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    A Fatal Waltz
    A Fatal Waltz
    A Fatal Waltz
    Audiobook9 hours

    A Fatal Waltz

    Written by Tasha Alexander

    Narrated by Charlotte Anne Dore

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    At her friend Ivy's behest, Lady Emily Ashton reluctantly agrees to attend a party at the sprawling English country estate of a man she finds odious. But the despised Lord Fortescue is not to be her greatest problem. Kristiana von Lange, an Austrian countess once linked romantically with Emily's fiance, the debonair Colin Hargreaves, is a guest also. And a tedious evening turns deadly when their host is found murdered, and his protege, Robert Brandon-Ivy's husband-is arrested for the crime.



    Determined to right a terrible wrong, Emily embarks on a quest that will lead her from London's glittering ballrooms to Vienna's sordid backstreets-and into a game of wits with a notorious anarchist. But putting Colin in deadly peril may be the price for exonerating Robert-forcing the intrepid Emily to bargain with her nemesis, the Countess von Lange, for the life of her fiance.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 19, 2015
    ISBN9781494582807
    A Fatal Waltz
    Author

    Tasha Alexander

    When not reading, Tasha Alexander can be found hard at work on her next book featuring Emily Ashton.

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    Reviews for A Fatal Waltz

    4/5

    316 ratings25 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Still enjoying this series, but there's a lot of what the heck? going on in this book. Colin is a completely useless partner, people are so spiteful and unpleasant to Emily all the time, and the mystery side is not unpredictable. I can't decide if I like the fact that every mystery that she solves is never an unmitigated triumph -- there's always a human cost that we are keenly aware of -- I think that I do, and I enjoy her personality a great deal. At this point, I'm not impressed with Colin at all, and kind of want him to be the next casualty.

