I simply adored this story.
Rating: 4.5/5
Amelie Hampton is a hopeless romantic, which makes her the perfect columnist to answer lonely heart letters in The Marriage Gazette. When Amelie plays matchmaker with two anonymous lonely hearts, she also decides to secretly observe the couple’s blind date. To her surprise, the man who appears for the rendezvous is Harold Radcliffe—a grieving widower and a member of Amelie’s book club.
Police detective Michael Baker has been struggling ever since his best friend and brother-in-law died in the line of fire. Because he knows the dangers of his job, he has vowed never to marry and subject a wife and family to the uncertainty of his profession. But when he meets Miss Hampton, he is captured by her innocence, beauty, and her quick mind.
When a woman’s body is pulled from the river, Michael suspects the woman’s husband—Harold Radcliffe—of foul play. Amelie refuses to believe that Harold is capable of such violence but agrees to help, imagining it will be like one of her favorite mystery novels. Her social connections and clever observations prove an asset to the case, and Amelie is determined to prove Mr. Radcliffe’s innocence. But the more time Amelie and Michael spend together, the more they trust each other, and the more they realize they are a good team, maybe the perfect match.
They also realize that Mr. Radcliffe is hiding more than one secret, and when his attention turns toward Amelie, Michael knows he must put an end to this case before the woman he loves comes to harm.
I received an ARC of The Matchmaker’s Lonely Heart through Shadow Mountain Publishing asking that I read it and feature it on my page. Thank you so much for this opportunity! I really enjoyed this one!
This book was such a fun read! It combined my love for romances with my love for mysteries. And it was fantastically well-written. I definitely want to read more from Nancy Campbell Allen!
This book was such a fun read! It combined my love for romances with my love for mysteries.
Set in Victorian London, we follow a hopeless romantic, Amelie who works for a marriage gazette as a matchmaker. She’s caught spying on one of her correspondents out on their date by a detective, Michael. Michael is investigating the gentleman, Mr. Radcliffe on the date for possibly killing his wife. Amelie doesn’t believe Mr. Radcliffe could be anything but nice let alone be able to kill his wife, so she agrees to help Michael to clear Mr. Radcliffe’s name. But the more Amelie and Michael spend time together the more they realize they make a good team.
From the very start, I knew I was going to enjoy this one. I loved meeting Amelie. She was such a character. Amelie was amusing to follow, she was so innocent when it came to romance, even a bit naive. But her character definitely grew by the end.
And I just loved how she interacted with the detective, Michael. They were so cute together from the moment they met. Seeing them interact was so entertaining. Amelie really pushed Michael’s buttons, I loved it! I really loved how caring he was towards his family and Amelie from the very beginning as well. I especially enjoyed seeing Michael’s opinion on romance and marriage change throughout the story.
Amelie really pushed Michael’s buttons, I loved it!
I also really appreciated the special needs side character we got to meet. It’s not obvious though, because I’m assuming there wasn’t a proper term back then, but Michael’s brother has down syndrome. It was clear to me the second we met him and how his character was described. It made my heart swell seeing that. I especially loved seeing Amelie’s reaction as well, she was so accepting of Michael’s brother. I loved seeing this addition to the story! I wish these characters were in books more often.
Overall, I simply adored this story. It was such an easy read. The mystery aspect was so fun to follow alongside seeing Amelie and Michael working together and gaining feelings for each other. I’m so glad I got the chance to read this one. The whole thing was simply amazing!
I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery romances!
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