Review: Death Wears a Mask

Death Wears a Mask

By Ashley Weaver

Published: October 13, 2015

Amory Ames is looking forward to a tranquil period of reconnecting with reformed playboy husband Milo after an unexpected reconciliation following the murderous events at the Brightwell Hotel. Amory hopes a quiet stay at their London flat will help mend their dysfunctional relationship. However, she soon finds herself drawn into another investigation when Serena Barrington asks her to look into the disappearance of valuable jewelry snatched at a dinner party.

Unable to say no to an old family friend, Amory agrees to help lay a trap to catch the culprit at a lavish masked ball hosted by the notorious Viscount Dunmore. But when one of the illustrious party guests is murdered, Amory is pulled back into the world of detection, enlisted by old ally Detective Inspector Jones. As she works through the suspect list, she struggles to fend off the advances of the very persistent viscount even as rumors swirl about Milo and a French film star. Once again, Amory and Milo must work together to solve a mystery where nothing is as it seems, set in the heart of 1930s society London.

Death Wears a Mask is the second novel in Ashley Weaver's witty and stylish Amory and Milo Ames mystery series.

My review:

I enjoyed this sequel to Murder at the Brightwell. Once again, I couldn't figure out who the killer was until the end and the novel balances the lighthearted moments well with the mystery. 

In this second novel, Amory gets involved in investigating a jewelry theft. She is sure that there is nothing harmful in helping out a family friend but then someone is murdered. Is it related to the theft of the jewelry or something entirely separate? Once again Amory is part of a murder investigation and also doubting Milo's faithfulness. 

The setting of this novel is fun with the masked ball and high society. Amory's mistakes also add to the humor as she tries to figure out the identity of the jewel thief and the killer and there are plenty of suspects and some red herrings. My only annoyance was the repeat of the storyline with Milo. By now it is obvious that he loves his wife and she just needs to be able to trust him. Unfortunately he is popular with ladies and newspaper reporters love to write about scandals, even made up ones.

I think readers who like Rhys Bowen's Lady Georgiana mysteries would love this series. I suggest reading Murder at the Brightwell first. Although Death Wears a Mask could be read as a standalone, readers will get a better introduction to Amory and Milo by starting at the beginning.

Note: I received an ARC for review purposes courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley