The first mystery book in a rollicking new historical cozy series! When Lady Adelaide's dinner party is visited by lady death, she'll have to partner with the irksome spirit of her dead husband to crack the case… "A lively debut filled with local color, red herrings, both sprightly and spritely characters, a smidgen of social commentary, and a climactic surprise."― Kirkus Reviews A delightful English cozy series begins in August 1924. Lady Adelaide Compton has recently (and satisfactorily) interred her husband, Major Rupert Charles Cressleigh Compton, hero of the Somme, in the family vault in the village churchyard. Rupert died by smashing his Hispano-Suiza on a Cotswold country road while carrying a French mademoiselle in the passenger seat. With the house now Addie's, needed improvements in hand, and a weekend house party underway, how inconvenient of Rupert to turn up! Not in the flesh, but in―actually, as a―spirit. Rupert has to perform a few good deeds before becoming welcomed to heaven―or, more likely, thinks Addie, to hell. Before Addie can convince herself she's not completely lost her mind, a murder disrupts her careful seating arrangement. Which of her twelve houseguests is a killer? Her mother, the formidable Dowager Marchioness of Broughton? Her sister Cecilia, the born-again vegetarian? Her childhood friend and potential lover, Lord Lucas Waring? Rupert has a solid alibi as a ghost and an urge to detect. A debaucher in life and an annoyance in death, Addie knows she can't leave Rupert to solve the murders of her sweet old gardener and a naked neighbor by himself. Enter Inspector Devenand Hunter from the Yard, an Anglo-Indian who is not going to let some barmy society beauty witnessed talking to herself derail his investigation. Something very peculiar is afoot at Compton Court and he's going to get to the bottom of it―or go as mad as its mistress trying. The Lady Adelaide Mysteries: Nobody's Sweetheart Now (Book 1) Who's Sorry Now? (Book 2) Just Make Believe (Book 3) "A lively debut filled with local color, red herrings, both sprightly and spritely characters, a smidgen of social commentary, and a climactic surprise." ― Kirkus Reviews "Set in England in 1924, this promising series launch...is...frothy fun." ― Publishers Weekly "Nobody’s Sweetheart Now is a clever, charming mystery that perfectly captures 1920s society…sure to appeal to fans of Ashley Weaver or Rhys Bowen. Likable characters, a well-paced plot and an intriguing detective make Nobody’s Sweetheart Now an excellent first entry in this delightful mystery series from Maggie Robinson." ― Shelf Awareness Maggie Robinson is a former teacher, library clerk, and mother of four who woke up in the middle of the night absolutely compelled to create the perfect man and use as many adjectives and adverbs as possible doing so. A transplanted New Yorker, she lives with her not-quite-perfect husband in Maine, where the cold winters are ideal for staying indoors and writing. Nobody's Sweetheart Now A Lady Adelaide Mystery By Maggie Robinson Poisoned Pen Press Copyright © 2018 Maggie Robinson All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4642-1072-3 CHAPTER 1 Compton Chase, Compton-Under-Wood, Gloucestershire, a Saturday in late August 1924 Once upon a time, Lady Adelaide Mary Merrill, daughter of the Marquess of Broughton, was married to Major Rupert Charles Cressleigh Compton, hero of the Somme. It was not a happy union, and there was no one in Britain more relieved than Addie when Rupert smashed up his Hispano-Suiza on a quiet Cotswold country road with Mademoiselle Claudette Labelle in the passenger seat. If one could scream with a French accent, it was Claudette, and it was said her terrified shrieks as they hit the stone wall were still heard on occasion by superstitious farmers and their livestock near midnight when the moon was full. Addie was just getting used to her widowhood when Rupert inconveniently turned up six months after she had him sealed in the Compton family vault in the village churchyard. The unentailed house was hers to do as she pleased, and she had decided to open it up to her family and a few convivial friends for the weekend now that she'd made some much-needed improvements. Rupert had always been stingy with her money, and with him gone on to his doubtful reward, she had employed most of the district's laborers in an attempt to bring Compton Chase into the twentieth century. True, it was early in her mourning period to entertain, but she made the concession to wear black, even if there wasn't much of it in yardage, thank God, because it was so bloody hot. And her mother was there to chaperone. When Rupert appeared, Addie was dressing for her house party, and dropped the diamond spray for her hair on the Aubusson. "That dress is ridiculous, Addie," Rupert intoned from a dim corner. He was wearing the dark suit with the maroon foulard tie she'd had him laid out in, and apart from being rather pale, was still