      Also, the audio book narrator was... just odd. Is she Australian? Her accents were very weird and her cadence is very stilted. I miss the previous reader a lot.
    • 3/5
      Lady Emily joins a weekend shooting party at the country estate of the political powerful and her enemy Lord Fortescue. Also there is a former love of her fiancée, Colin Hargreaves, the Countess Kristiana von Lange. Murder occurs and Emily's friend Robert Brandon is the accused. Emily is determined to find the real guilty party and goes to Vienna to start her search.
      Coming straight into the series at book 3 might be a disadvantage, as the back story to these people is probably missing, which might make them more likeable. Also I like my mystery romances to be more heavily weighed toward mystery.
    • 5/5
      This is the third book in the Lady Emily Mysteries. It begins with Lady Emily Ashton at a house party providing support for her friend Ivy and her husband Robert Brandon who is trying to build a political career. The party is hosted by Lord Fortescue who is very influential in politics but not a nice person. He uses blackmail and other unsavory techniques and has taken a strong dislike to Emily. She returns the feelings.To add to the goings-on, she is with her fiancé Colin Hargreaves who is an agent for the British Crown and also with the woman - Kristiana von Lange - who was once his lover and who is still a partner in his work. Kristiana loves throwing their past relationship in Emily's face and Emily isn't at all convinced that Kristiana is going to give up Colin graciously.When Lord Fortescue is found murdered on the hunting field after a falling out with Brandon, Ivy's husband is arrested for the crime. Emily needs to find out what really happened to Lord Fortescue to save her friend's husband. But there are so many political things going on that her task won't be an easy one. Unravelling the mystery takes her to Vienna and another complicated political situation filled with anarchists, very suspicious "suicides." and an English agent who seems to want to cause a war between Britain and Germany.I loved the historical detail in this story which takes place in 1891. I really liked Emily who is an intrepid and intelligent woman despite some bit of insecurity regarding Colin's love for her. The plot was nicely twisty and filled with engaging characters ranging from an Empress to a young man just beginning a future as an artist. Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this story and be glad that there are still more adventures of Lady Emily Ashton to read.
    • 3/5
      Lady Emily Ashton is invited by a most odious & powerful man to a weekend shooting party where insiders from Parliament are working on a political intrigue regarding Germany.Papers are stolen, Emily is set up as the perpetrator, and the odious politician is found with a bullet hole in his head during one of the shoots; his former protégé & husband of Emily's friend, Ivy, is arrested for the murder. Emily & her friend Cecile travel to Austria searching for clues to clear Ivy's husband, where political intrigue abounds: the prince (great-grandson of Victoria) and his fiancée are murdered at Mayerling (this was an actual historical event); Colin's former lover taunts Lady Emily the entire time but finally deigns to help Emily; Emily meets the Klimt brothers & other artists; the man responsible for stealing the political papers & setting Lady Emily up is following her continually threatening her; and Emily becomes unwittingly involved w/ a group of Anarchists.The mystery & story were good, albeit long & somewhat tedious; because Lady Emily was thick (not taking action against & being careless about her nemesis); and too many of the characters were odious ugly people, I marked this down a star.
    • 4/5
      At a country house party, invited by her friend Ivy, Lady Emily Ashton expects that she will be irritated but she doesn't expect that her one of her irritations would end up dead. Ivy's husband is arrested for the murder and Emily feels that she needs to defend the innocent and prove who did it. It's a twisty and turny story with a visit to Vienna via the Orient express.Emily and Colin just need to marry soon.
    • 4/5
      I'll admit, I read a short story the author posted online about Emily and Colin that takes place immediately after A Fatal Waltz, before I read this book. The short story was replete with spoilers, so I knew, in essence, how this book ended. I don't mind spoilers and I've been known to seek them out, but in this instance, it might have backfired a little. A Fatal Waltz stalled a bit for me about midway. This could be because of the spoiler-effect or it could be that the story just didn't intrigue me enough to hold my attention. I'm not sure. Either way, I enjoyed the book; I looked forward to picking it up and I got a bit irritable when I was interrupted. It just didn't flow as quickly as the first two did. A character from A Poisoned Season is murdered in this book (good riddance - he was vile) and Ivy's husband is arrested and thrown into Newgate. Sensitive papers are missing and the victim had apparently received a warning/threat from Vienna before he was killed, but that too is missing. Lady Emily hies off to Vienna to try to find the person who sent the note, and it's here the story might have first lost me, because it never seemed reasonable