Regency England

Andrea Penrose: Murder at King’s Crossing

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Wrexford & Sloane #8

Murder at King’s Crossing is the eighth installment in Andrea Penrose’s Wrexford and Sloane series set in Regency England.  The two protagonists are the Earl of Wrexford, a chemist and amateur sleuth, and his wife Charlotte Sloane, who, under the name of A.J. Quill, is England’s leading satirical cartoonist.  Wrexford has a logical mind and relies on deductive reasoning and the scientific method to solve crimes, while Charlotte uses her intuition and her artist’s eye for detail.  Usually they arrive at the same conclusion using very different methods. read more

Amita Murray: Unladylike Lessons in Love

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Marleigh Sisters #1

Unladylike Lessons in Love is the first book in a new series of Regency mysteries by Amita Murray.  The protagonist, Lila Marleigh, is the daughter of a British earl and his Indian mistress.  She and her sisters lived in India until their parents’ death when Lila was seven.  Then they came to London to live with their cruel stepmother, Sarah Marleigh, who has died before the events of the novel, and their half-brother Jonathan, the new earl, who is one of the most loathsome characters I have encountered in a long time.  He has no redeeming characteristics whatsoever, except a certain charm he shows to people when he wants something, and even that is false. read more

Darcie Wilde: A Lady Compromised

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This novel is reviewed by our occasional and gifted reviewer, Vicki Kondelik.  It will be available November 24.

A Lady Compromised is the fourth book in the Regency mystery series by Darcie Wilde (a pseudonym for Sarah Zettel) featuring Rosalind Thorne, a gentlewoman living in reduced circumstances after a family scandal.  To make a living for herself, Rosalind helps society ladies solve their problems, which, in this book and the others in the series, include murder investigation.  At the beginning of this book, Rosalind travels to Cassell House, the country estate of Devon Winterbourne, who has recently, and unexpectedly, inherited the title of Duke of Casselmaine following the untimely deaths of his father and older brother.  Rosalind and Devon had been close to becoming engaged before Rosalind’s father’s disgrace, at a time when Devon was a second son, with no prospects of inheriting the dukedom.  Now his cousin, Rosalind’s friend Louisa, is getting married, and Rosalind is looking forward to attending the wedding and possibly rekindling her romance with Devon. read more