All's fair in love and treachery

Connally's clumsy second Regency-era romantic mystery featuring Lady Petra Forsyth (after Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord) finds the headstrong heiress juggling personal matters with political ones. At the outset, Petra's happy romance with Duncan Shawcross is threatened when she learns that, three years earlier, Duncan may have been responsible for the untimely death of her fiancé, Emerson. Then, Petra is tasked by Queen Charlotte with attending the opening of a new dining hall at the Asylum for Female Orphans and gathering clues about the recent murder of the orphanage's matron, Mrs. Huxton. Meanwhile, London rejoices over Napoleon's surrender at Waterloo, but beneath the gaiety, a group of dissidents plot to topple the monarchy. Though each of these narrative threads gradually intersect, Connally fails to keep the fire lit along the way. Flat dialogue and occasional overwriting don't help. This puts an initially promising series on shaky footing. Agents: Jess Errera and Christina Hogrebe, Jane Rotrosn Agency. (Nov.)

A free-spirited noblewoman solves multiple crimes in Regency England. Lady Petra Forsyth, unmarried daughter of the Earl of Holbrook, lives an enviable life. In her father's house off Berkeley Square, a small complement of servants keeps her free from prying eyes as she entertains her lover, Duncan Shawcross, illegitimate son of the late Marquess of Langford and grandson of the Duke and Duchess of Hillmorton. Her relationship with Shawcross is pretty much an open secret among London's elite. It is in fact his grandmother who brings Lady Petra to brunch with Queen Charlotte. But one day the Queen, who seems to entertain her subjects at home quite regularly, has a special request for Petra: She wants her to investigate the sudden death of the matron at the Asylum for Female Orphans, where noblemen of the realm routinely stash daughters born of their irregular liaisons with housemaids. Although she's preoccupied by the recent revelation that Emerson--Viscount Ingersoll, her late fiance--may have been murdered, Petra can't deny her majesty's request. At the orphanage, she finds a tangled skein of deception, stolen inheritances, and murder. As a bonus, she also discovers a plot by a band of subversives to overthrow the monarchy. Although its haute ton setting nods atBridgerton, Lady Petra's story owes more toSex and the City. She and gal pals Lady Caroline and Miss Charlotte Reed carouse to their heart's delight, unburdened by financial constraints. They do solve those puzzles, but their brand is joie de vivre. A light and lively romp. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.