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The Mortal Blow (Lady Fan Mystery Book 5) Kindle Edition
Lady Fan is back to full health but can she solve the trickiest case yet…?
1792, England
Lord Francis and Lady Ottilia Fanshawe are on their way home when their coach comes to a sudden stop.
A woman is standing in the middle of the road — covered in blood.
The woman refuses to speak but on further investigation they find the body of a man hidden in the woods.
Ottilia insists on bringing the woman home to find out what occurred.
But the more she finds out the more complicated the case becomes…
Who was the man in the woods? Did the blood-covered woman murder him?
Or did someone else strike The Mortal Blow…?
THE MORTAL BLOW is the fifth book in the Lady Fan Mystery series: historical romance murder mysteries with a courageous woman sleuth embarking on a traditional British, private investigation in eighteenth-century London.
‘The late Regency writer Georgette Heyer lives—and she's writing mysteries as Elizabeth Bailey!’ - Meritorious Mysteries
‘Ottilia is a strong, intelligent character with a real enthusiasm for detective work’ – She Reads Novels
‘They have everything you love in romances, plus continuing characters you can really come to love, and murders as well! Her heroine sleuth, Ottilia, is a fantastic character.’ - Historical Romance UK
LADY FAN HISTORICAL MYSTERY SERIES
BOOK ONE: The Gilded Shroud
BOOK TWO: The Deathly Portent
BOOK THREE: The Opium Purge
BOOK FOUR: The Candlelit Coffin
BOOK FIVE: The Mortal Blow
BOOK SIX: The Fateful Marriage
BOOK SEVEN: The Dagger Dance
BOOK EIGHT: The Unwanted Corpse
BOOK NINE: The Vengeance Trail
BOOK TEN: The Hanging Cheat
BOOK ELEVEN: The Killing Cave
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateApril 13, 2019
- File size1.7 MB
Shop this series
See full series-
First 3$14.97
-
First 5$25.95
-
First 10$49.90
-
All 11$55.89
-
First 3$14.97
-
First 5$25.95
-
First 10$49.90
-
All 11$55.89
This option includes 3 books.
This option includes 5 books.
This option includes 10 books.
This option includes 11 books.
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Elizabeth Bailey is the author of more than a dozen Regency novels. She lives in England.
Product details
- ASIN : B07P5JHQ9V
- Publisher : Sapere Books (April 13, 2019)
- Publication date : April 13, 2019
- Language : English
- File size : 1.7 MB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 390 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #82,944 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #586 in Historical Regency Fiction
- #770 in Historical Mysteries (Kindle Store)
- #898 in Historical Mystery
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Elizabeth Bailey grew up in Africa with unconventional parents, where she loved reading and drama. On returning to England, she developed her career in acting, theatre directing and finally writing.
Elizabeth's latest venture is The Lady Fan Mystery series, published by Sapere Books. The novels feature amateur sleuth Lady Ottilia Fanshawe and a cast of family members including her husband and champion Lord Francis Fanshawe. She originally published Regency romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon and has many titles in her Brides by Chance Regency Adventures series, now also published by Sapere, as well as standalone Regency and Georgian romances.
Elizabeth also writes edgy women's fiction: Her dual time novel Fly The Wild Echoes, which deals with past lives, and For One More Tomorrow, where the ghost of the real Macbeth returns, protesting his villainous portrayal by Shakespeare. And she has published a romantic suspense novella, Silence of a Stranger.
Elizabeth lives in Sussex, England. She is still an inveterate reader with eclectic tastes and she spends her spare time helping other writers improve their craft.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the plot intriguing with lots of twists. They find the characters engaging and real, with faults and mistakes. The book is described as an easy read with amazing descriptions and believable details from the period. Readers love the series and find it fun and exciting. Overall, they praise the writing quality as great and the author's best work yet.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers enjoy the intriguing plot with many twists. They find the story flows well and enjoy reading it in order. The characters are interesting and the pacing of the story is good. Readers appreciate historical mysteries and praise the author as a skilled storyteller.
"...It succeeds on two levels : the plot is tight and logical with period details that heighten interest and the characters are endearing and their..." Read more
"...It does get on my nerves, though, after a bit. The story line is fine--not too fantastical or unbelievable, even with a bit of odd..." Read more
"...as the characters, their interactions, and the brilliance of well conceived plots." Read more
"...Great storytelling" Read more
Customers find the characters engaging and realistic with flaws and mistakes.
"...logical with period details that heighten interest and the characters are endearing and their interactions genuine..." Read more
"...The experience is as delightful as the characters, their interactions, and the brilliance of well conceived plots." Read more
"...Reading the stories in order helps. The characters are interesting and the plot is clear." Read more
"I love these books, the characters, the dialogs, and Lady Fan's mind. They are a longer read than many, but well worth the time...." Read more
Customers enjoy the books. They find the characters, dialogues, and Lady Fan's mind engaging. The series is described as fun, romantic, and well worth the time. While some readers find the books a bit longer than others, they consider them a real page-turner with an interesting plot.
"...Great read." Read more
"I love these books, the characters, the dialogs, and Lady Fan's mind. They are a longer read than many, but well worth the time...." Read more
"Love this series. I am so upset that I have to wait for another one to be published!..." Read more
"This series keeps getting better. You can read each book individually but I recommend reading the series from the beginning...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book. They find it an enjoyable read with period details that increase interest. The characters are endearing, and the humor is enjoyable.
