A Lethal Engagement by April Skelly


Cora Beaumont is setting off on the maiden voyage of the airship Lady Air, the largest ever made by her father's company with her fiancé Terrance Tristan, who is the younger son of a Duke. The voyage is supposed to be a way for her and Terrance to get to know each other better, however, the very first night on the ship Cora finds herself in middle of a murder investigation with Terrance's older brother Nicholas and as the bodies keep piling up Cora and Nicholas find that even in the middle of a serial killers spree that maybe Cora is marrying the wrong Tristan. 

When I've had a bad week murder mysteries are my go-to for reading and in all honesty, the more tropes the better and in terms of the romance A Lethal Engagement couldn't have been a better choice. While Nicholas and Cora come across as very cookie-cutter characters at the beginning of the book as the story progresses. The evolution of their relationship was, I found, to be completely natural as they moved from partners to friends, to finally something a bit more. Their interactions especially felt simply normal. There are never any flirtations that seem contrived and while there are more than a few instances where they find themselves forced into close proximity (there is one memorable scene involving a cape) I found I couldn't care less if those scenes were a bit obvious. Skelly had already established a relationship built on mutual respect and an undeniable chemistry so those scenes felt less contrived than they might have. It doesn't hurt that they are both wonderful characters either!

Side characters were wonderful as well, especially Phee, she was absolutely adorable and may we all have besties like her! 

The mystery itself was interesting as well. Sometime around the halfway point, I began suspecting the person who ends up being the killer but honestly, there were so many red herrings that I wouldn't have said with 100% certainty that they were the killer until it was revealed. 

I genuinely hope that this ends up being a series because I'd love to continue to see how Cora's life unfolds!

As always thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eArc!

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