A Suspicion of Serpents: 5

It's a manor house mystery for book five of the Consulting Magic series! Alex Benedict-St. Albans is a mage with a myriad of skills to his name, from investigating murders to warding a household. Other nobles exacerbate his usual grumpiness, but underneath everything he cares for his chosen few. Julian St. Albans-Benedict is a plant mage and Alex's husband, drawn into the murder investigations despite himself. Alex's sweeter half, Julian has a kind word for everyone. Lucas Chudleigh is a good friend to both, and when he invites them to a weekend party at his manor house to celebrate his completed renovations, they reluctantly accept. The good doctor Geoff Tamlinson, Chudleigh's beau, is at least there to help alleviate the boredom of high society. When there's a murder at the snowbound party, even the police can't get through to investigate. Alex and Julian are left on their own to try to catch the killer before anyone else dies. This cosy magical mystery revisits our romantic heroes for a fifth time, following their established relationship, their cats, and their friends into another adventure! Tags: mm romance, established relationship, murder mystery, food, cats, cosy mystery, cosy fantasy, found family, modern fantasy, contemporary setting, magic as science, science as magic, grumpy/sunshine, go read book 1 first if this sounds good to you, tw: emetophobia