Charming socialite Addison DeWitt falls into a fit after taking a sip of bourbon. That would be upsetting enough, but Josiah is sure it is murder. However, no one will believe her except for Lady Elsmere and Meriah Caldwell, the famous mystery writer. The three of them conspire to bring the murderer to justice. It turns out the suspect is always three steps ahead of them.
To make matters worse, Josiah’s daughter, Asa decides to move to London, Franklin leaves town and Jake starts singing a different tune. Josiah doubts her ability to meet the future alone. Maybe it’s time to sell the Butterfly and move to Florida with the rest of the old folks.
Josiah was recently in a life-threatening accident and needs a wheelchair or cane ... but that doesn't stop her from poking around to determine if Addison DeWitt was indeed murdered. Did his wife do it or was it his mistress? Or was it an accident or natural causes?
I liked the writing style. It was a fast read. The majority of it is in first person in Josiah's voice. It is at times conversational and sarcastic. The numbered chapters are what's happening in the present and occasionally there is a chapter that takes you to past events in Josiah's life. The story wraps up very quickly.
This is the fourth in the series of books featuring Josiah Reynolds, retired history professor, now a beekeeper. Though it can be read as a stand alone (like I did), it would have been helpful to have read the first three or have been given more background in this book since there were things from the past that I didn't know until later on or never ... like who Jake is, what Asa does for a living (I liked the subplot around Asa, though), what is Butterfly, how long since Brandan left and died, etc.