Review by Booklist Review
Frances, Countess of Harleigh, agrees to sponsor Katherine (Kate) Stover, Lady Wingate's niece, for her presentation to the queen, since Lady Wingate is in mourning for her husband, Lord Peter. Frances is shocked when she sees the once formidable Lady Wingate, whose health has drastically deteriorated since their earlier correspondence. Her stepchildren say her condition is owing to profound grief over the loss of her husband, but Lady Wingate's friend Lady Esther, Kate, and Frances are suspicious of the family's motives, since they dislike Lady Wingate but are dependent on her. Complicating matters, Frances' husband, George, is tasked with finding Lord Peter's journal for the British Museum. Frances begins to believe Lady Wingate is being drugged and her husband may have been murdered, so, not completely trusting Kate, who refuses to leave her aunt's side, Frances and her aunt go undercover to protect Lady Wingate and attempt to identify the culprit. Numerous plot twists, well-drawn characters, and immersive details of the life and times in turn-of-the-century Victorian England distinguish this historical cozy.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Frances and George Hazelton's honeymoon was postponed due to a murder and George's recovery from an injury. Two months later, they still can't go because George has a new assignment from the Home Office. The late Lord Winstead left his artifacts and journal to the British Museum, but the journal has disappeared from his desk. George's assignment coincides with Frances's new task, shepherding Lady Winstead's niece through the steps to her presentation to Queen Victoria. Instead, she's prying into Lady Winstead's own safety since her stepchildren, the Ashleys, all moved in. Lady Winstead's friend is concerned for her friend's health, and Frances's first visit isn't reassuring. It almost appears as if someone is poisoning the wealthy widow. When Frances's primary suspect is murdered, she and her aunt hatch an audacious scheme to move into the Winstead household in order to find the missing journal, save Lady Winstead, and track down a killer. VERDICT The Agatha Award--winning author of A Lady's Guide to Etiquette and Murder is adept at misdirection. Witty British conversation and social history as viewed by an American will continue to appeal to fans of Victorian mysteries.--Lesa Holstine
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A favor for a friend leads to murder. Now that the feckless aristocrat she's married has died, American heiress Frances Wynn is free to wed George Hazelton and move into his London home with her 8-year-old daughter, Rose. Now the elderly Lady Winstead, the wealthy second wife of the late explorer Lord Peter Ashley, has asked Frances to sponsor her niece, Katherine Stover, for her presentation to Queen Victoria because her husband's family is still in mourning. George, who does occasional jobs for the Home Office, is on a hunt that turns out to be connected to Frances' task. Frances is taken aback when Lady Esther, a friend of Lady Winstead's, shows up at her house as she's on her way to have tea with Lady Winstead and her family, saying she'd like to join them. Frances is already acquainted with the extended Ashley family, who were once her neighbors, and she dislikes them all. They live on the largesse of Lady Winstead because their family money was spent by their late father. When Frances and Lady Esther arrive for tea, Lady Winstead appears to be in ill health, and the family has hired Nurse Plum to help out, but only Katherine seems truly concerned. After both Frances and Lady Esther come to believe that someone is dosing Lady Winstead with laudanum to keep her muddled, Frances agrees to watch out for skulduggery while preparing Katherine for her entrance to society. George is searching for Lord Peter's diary, which was left to the British Museum along with his collection of artifacts. On top of all this, Frances discovers that Katherine is an occasional actress, a position that would ruin her aunt's plans for her debut. When Nurse Plum is murdered, there's no doubt that something is rotten in the house of Ashley. A pleasant combination of Victoriana and murder. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
