Rules of Murder by Julianna Deering

... From the tip of his black homburg to the crease in his cheviot trousers, he's the epitome of stylish 1930s English gentleman. His only problem? The body he just discovered.

Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, although he generally expect to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate.

With the help of beautiful and whip-smart Madeline Parker, a guest from America, Drew proposes to use the lesson's he's learned reading his mysteries to solve the crime. Before long, he realizes this is no lark, and no one at Farthering Place is who he or she appears to be - not the butler nor the blackmailer, the chauffeur nor embezzler. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer - and trying harder to impress Madeline - Drew must decide how far to take this dangerous game.

Review: What a refreshing new mystery series! This book picked me up and deposited me back into the 1930s. The writing style beautifully fits with the era, the mannerisms and speech of the characters is perfectly suited to their time,  and the style of the characters and the story is flawless... this book is both engaging and thoroughly endearing. How fun to read a story so wonderfully researched and so cleverly penned. I honestly felt like I time travelled when I read this book.

Drew is a proper English gentleman and the sole heir to Farthering Place; a very luxurious and wealthy manor set in the beautiful English country. Drew is stylish, modern, and used to a lifestyle of ease and pleasure. With heavy wealth behind him, Drew has no need to work at the family's successful petroleum company and spends his days doing whatever he pleases.

When he arrives home to find his step-father's attractive young niece in residence at the manor, he decides that staying home for a while might be a good idea. Farthering Place is generally where Drew goes to relax - discovering a double murder the night of his family's gala is not in his plans.

In his highly proper world, the last thing Drew expects to stumble upon as he decides to play 'detective' is a cruel web of lies, adultery, blackmail, and ultimately: murder.


"Rules of Murder" is the first instalment of a brand new series, "The Drew Fathering Mysteries" from Bethany House Publishers and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications , Inc.
Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group"