Book Review: A Matchmaker's Lonely Heart

Nancy Campbell Allen is one of my favorite authors so I was really excited to read her new book, The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart! It's a Victorian mystery romance that readers will have a hard time putting down.

Amelie Hampton is a columnist who is trying to help her readers find love and she wants a glimpse of the first meeting of a couple she thinks might be perfect for each other. A detective, Michael Baker, is also watching the meeting, however, because he is certain the "gentleman" a Mr. Harold Radcliffe, is a murderer and he's gathering evidence. Both of them have their opinions about Mr. Radcliffe's guilt or innocence and the book is a rollercoaster of emotion as Michael and Amelie unravel the mystery.

I love how Ms. Allen is able to balance both the mystery and the romance so well. The chemistry with Amelie and Michael starts with a few sparks and slowly burns until the reader is turning the pages just to see if they finally move to the next step with their relationship! The banter between them is as fun as the chemistry and I loved that Michael's life is changed the more he gets to know her. He is grieving a terrible loss, and Amelie is the perfect person to help him see that hiding away his heart so he doesn't get hurt again is a terrible idea. The mystery has some great red herrings to keep readers guessing and a fun supporting cast to keep us all emotionally engaged. And the ending is perfect for both the romance and the mystery itself. This one will join all of Ms. Allen's other books on my keeper shelf and is one of my favorites this year. 

Get your copy here

Here's the back copy:

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 dies 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.