Date published: January 2007
ISBN: 978-0-06-117421-6
Historical Mystery
Reviewed by Gina
Lady Emily Ashton is back and this time the crime laid in her lap reaches to the very Crown.
What society deems Emily’s eccentricities, that of drinking port, sitting by herself in the park and acquiring rare antiques, turn to outright outrage when she begins her query into the mysterious murder of one David Francis. That death happens at the same time as an elusive cat burglar is making the rounds seems most curious to Emily. What catches her attention more though is that the items being taken are those purported to have belonged to Marie Antoinette and are coincidental to the arrival of a Charles Berry to declares himself the former French Queen’s heir. Beyond the intriguing puzzle posed by the burglar and Mr. Berry, is when Emily’s very room is invaded by the unknown thief who apparently finds ways to access the most sacrosanct places of her life. Amidst all this drama, Emily’s mother is still quite determined to marry her daughter off, preferably to someone of equal or higher rank. Her mother stops at nothing including taking tea with Queen Victoria herself. When the Queen essentially orders Emily to wed, her mother believes she finally has things firmly in hand.
One of Her Majesty’s staunchest agents, Colin Hargreaves, has already declared his love for Emily. When a secretive suitor begins to follow Emily, leaving her gifts somehow related to Marie Antoinette along with snippets of love written in Greek he is bemused, but confident in his relationship. Despite Emily’s entries to the contrary, he forges a friendship with the odious Charles Berry. As long has he has Emily’s assurances she will not intentionally endanger herself and, with the intrepid Inspector Manning to watch over her, he supports Emily’s investigation.
Ms. Alexander treats her readers to a unique story telling. There is the feeling of sitting down to tea to catch up with an old friend and at the same time there is the sense of a fast paced page turner. In AND ONLY TO DECEIVE and now in A POISONED SEASON, with a bit of it in ELIZABETH THE GOLDEN AGE, there is the aura of knowing the characters. Emily is so very likeable, the kind of character I wish were a real person that I had for a friend. When, at the end of A POISONED SEASON her good friend Margaret wants assurance that she will be in on the “fun” part of Emily’s next adventure I completly related to the sentiment.
If one looks at the different threads of A POISONED SEASON, there is the inclination to think that there is no way you can follow each pattern through the maze of intrigue Ms. Alexander creates. Yet in the way her story unfolds, the reader becomes a part of the very pattern she weaves.
As much as Emily is a woman ahead of her time, Colin too is the perfect foil for her. He loves her enough to allow her to pursue her goals and dreams and at the same time has just a touch of the alpha to want to protect her come what may.
Ms. Alexander also treats her readers to a slices of humor throughout the suspense filled mystery, mostly notably for me when Emily snags a treat for her maid from the Queen’s tea tray.
As I said at the end of my review for AND ONLY TO DECEIVE, this is a book not to be missed.
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