without tamping down a few butterflies now and then. But when I received a letter from a woman who’d witnessed a murder, I confess my stomach lurched heavenward. Nevertheless, I swallowed my apprehension and made a plan to meet her.

Unfortunately, my plan failed, and my reader is dead. I’m determined not to fail again. I will find out who killed her. A certain marquis has promised to assist me, and although I am fully capable of investigating the matter on my own, I must admit I need his help concealing my identity. For only I know the real reason my reader was killed and therefore must be the one to find her justice.

Never fear, dear reader. I will track down the dirty dog who did this. I deal with dilemmas on a daily basis. I like to think my brain has been in training two years for this very moment. I promise I will rise to the occasion or my name isn’t Lady Agony. Actually, it isn’t … but you didn’t think I was going to tell you my real name, did you?

Murder in Postscript, A Lady of Letters Mystery Book #1
Genre: Historical
Release: March 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

When one of her readers asks for advice following a suspected murder, Victorian countess Amelia Amesbury, who secretly pens the popular Lady Agony column, has no choice but to investigate in this first book in a charming new historical mystery series.

Amelia Amesbury—widow, mother, and countess—has a secret. Amelia writes for a London penny paper, doling out advice on fashion, relationships, and manners under the pen name Lady Agony. But when a lady’s maid writes Amelia to ask for advice when she believes her mistress has been murdered—and then ends up a victim herself—Amelia is determined to solve the case.

With the help of her best friend and a handsome marquis, Amelia begins to piece together the puzzle, but as each new thread of inquiry ends with a different suspect, the investigation grows ever more daunting. From London’s docks and ballrooms to grand country houses, Amelia tracks a killer, putting her reputation—and her life—on the line.

About the author
Mary Winters is the author of the Lady of Letters mystery series. A longtime reader of historical fiction and an author of two other mystery series, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip! Find out more about Mary and her writing at marywintersauthor.com.

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