3.5*
Enjoyable first book in a series. A bit more about the personal lives of the protagonists than I prefer but I will probably pick up the next book in the series. ( )

This sounds like a great read and that I may have found another great new author.

PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
Anthony Hetheridge, ninth Baron of Wellegrave, Chief Superintendent for New Scotland Yard, never married, no children, no pets, no hobbies, and not even an interesting vice, will turn sixty in three weeks. With the exception of his chosen career, too sordid for his blue-blooded family to condone, his life has been safe and predictable. But then he meets Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield – beautiful, willful, and nearly half his age. When Hetheridge saves the outspoken, impetuous young detective from getting the sack, siding with her against Scotland Yard’s powerful male hierarchy, his cold, elegantly balanced world spins out of control. Summoned to London’s fashionable Belgravia to investigate the brutal murder of a financier, Hetheridge must catch the killer while coping with his growing attraction to Kate, the reappearance of an old flame, and the secret that emerges from his own past.

Review:
“What made this ebook such pleasurable reading was not the murder or even the Police procedure, but the rather wonderful cast of characters that the author, Emma Jameson, has created to populate her world. In the space of about 184 pages, Emma has managed to give us a whole collection of individuals, each very nicely rounded out and real. Even very minor players - such as the tall PC who finds the pistol seems to be alive and obviously has a life outside the book.” – Tony Cole, eBookanoid.com ( )

London, British-detective, British-humor, law-enforcement, class-consciousness, friendship, friction, laugh-riot, procedural*****

If you're expecting a good but standard police procedural, you get the good and procedural right. But this one is so much more fun (bordering on farce)! The title refers to DCI/Baron Hetheridge's eyes, and the co-conspirators in his department are a Cockney DS with home problems and a Britisher whose parents are from Colonial India. And the murders involve those of "privilege". I laughed myself silly with it all!
I'm from Wisconsin, so I really appreciated the efforts of voice actor Matthew Lloyd Davies to help me with easy differentiation of characters in the audio. ( )

Ice Blue is the first book in Emma Jameson's Lord & Lady Hetheridge Mystery Series. The series takes place in Britain during the present era. I loved the book as it follows the police procedural formula perfectly, making it an easy read.

The publisher's summary:

"Anthony Hetheridge, ninth Baron of Wellegrave, Chief Superintendent for New Scotland Yard, never married, no children, no pets, no hobbies and not even an interesting vice, will turn sixty in three weeks. With the exception of his chosen career, too sordid for his blue-blooded family to condone, his life has been safe and predictable. But then he mets Detective Sergeant Kate Wakefield-beautiful, willful, and nearly half his age. When Hetheridge saves the outspoken, impetuous young detective from getting the sack, siding with her against Scotland Yard's powerful male hierarchy, his cold, elegant balanced world spins out of control. Summoned to London's fashionable Belgravia to investigate the brutal murder of a financier, Hetheridge must catch the killer while coping with his growing attraction to Kate, the reappearance of an old flame, and the secret that emerges from his own past."

In the past I have said that I liked many of the books that I have reviewed on this blog. For most of them, I do not read anything else by the author due to time constraints. However, I loved Ice Blue so much that I have already ordered the rest of the books in the series. This book was so well written that it was a joy to read.

When I began the book I thought that it was a cozy mystery. It is. What confused me was the rough British slang that the Scotland Yard investigators used when referring to sex or sexual orientation. You don't usually see that in a cozy but since the book is advertised as a cozy mystery, I accept that categorization. The dialogue seemed natural, given that Kate was the only female detective in a male dominated office. In addition, the novel was so British-centric that I thought that author Emma Jameson was British. She isn't. Ms. Jameson is American but loves all things English.

Ice Blue is a winner! ( )

Anthony Hetheridge, 9th Baron of Wellegrave, aka Chief Superintendent Hetheridge is called out to the home of the Comfreys due to a suspicious death. He is assisted by DS Kate Wakefield and DS Paul Bhar in his investigation
Enjoyable crime story. ( )