Blog Tour: Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price (Interview!)

Happy Monday and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for SENSE AND SECOND DEGREE MURDER! I’m so excited because today I have an interview with Tirzah Price to share with you! This book is truly amazing and I’m so excited to for you to find out more about it!

Sense and Second-Degree Murder by Tirzah Price
Published on April 5, 2022 by HarperTeen
Genres: Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Retellings, Thriller, YA
Pages: 416
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When eighteen-year-old aspiring scientist Elinor Dashwood discovers her beloved father slumped over the desk of his office study, she knows his death means dire straits for the Dashwood women. To make matters worse, an outdated will entails his estate—including Norland & Company, the private investigation firm where her younger sister Marianne worked as her father’s partner and protégé—to their half-brother and his haughty wife, who waste no time in forcing the Dashwoods out of their home and into a cramped apartment on London’s Barton Street.
But before they go, the Dashwood sisters make a startling discovery: a suspicious substance in their father’s teacup—one that can only be described as poison. And poison, as Marianne’s father taught her, always points to murder.
It could be dangerous; it could ruin their reputations; and most importantly, it won’t bring back their father. But if the Dashwood sisters can combine their talents and bring their father’s murderer to justice, it may bring them all some comfort—and it might even lead to love.

What would you do if you spent the day with Elinor and Marianne? Where would you go to eat, hang out, relax, etc.?

Marianne would probably insist on going out on the town to see and be seen, perhaps stopping for ices (aka ice cream) whilst Elinor and Margaret would much prefer to spend the day at their local lending library or bookshop! Both options sound fun to me!

If Elinor and Marianne were to hang out with other fictional characters, who would they be and why?

I definitely think that Elinor and Marianne would enjoy the company of my version of Lizzie Bennet from Pride and Premeditation. All three are enterprising young women who’ve had to create their own opportunities in a world run by men, and they could probably compare notes about how to deal with mansplainers.

If there was one fictional place you could travel to for a day, where would it be and why?

I think it would be really fun to visit one of the Great Libraries in A Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson, if not a bit dangerous.

What was your favorite bit of research you ended up not using?

There was a lot that I wasn’t able to put in, mostly about poisons and the history of science and chemistry. The 19^th century was both a dangerous and exciting time to be alive, if you were keen on scientific discovery. The time that I set this book (roughly 1813-1815) was a little before a lot of the big scientific and medical breakthroughs that informed the Western world of its understanding of the physical world and medicine. One of the wildest things I read about was how arsenic was used in green dye for wallpaper, so during the Victorian era people were literally plastering their walls with a toxic substance. I sometimes wonder how humanity survived to the present, considering!

What is your favorite quote, scene, or moment from Sense and Second Degree Murder?

Anytime the sisters are working together! Although, without spoiling anything, I did really enjoy writing Elinor’s big moment at the climax of the book.

What do you think about Sense and Second Degree Murder? Have you added it to your tbr yet? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous day!