MURDER MOST HISTORICAL is a trio of unrelated short mystery stories with a historical bent.

THE BISHOP’S LADY is the story of Emilie d’Armand and takes place in seventeenth century France. Emilie has been left destitute by her deceased husband and exists on the edges of the French court. While visiting, she is mistaken for Angel who died under mysterious circumstances. Emilie discovers that three men had a range of feelings for Angel and that one of them is a murderer. I liked this story because Emilie is a bright interesting character. The story is short but the lively characters keep the action interesting. Rating: 3.5 stars.

A SOUPCAN OF POISON: Kat Holloway is a cook in nineteen century London. She works for a miserable lecherous employer who is found murdered with one of Kat’s knives in his back. Kat is immediately a suspect and she ends up working with the mysterious Daniel McAdam to discover who the true murderer is. This was my favorite of the collection. It is clearly intended to be first in the series and I really hope that there is more to come. Kat is fascinating: professional and practical, she is beginning to fall for Daniel when she realizes that he may be hiding numerous dark secrets. I thought that their relationship was very intriguing and would be interested in finding out more of what happens between them. Rating: 4 stars.

A MATTER OF HONOR is more a paranormal historical than a mystery although it deals with the theft of a family heirloom. Robert Archer is the younger son and is wasting his life in drink and women. He ends up encountering a night walker (aka vampire) woman who he worries might be out to kill him. I thought this story was the weakest of the bunch. I didn’t like Robert and I didn’t really sympathize with his situation. I did like the idea of historical vampires but this one was not interesting enough to keep my interest despite its short length. Rating: 2 stars.