A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

 Beatrice Steel lives in Swampshire where the rules of etiquette are all important.  Beatrice, however, has a guilty secret; she loves to read about unsolved murders in the newspaper.  When her sister's prospective fiancée drops dead at a ball, Beatrice can't help but jump in and try help a broody investigator solve the crime. As a plethora of unsavory clues start to come to the surface, it begins to be clear that the high society of Swampshire is not nearly as proper as they appear. Can Beatrice and the inspector solve the case before anyone else dies?

One of my patrons recommended this one to me, and it was a delight. It pokes fun at all the proper regency romances and their emphasis on etiquette. I saw the play, "Clue" this week at the Hale Center Theater in Sandy, and this book has a similar vibe--silly, fun, but also suspenseful. Even the character's names are funny.  The murder victim is called, "Mr. Croaksworth" and the unwanted suitor is "Mr. Grub" and his coat of arms features a cockroach. There are a lot of good one-liners, and funny physical humor. There are some really random elements, like the glowing frogs, the very "emo" young sister that is alarmingly hairy, and the mud holes that swallow people. It kept me chucking all the way through. I need to make sure my library has a physical copy of this because I am going to be recommending it to a bunch of people I know. (2023, 352 p)