that Lady Emily had enough information to know where to start looking. Lady Emily's goals start merging/interfering with Colin's assignment in Vienna and the two find themselves working together for the first time. But really, I think this entire plot construction was built around the romantic conflict of Lady Emily meeting one of Colin's past um... dalliances. One who was rather disinclined to be pushed into the past. Ultimately, as I write this review, I think this is why the book wasn't a 4-star or higher read for me: I'd bet a dollar that the author came up with the romantic conflict first and created a murder plot to justify it second. Speaking of the murder plot - it was ultimately a very good one. I liked the way the author presented the pieces of the puzzle to both the reader and Lady Emily; I just wish it wasn't so obfuscated by the shenanigans in Vienna. I told myself I was going to take a break after this book and start reading some of the other books in the Pile, but when push came to shove last night, I picked up Tears of the Pearl and dove back into Colin and Lady Emily's world. Guess I'm just not quite ready for a break.
    • 3/5
      Something is rotten some thousand miles away from where the body turns up...Wait, what? Yes indeed. Ms Alexander wants to weave so convoluted a plot that our heroine goes on a wild goose chase far from where any evidence would be. All that she does uncover far from England serves to be something that could have been as easily found out in England much closer to the Victim, and the Suspect. But that would not serve to give Ms Alexander her chance to play with history and mess it about.That is what happens here almost from the very beginning where we learn (Much later of course) that the catalyst to events was a Baron who died without issue, but left a sister. His titles then reverted back to the crown (Would have gone extinct) and his lands went back to the crown as well (but here Ms Alexander being an american shows her disdain for culture and history-the lands would have gone to an entailed heir, though by this time entailment not so much, and thus the sister would probably have gotten the lands, certainly not Victoria) Ms Alexander makes other mistakes as well as she tries to make her heroine a woman of the early part of the century, the 21st century, not the 1890s.A convoluted plat follows. With intrigue that should suggest an answer to why the Crown Prince of Austria had died a few years before the books setting. But that should not shock readers as the last book saw the murder of the true heir to Louis XVI.There are plenty of plots floating about to give a late victorian lady the ability to be close to and solve a murder. Forcing all this extra onto them is just a blatant attempt at sensationalism as is Lady Emily's mother who has an intricate connection to Queen Victoria, yet even with that, the Queen must call away Lady Emily's husband to be two days before their marriage as he is the only agent of the crown in all the realm that can dash off and deal with a problem so pressing in 1891, that the world has never heard of the crisis to this day.Ms. Alexander would do better to examine the details she wishes to bandy about for suspension of disbelief or recategorize these stories as Fantasy.
    • 4/5
      Where I got the book: well, it’s like this. I went to one of Tasha Alexander’s author events because I was ready to buy this third book in the Lady Emily series, and our lovely indie bookstore, which stocked the event, didn’t have any copies (some difficulty with obtaining them—I hate to tell you, indie guys, but Amazon has it). Anyhow I bought the fourth novel because I’m super-nice, and went to get Tasha (whom I know to the extent of having had a chat or two with her and her husband at literary thingies, but we’re not besties or anything) to get it signed. I told her I was disappointed not to get the third novel, so she sent me one of her own copies. Nice of her!I’m reading through this series quite slowly (obviously, because it’s now on its ninth book) but would probably go faster if I didn’t have reading commitments up the wazoo and a bookcase of unread books that stare at me reproachfully (which is why I moved them downstairs), not to mention the seemingly infinite list of unread books on my Kindle. Historical mysteries are my relaxation reading—I like ‘em fluffy and girly as long as they’re well written, and Alexander has a nice light hand with dialogue and description, occasionally straying a little closer to contemporary speech than I’d like but never making me cross by committing the word-sins some similar writers go in for.I enjoyed this book more than the last one—I like Lady Emily best of all in London among the nobs and snobs of her social circle, but Vienna was a good second best and we got Gustav Klimt and the Austrian Empress thrown in, along with some local color in cafés and Old Vienna. What I relished about this book was the fact that the path to true love—as I hoped—isn’t smooth. An old flame of Emily’s fiancé Colin turns up, and Emily is both worried that the embers might still be glowing and that she can’t possibly match up to the glamorous, sophisticated Countess.Add to that the fact that Emily’s mother is delaying the marriage by insisting on making it a royal occasion, and there are a sufficient number of spanners being thrown into the romantic works. The murder mystery was nicely put together, but it was the romance arc I enjoyed most.This was an easy, fun read with glimpses of deeper stuff underneath the fluff. Emily comes with a fair amount of emotional baggage (her mother, her first marriage) and Colin is a Man of Mystery who promises to have way more in his background than Emily yet knows, so I’m looking forward to the next one.
