Murder at the Serpentine Bridge: A Wrexford & Sloane Historical Mystery

This is a review for Murder on the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose. When I chose this book, I didn't realize it was the 6th book in the series. I was drawn to this book by its cover, genre, and that it was a murder mystery. I have never read any books by Andrea Penrose, so I decided to give it a try, and I am glad I did. It was a little hard to understand since I hadn't read the other books in the series, but I figured it out pretty quick! I am going to read the other books in the series because I did like it. It begins in London with Jeremiah Willis, an inventor who has been working on a top secret invention that has drawn the attention of many people including royalty from nearby countries as well as the British government, and finds himself walking home from a social event, and who gets attacked and thrown over the Serpentine Bridge to his death. So then enters the Earl of Wrexford, and his two young wards, Raven and Hawk, who are out taking their dog for a walk, and they come upon the body of Jeremiah Willis. Lord Wrexford works for the British government solving crimes along with his partner and new bride Lady Charlotte, the new Countess of Wrexford, and their network of crime fighting team which include their two beloved wards, whom Lady Charlotte and Lord Wrexford have adopted, and who Lord Wrexford has dubbed "the weasels", and other crime fighting colleagues. Lady Charlotte, who just got married to Lord Wrexford, just wants to lead a quiet life as the new countess, enjoying her new husband, and work on raising her two wards, all of whom make up her new family. But when they come home from walking their dog, and tell her there has been a murder, she knows she must do her duty to find out who killed the inventor, and why. The trail leads them to royalty of many countries who are in London what appears to be for an social event, but those dignitaries become suspects quickly! So Lady Charlotte and Lord Wrexford are called to do their duty again, which leads to some very unsavory places and characters, and surprising places that they never expected to go, and even betrayal. They must meet up with old friends and fellow sleuths to solve this murder, and work together with even the weasels, and their new young friend Lord Peregrine, a relative of Jeremiah Willis, whom they dub with the nickname Falcon, and who helps lead them to the murderer, and the reason why, in conjunction with also working with the British government of whom may be involved in the treachery. This story was fast paced, interesting, and exciting! Like I said, I didn't realize it was book 6 in the series, but the author did a good job explaining as I went along. It was well written, and there were even words I had to look up, which I love, and I thought the character blended well, and the book kept me interested all the way through! It was a little hard to follow sometimes, but it was explained well, and I found myself following it fairly well! The last quarter of the book actually took a turn that made my heart pump as I was reading it. It was so surprising what happened, and I thought the author did a great job, and I dub this a great mystery. So I would give it 4.5/5 stars because it was a little hard to follow, but that was my fault, not the author's, because I didn't realize it was book 6. Maybe the publisher should have put that on the back of the book so we would know...so worth the read, and I did like it!