"A Lesson in Love and Murder" by Rachel McMillan

In the second Herringford&Watts novel, anarchists threaten Toronto with exploding street cars. When a Mounty arrives looking for his cousin, he hires Merinda and Jem to help find him--before his explosive talent can be put to further use. As the girls track the anarchists, they follow them to Chicago, where it's up to them to save the presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt from assassination.

I've enjoyed the world-building McMillan has been working on, with the corruption and infamous morality squad of her version of Toronto. In this novel in particular, I enjoyed the love triangle around Merinda; it was fun to see her thrown for a loop for a change. And I liked that amidst the lighthearted feel of the novel, there were some serious moments of inescapable consequences--moments that I would expect to impact the characters in books to come.

It's quite fast-paced; almost too fast at times, as it abruptly leaps from scene to scene. The mystery was not very mysterious, and it feels like there is less focus on Merinda and Jem, what with the perspectives of Ray, Jasper, and Benny frequently taking the stage. Though it was entertaining, I definitely enjoyed the first book more.

Thank you Harvest House and NetGalley for providing an e-copy to review. I was not required to make the review positive, and all opinions are my own.

Herringford & Watts Mysteries
1. The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder
1.25-ish: "A Singular and Whimsical Problem" (novella taking place in Dec 1910, during the events of Bachelor Girl, but a separate case only briefly mentioned)
1.5:  "Of Dubious and Questionable Memory" (novella)
2. A Lesson in Love and Murder
2.5: "Conductor of Light" (short story)
3. The White Feather Murders