    • 3/5
      Something happened with this book and the series really went off the rails for me. I read the previous two books in two days each but I had to drag myself through this one. The start was promising with the murder of the intensely unlikable Lord Fortescue. Emily's friend Ivy Brandon's husband is arrested for the murder. To further complicate matters an old flame of Emily's fiance shows up. Que the cat fight. Emily takes off for Vienna to find clues to free Robert Brandon and then the story stalls out once she is out of England. By the time I got to page 200 I had lost interest in the story. Emily is constantly throwing herself in harms way to no purpose only to run to her fiance so that she can babble on about how worried she is for his safety. On and on it went with no further plot development. The author is on the cusp of uniting Emily and Colin forever in matrimony and it seems like it is being dragged out in this novel to the point of becoming annoying. On the positive side I enjoyed the supporting characters of Emily's girlfriends and mother just as much as ever. Hopefully once Emily and Colin are married the series will be back on track.
    • 4/5
      During a shooting party their host is murdered and Emily’s friend Ivy Brandon’s husband, Robert, the victim’s protégé, is arrested. Determined to prove his innocence Emily starts an investigation that takes her from London to Vienna and into a political maelstrom involving anarchists and a plot to assassinate the Kaiser and bring Britain and Germany to the brink of war. This series is a great escape from the modern world, I loved the descriptions of Viennese cafe culture and the encounters with Klimpt. While the controversy surrounding the Mayerling Incident adds authenticity and feels as if it captures a small part of what a visitor in fin de siècle Vienna could’ve experienced.Emily also comes face to face with Colin’s ex-lover, the spy, Countess Kristina von Lange, which causes her some anxiety about her relationship with Colin. She’s also under threat as bullets are left in her hotel room and as Colin is absent for much of the book Jeremy becomes her protector and the ease of their friendship also comes under threat.Am looking forward to reading the next instalment in the series, which is also on my shelves.
    • 3/5
      Once again I'm impressed with all the details of Edwardian culture that Tasha Alexander gets right. It makes her novels a pleasure to read.
    • 4/5
      All these books are great so far, but this one seemed to meander a bit far from the obvious solution. The relationships develop apace, as do the characters. Very well researched, delightfully period but not stuffy.
    • 4/5
      Lady Emily Ashton is up to her old tricks - investigating a murder, traveling across Europe, meeting royalty, and romancing the dashing Mr. Hargreaves. A Fatal Waltz has everything required of a mystery set in the 19th century, and I have to give credit for the setting of Vienna and the background involving the Mayerling suicide. I would recommend A Fatal Waltz to anyone who enjoyed the previous Lady Emily Ashton mysteries or who delights in historical mysteries.
    • 4/5
      A weekend party at a hostile politician's estate ends with Robert in jail for murder, and Ivy in tears. Emily tries to find the real killer, hunting in London and Vienna. I didn't enjoy the political context of this mystery as much as the others, and I thought Emily was rather silly at times. But I am so fond of the characters in the series that I enjoyed reading it regardless. Weaker than the others, but still a fun romp with old friends. I'll keep directing people to the first book in the series.
    • 5/5
      A Fatal Waltz begins with a now engaged Lady Emily Ashton attending a party at the country estate of Lord Fortescue, one of the most politically powerful men in England.Lord Fortescue, not fond of Lady Emily and her independent nature objects to her upcoming marriage to Colin Hargreaves. It appears that Lord Fortescue’s daughter wants Colin for herself.Undaunted by Lord Fortescue’s arrogant attempts at intimidation, Emily relegates his abhorrent behaviour to the back of her mind until Robert Brandon, her friend Ivy’s husband is arrested for the murder of Lord Fortescue.Desperate to find evidence of Robert’s innocence, Lady Emily sets out for Vienna, Austria, for Lord Fortescue was being threatened and the clues lead to an anarchist and a plot that if carried out could disrupt the political landscape of Europe.A Fatal Waltz has a much more sinister edge than the previous two books and Lady Emily is in far more danger than she could ever have imagined. Gone is the protection of English society and her close friends. The stakes are also higher, for not only Robert’s life is in peril, but that of Lady Emily’s fiancé, Colin Hargreaves.A Fatal Waltz is remarkably well written and the descriptions of the Vienna café culture and that of the artists and poets is fascinating. I highly recommend A Fatal Waltz and look forward to Lady Emily’s upcoming nuptials.
