In Miss Tibbles Interferes, April Kihlstrom blends the traditional Regency romance with a cozy mystery. I am heartily in favor of any attempt to infuse Regencies with new vigor, but Kihlstrom’s book is, in fact, rather lifeless.

Ariel Hawthorne spends her days assisting her father, Richard Hawthorne, who is a curator at the British Museum in London. She loves her father and her work, and is happy to help him. Her father is also assisted, on one particular project, by a young man named Captain William Stanfield, who is suffering from war injuries. Also, unbeknownst to Ariel, Hawthorne is in some kind of trouble, and has called upon his old friend, Colonel Merriweather, for help. But before he can tell Merriweather what’s up, Hawthorne is murdered.

Merriweather’s wife, Mrs. Merriweather, was once the Miss Tibbles of the title. She is heroine of the Miss Tibbles’ Folly, played a large role in Miss Tibbles Investigates, and is married before this book opens. (Miss Tibble also appears in several of Kihlstrom’s earlier Regencies). Anyway, this novel is divided between Mrs. Merriweather’s attempts to ascertain who killed Hawthorne, and Ariel’s budding relationship with William Stanfield.

The mystery is rather interesting, centering around the collection of the British Museum (which during the Regency was apparently located in a large house). The details about the museum are fascinating, and the plot about possible thefts from the collection is intriguing.

The romance is less satisfying. I found Kihlstrom’s mannered, self-consciously Regency writing style to be very distancing. During crucial scenes, it felt as though a thick pane of glass separated me from the protagonists, which not only kept me from feeling any emotion towards them, but even prevented me from hearing what they were saying:

Under ordinary circumstances he would never have considered speaking of such intimate things with anyone, much less a young lady. But somehow Miss Hawthorne wasn’t like other young ladies . She spoke with sense and sensibility. She entered into his sentiments even as he entered into hers, and as he talked, William felt some of his own pain ease.

That conversation could have been very romantic and touching – if we had been party to it. The fact that the author doesn’t let us know what William and Ariel say to each other definitely serves to disconnect the reader from the romance. Much of the book is like that: Ariel and William rarely spend time together, and when they do, we often don’t hear their conversations.

Many scenes are shown from Ariel’s point of view, so we get to know her fairly well. She’s a good example of a likable bluestocking heroine – she’s intelligent, doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about appearances, and doesn’t hare off and do anything stupid, even when invited to do so. Unfortunately, for most of the book, Ariel remains entirely in Mrs. Merriweather’s shadow, and only at the very end of the book does she appear to think for herself.

William, unfortunately, remains a complete cipher. Not only do we not hear several of the things he says, but the author refuses to tell us one of the most important facts about him. I found this very frustrating. At the end of this book I had no mental picture of William at all, except as a black silhouette with a big question mark in it.

The other main character, Mrs. Merriweather, takes up most of the space in the book. She is enjoyable, in a Jessica Fletcher sort of way, and the running gag about how her husband attempts and fails to keep her from investigating crimes is rather cute. Much is made of the fact that, as a former governess, she knows how to get her way. I was disappointed in the resolution of the mystery. To say more would constitute a spoiler, but I can say that though Mrs. Merriweather (née Tibbles) may interfere, but she doesn’t actually accomplish much.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries and sweet romances, you might like Miss Tibbles Interferes. I found it pleasant, but felt very distant from the action throughout the book, and in consequence, found it a bit dull. In spite of its short length, I had a hard time getting through it. If you’ve been reading Kihlstrom’s Tibbles books or perhaps even remember has as a promiment friend in the author’s earlier work, you may want to continue the series, but that’s as far as I can recommend it.