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Anne Loveday would rather practice medicine than pursue marriage, even if it means serving as nursemaid to Lady Celia, the very woman whose classist meddling sabotaged Anne’s family in the past. But Anne quickly realizes the ailing matriarch’s condition and her coveted inheritance have invited danger to Painswick Court. A trio of scheming cousins, a handsome doctor with a secret, and sinister attempts on Lady Celia’s life drive the household’s suspicions to a fever pitch. When the complex tangle of deception turns deadly, Anne is left to wonder whether her patient’s family has turned on itself or on Anne? Whispers at Painswick Court is a Gothic romantic mystery that draws readers into a riveting blend of family drama, forbidden romance, and medical practices of 1821. A storied manor and rumored ghost provide a moody backdrop to themes of unanswered prayer, failure, and forgiveness. With measured pacing that builds to a gripping climax, the story explores the lengths we will go to protect a loved one against the constraints of social expectations on the heart’s desires.

Library Journal
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In this novel set at the start of the Georgian era, Anne Loveday's stepmother seems desperate to marry her off and get her out of the house, despite Anne's help in her father's medical practice. When she is asked to nurse Lady Celia Fitzjohn at her manor home, Painswick Court, she accepts despite her deep-seated grief over watching her mother's slow decline from consumption. Painswick Court is full of people who would benefit from Lady Celia's death, including her closest relatives. Anne is far from an intrepid sleuth, but when strange accidents keep happening and the ghost of King Charles the First is said to walk the halls, she gets pulled into a gothic mystery reminiscent of her current read, Northanger Abbey. VERDICT As in her early novels, Klassen ("On Devonshire Shores" series) again employs her vast knowledge of historical medicine to weave a tale of wounded people trying to heal in all the wrong ways. The technology may have been simpler 200 years ago, but the intricacies of the human heart were as complicated as in any modern whodunnit. A good pick for readers who enjoy the work of Abigail Wilson and Sarah E. Ladd.

Publishers Weekly
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Twenty-seven-year-old Anne Loveday, the heroine of this mixed-bag Regency-era romantic suspense novel from Klassen (A Sea View Christmas), would rather follow in her surgeon father’s footsteps than marry, much to her pushy stepmother’s chagrin. When Anne’s invited to stay with a family friend in the town of Painswick, she jumps at the chance and is soon tasked by local physicians Dr. Marsland and Dr. Finch task with caring for Celia Fitzjohn, a woman with dropsy who lives at the grand estate of Painswick Court. As Anne settles into her nursing duties, she can’t help but notice the shady dealings and hushed conversations taking place in the estate’s dark corners, especially when Celia’s nephews, Jasper Paine and Jude Dalby, come to stay. Even handsome Dr. Finch, of whom Anne is quickly growing fond, seems to have something to hide. As more and more “accidents” occur and endanger Celia’s life, Anne draws on her faith to protect herself and her patient—which becomes increasingly difficult as the culprit works to frame her for the mishaps. While readers might struggle with the novel’s somewhat sluggish first half, the tension mounts as the story progresses, setting the stage for a satisfying conclusion. Slow start aside, Klassen’s fans will find this worth their while. (Dec.)