    • 5/5
      Good novels. Very romantic. Young widow finds out that her husband loved her and starts to try and figure out a forgery of Greek artifacts and her husband's death. Next book is a romance between Lady Emily Ashton and Colin Hargreaves, the dead husband's best friend. Also there's the mystery of who is spreading rumors about Emily, who is the Marie Antoinette cat burglar, who is Charles Berry, and who killed Richard Francis. And finally, Emily's nemisis is killed and her friend's husband arrested for the crime. Emily must go to Vienna to figure out the murderer and also to help stop a war between Britian, Austria, and Germany.Delightful reads. The writing wasn't as scintillating as the Lady Julia Grey series, but the plots were better. I also liked how Colin treats Emily as an equal whereas Nicholas always treated Julia as an idiot. Probably not very realistic, but more satisfying.
    • 4/5
      This is the 3rd in the Lady Emily Ashton series. The story begins while Lady Emily is attending a house party at the estate of Lord Fortescue, an odious but powerful man. Her host has also invited Kristiana Von Lange, an Austrian countess who was once involved with Lady Emily’s fianće, Colin Hargreaves. During the party Lord Fortescue is found murdered and Robert Brandon, the husband of Emily’s best friend, is arrested. Lady Emily begins to dig for clues to help Robert, which leads her from London to Vienna and the suite of the Empress of Austria. She, also, begins to find the threads of a plot of anarchists to create havoc between England and Austria.Once again, Tasha Alexander leads the reader into the opulent world of England’s upper crust in the 19th century. With a touch of mystery, a hint of romance, and the scent of the Austrian coffee shops the reader can settle in for an enjoyable story.
    • 2/5
      Lady Emily Ashton finds herself involved in an international incident when her best friend's husband is accused of killing Lord Fortescue, a powerful man in British politics. But if she finds the killer, she may be threatening the life of her fiance, Colin Hargreaves, who works as a spy for the British Empire. One of Colin's contacts is his former mistress, an Austrian Countess.my review: I really enjoyed the first two in the Lady Emily series. This third installment, not so much. I don't expect cozy mysteries to have brilliant plots, but this was just too weak. At the beginning, Emily and all are in the country and Lord Fortescue tells her frequently that he will break her and Colin up and the Countess insists on telling her that she and Colin are still lovers. Then Emily is framed for stealing important papers by Mr Harrison. But she doesn't actually leave until Fortescue is murdered. She is an independent, wealthy aristocrat and she is putting up with that. Don't think so. And Colin, who was very protective of her in the first two books as he wooed her, is now so laid back and dull.The international intrigue part was a bit too silly. Lady Emily is running around Vienna, looking for anarchists to admit that they put the hit on Fortescue? Harrison threatens Emily and leave bullets everywhere she has been to show how close he can get to her? And the fiance of this Victorian sleuth is just very calm and "hey, be careful." I think not. There was no chemistry with Emily and Colin, it was as if the author was not even trying.I was disappointed in this novel, it lacked the wit and spark of the first two. I will most likely read the fourth book as I have it out from the library. but if it doesn't get back to the writing of the first two, I will put it down and wait for the next book in the Lady Julia Grey series by Deanna Raybourn.rating 2/5reread noperecommend skip it
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed the twists and turns and suspense of this third book in the series. I liked it much better than the second one. Her books contain many references to historical figures and events that are real, and I like that very much. This one has passing reference to Gertrude Bell (for more on her read Desert Queen: the extraordinary life of Gertrude Bell) and the political environment in Austria just before WWI. Very nice to have the historical reference in addition to a great mystery.
    • 4/5
      A delightful book. Not as fantastic as I thought A Poisoned Season to be, but entertaining nonetheless. Like A Poisoned Season, the ending had a great twist that I did not see coming. This book had a bit more action in it than A Poisoned Season and I felt myself holding my breath at some points. A Fatal Waltz was a great third installment to the Lady Ashton series and I cannot wait to read the next.
    • 3/5
      Lord Fortescue hosts a party at his country house where Lady Emily Ashton, her fiance Colin Hargreaves, and other guests are invited. Lord Fortescue is murdered, and the authorities arrest Robert Brandon, husband of Lady Emily's friend Ivy. Lady Emily is convinced the authorities have arrested the wrong person, and it is up to her to solve the crime. Colin has been called away on the Crown's business to other parts of Europe. Lady Emily visits Vienna where she finds herself in danger. I'm not a huge fan of espionage, and this novel seems to rely heavily on that aspect for the plot. I enjoyed the mystery itself and the romance between Colin and Emily and even the interactions of both Colin and Emily with his former love. Lady Emily has "matured" as a detective in this particular installment and seems more focused than in previous novels in the series.
