Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  The Quid Pro Quo

SERIES:  Bradfield Trilogy

AUTHOR:  A. L. Lester

PUBLISHER:  JMS Books

LENGTH: 180 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 20, 2021

BLURB:

Village nurse Walter Kennett is content with his makeshift found-family in tiny Bradfield. However one midsummer morning a body is found floating in the village duck pond, dead by magical means.

Detective Simon Frost arrives in Bradfield to investigate an inexplicable murder. The evidence seems to point to Lucille Hall-Bridges, who lives with doctor Sylvia Marks and nurse Walter Kennett at Courtfield House. Simon isn’t happy—he doesn’t believe Lucy is a murderer but he’s sure the three of them are hiding something. In the meantime, the draw he feels toward Walter takes him by surprise.

Walter is in a dilemma, concealing Sylvia and Lucy’s relationship and not knowing how much to tell Frost about the paranormal possibilities of the murder. He isn’t interested in going to bed with anyone—he’s got a complicated life and has to know someone really well before he falls between the sheets. He’s taken aback by his own attraction to Detective Frost and angry when Frost appears to twist the spark between them to something transactional in nature.

Will Walter be satisfied to stay on the periphery of Lucy and Sylvia’s love affair, a welcome friend but never quite included? Or is it time for him to strike out and embark on a relationship of his own?

The second in the Bradfield trilogy, set in the Border Magic universe. With a transm/m couple. 

REVIEW:

Note:  This is book 2 in the series, but it does work as a standalone as well.  However, based on my experience, I’ll be going back to book one while I anxiously await book 3.

Oh my!  Well this was a surprise – and a delightful one!  I don’t want to spoil the plot on this one, but it reminded me a bit of the Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, but in England and with magic and a little less action 😉  The writing was so very good and the plot and pacing spot on for this vivid tale of murder.  I hadn’t read the first book in this series, but I didn’t feel like I wasn’t caught up with the character and plot.  Dr. Marks and Miss Hall-Bridges were completely believable and their devotion rang true.  Walter is a very interesting character and I loved getting to know him and understand him and why he’s made the choices he has.  Detective Frost comes across as a sincere character who is put in a sometimes uncomfortable position and he makes maybe a few relativistic decisions that were of course the right ones 😀  The magic part is well done and a bit of a surprise as well, but totally falls in the realm of the the whole “spiritualism” of the time.  It all sounded and felt very authentic.

If you love a historical paranormal story with very interesting and unusual characters who have to solve a murder to the satisfaction of the mundane world, then this might be the story for you.  Highly recommended and I can’t wait for book 3 – but I’ll go back to book 1 while I’m waiting 😀

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon

JMS Books