Lady Librarian Mysteries: Book 4
Publication Date: March 31, 2026
A cozy historical mystery set in the 18th century—perfect for Bridgerton fans!
1787, Bath. Mrs. Tiffany Lathrop has catalogued the entire library at Astwell Palace and is feeling rather dull when Mr. Thomas Montague invites her and her husband Samir to visit Bath. Thomas begs Tiffany to help reconcile his mother Catharine, the Marchioness of Harwood, on his engagement to the famous actress Miss Rosalyn Arden—a beautiful young woman with bright red curls and eyes of mismatched color.
Eager to see his beloved, Thomas stops at the Theatre Royal with Tiffany and they discover a dead body wearing a red wig in Rosalyn’s dressing room. The body is that of Miss Julia Shakespeare, Rosalyn’s understudy and the person who has been blackmailing members of the acting company. Not only are the actors behaving suspiciously, but so are Rosalyn’s newly reconciled relatives that cast her off nine years before when she jilted Sir Frederick Bingham, who then married her younger sister.
If all the world is a stage, then someone acting innocent must be the murderer. Can Tiffany solve the mystery before the final curtain?
In 1787, Bath, a young understudy and blackmailer, is found dead at the Theatre Royal, and the mystery begins in A Staged Death, a Lady Librarian Mysteries by Samantha Larsen.
Though this is the fourth book in the series, I was able to follow the story as the author gave plenty of backstory. The main protagonist, Tiffany Lathrop, is not your typical Georgian gentlewoman. As a librarian, she is intelligent and very resourceful.
It was amusing to read how the upper-crust interacted with the theatre people, whom they considered far beneath them.
With her husband by her side, they make a good team to discover whodunit. The mystery was solid and the story well-plotted. The characters were entertaining and realistic.
A Staged Death is a highly entertaining historical mystery in the Georgian Era. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the first page to the last.
Samantha Larsen met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, having tea parties, and chauffeuring her four kids. She teaches World Literature at Brigham Young University. Her young adult fiction books are Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections, and her historical romances are published around the world. She also writes murder mysteries under Samantha Larsen that Publisher’s Weekly called “wildly enjoyable.”
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