"...levels : the plot is tight and logical with period details that heighten interest and the characters are endearing and their interactions genuine..." Read more
"Just plain fun. So exciting. Not knowing how it would end but hoping all would be well. The characters all continue to thrill me no end!" Read more
"...of her niece Lady Elizabeth was a pleasant surprise and added to a fun adventure of these two ladies in solving another murder...." Read more
"...are consistently real, the plot is intriguing, and the humor is enjoyable. I’m looking forward to the next book." Read more
Customers enjoy the writing quality. They find the characters relatable and the descriptions amazing. The book is an easy read with believable details about the period that heighten interest.
"...It succeeds on two levels : the plot is tight and logical with period details that heighten interest and the characters are endearing and their..." Read more
"...The characters seem so real and the details of the era so believable, one can easily forget that they are fictional!" Read more
"...The descriptions are amazing and I feel that I am getting to know the characters more with each book!..." Read more
"I love this series. Super fun. Easy read. This was the best she’s written yet. I Highly recommend the book!" Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2023What an enthralling book ! Lucky I am retired because I read until 4 am , not being able to put it down. It succeeds on two levels : the plot is tight and logical with period details that heighten interest and the characters are endearing and their interactions genuine ( I do hope a future book gives Hemp a happy ending of his own ). Great read.
- Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2020The writing style is a bit plodding, trying, I assume, to mirror the time frame of the action. It does get on my nerves, though, after a bit.
The story line is fine--not too fantastical or unbelievable, even with a bit of odd behavior for the female characters of the time.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2021I have been binge reading Lady Fan and have enjoyed every word I had to look up. It’s not often I am given an opportunity to expand my vocabulary while reading a cozy mystery. The experience is as delightful as the characters, their interactions, and the brilliance of well conceived plots.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2022Lady Fan stumbles upon another murder on the road,to London. She and her husband are en route to London for the comeout of their two nieces. Suddenly, their coach is stopped by a dazed young girl, mute and covered in blood. Lady Fan recognizes, that the young woman is in shock and bundles her into the coach.
Meanwhile, Sir Francis and his groom search the nearby wood and discover a bloodied corpse. Then the couple must explain their discoveries to Sybilla, Francis's grande dame mother and Sir Thomas Ingham, the. director of the Bow Street Runners.
Soon all of Sir Francis's family is embroiled in the case as they navigate the London Season. Their niece Lizzie wants to emulate her Aunt Fan and help the troubled girl and is not overly interested in the Marriage Mart. The search for the truth takes them to the gambling clubs of Mayfair, to a horse auction at Tattersall's a backwater village and a bawdy house in London.
Memorable characters include a French emigrate of dubious background, a fanatical preacher, the madam who runs a house of ill repute for men of means and an assortment of rakish gamblers.
I gave this book four stars because the young lovers at the center of the drama were not very likable individuals. The murder victim was a mean and perverse man who no one seemed to miss. But the settings were great, and the portrait of the evolution of Lord and Lady Fan's marriage is endearing and realistic. I will continue to follow their journey together and hope to see more of the dashing Lady Elizabeth in the future.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2022Don’t we all love Elizabeth Bailey’s portrayal of these smart women in a time when women aren’t allowed to be smart? Great storytelling
- Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2019Very flat and predictable... I hate to see that happen to this series, especially when it's only Book 5. None of the characters leapt off the page as they have in the past volumes.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2023A young Frenchman who is not who he says he is.. A young girl befriended by a villain; pretending to be of help. A father who seems mad & uncontrollable
And Tillie who is trying to figure it out. A niece in love with a scoundrel & another niece trying to help- unofficially. Nothing is as it seems.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2019This story was complicated but I found it much easier to follow than the previous stories. Reading the stories in order helps. The characters are interesting and the plot is clear.
Top reviews from other countries
- ToniReviewed in Canada on June 22, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars Really great story telling
Love the characters the are great fun and the plots well met and carried out one always whats to see Lady Fan and hubby have happy endings.
Toni Campbell
- Monique HarpigniesReviewed in Italy on August 2, 2019
3.0 out of 5 stars A ruined zealot's daughter, a dangerously attractive emigre, cardsharp aristocrats, a savage murder, and much handwringing
The tone and language are impeccable and always a pleasure, but the string of events felt contrived and some were hard to figure out. The seduced and betrayed assassin is found in flagrante at the outset, making It a task to keep up the suspense, or develop much sympathy for a rather unengaging and mostly inarticulate perpetrator. The Fan trio often dances around the issues and each other in a stilted and predictable manner, which tends to slow down the action.
- Miss NightingaleReviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Fan-bloomin-tastic
I’ve binged my way through this entire series, and was delighted to find a fifth had recently been published! Elizabeth Bailey is an accomplished writer, and I have fallen entirely for the world and characters she creates. These aren’t simpering romances but rollicking mysteries that keep you guessing all the way through - yes, with romance but also with humour and genuine character development and pathos. These books will keep you up far longer than you intended, because you just can’t wait to find out what happens next! Lady Fan is brilliantly written, as is Sybilla - who in my mind I have cast Dame Maggie Smith to play. I very much enjoy and appreciate the differing settings and atmosphere of each novel, and my only regret is that I shall now have to wait a while for the next adventure!
One person found this helpfulReport - MJ DunstoneReviewed in Australia on May 9, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Lady Fan never disappoints
Another great book in this wonderful series - could not work out the end at all! Great writing and character development, recommend to anyone who loves a good mystery, the bonus of this historical aspect is the icing on the cake.
- WanderlustReviewed in Canada on May 17, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars As always
I thoroughly enjoy the Lady Fan mysteries. I like the way the main couple's relationship continues to grow. And I enjoy the time period in which the novels are written. Always a pleasure to read!