    • 4/5
      Lady Emily Ashton and her fiance, Colin Hargreaves, are guests at a country house party hosted by Lord Fortescue. Lord Fortescue has made no secret of his dislike of Lady Emily, but she is still distressed when he is murdered while out hunting with the men of the party. She is even more distressed when Robert Brandon, husband of her dear friend Ivy, is arrested for the murder. Having no one else to turn to, Robert asks Emily to look into the facts surrounding Lord Fortescue's murder and to do everything within her power to prove his innocence. Her search for the truth takes her to Vienna, a city of intrigue. She has to embark on her quest without Colin, who was sent off on a confidential government mission soon after Lord Fortescue's death.This is my favorite of the three Lady Emily novels I've read so far. Unlike in A Poisoned Season, where several problems competed for Lady Emily's (and the reader's ) attention, this time Lady Emily had an overriding purpose for her investigation. Although other problems arose during her investigation, Emily managed to provide assistance to others in need without losing sight of her main goal. The author found the right balance between the main plot and the subplots in this novel.I did get the impression that some scenes may have been edited out of the book. I was puzzled by a reference to an appointment that the characters were aware of, but which hadn't been mentioned in the text. There was also a discussion of a threat to one of the characters made by a specific person, but even when I went back and re-read the passages involving the person who was said to have made the threat, I couldn't find it in the text. These omissions were probably all the more noticeable to me because the rest of the novel was so well done.
    • 3/5
      A Fatal Waltz would be the third in the "Lady Emily Ashton" series that Tasha Alexander writes. I read the first book because there was something on the cover about "if Jane Austen wrote mysteries" and my mom bought it for me as a joke. I read the second because a friend's father somehow wound up on the cover recommending it (not exactly his type of literature...). I read the third because, having just finished a dreadful book, I needed something that I knew would be fun. And that's exactly what it was, provided that you don't want you fun to come at the cost of thought or energy. Lady Ashton has succumbed to the suit of Colin Hargreaves (the best friend of her first husband, whose murder formed the focus of the first novel) and the pair are engaged, but somehow, they can't quite manage to make the wedding happen. First, Colin is called away for business (he's a spy dontcha know!) and then the most powerful man in England swears that he'll do all in his power to put an end to it, as he despises Lady Ashton. Well, when he winds up murdered, you'd think that might at least pave the way for the wedding (and provide the basic plot of the novel as Lady Ashton seeks to exonerate her friend's husband, who winds up as the prime suspect), but then the Queen decides that as a favor to Lady Ashton's mother, she will lend the location and her presence... next summer.I put the basic plot of the novel in parentheses there because I'm not fooling myself... I know why I'm reading these. I like the romance of it all, and the mystery comes second. And it's hard not to put the romance first in this one, because it's not just their cute banter as to when they can get married ("I'm free this afternoon."), but we see a bit of Colin's past as a former flame turns up. She may be married and she may be Austrian, but that only makes her more of a threat to poor Emily, who's worried that she might not measure up to such a glamorous creature... particularly when the woman tells Emily outright that when Colin proposed to *her*, she turned him down because she selflessly didn't want him to become sloppy in his work and risk his life. Despite the melodrama, I was pleased that Colin was given this past love who clearly meant something to him and he doesn't try to deny it. After all, the first novel had the intriguing premise of a young woman who didn't particularly know her husband well, but when he dies, in her search for answers, she finds that she was dearly loved... and she can't help but fall in love with him, too. It was poignant and here, we see Colin allowed to have something, too. I'm not sure I appreciated it when it was blatantly pointed out the phrase being something like "we're both people who've lived" or somesuch), but it leveled the playing field. And lest yee think that the drama ended there, oh no... we've got a case of hopeless love, multiple cases of familial revenge, and a baby on the way whose father might be execute. And the whole murder case thing. We also get to run around Vienna for a while, which is nice if you've been to Vienna so you have visuals for the copious amounts of historical touchstones and location references. Just like tourists now, they couldn't get out of Wien without sampling sachertorte. I only wish that these books didn't bother to make an appearance in hardcover, as the third novel just made its debut in paperback and the fourth is out, but I simply can't justify the purchase for fluffy fiction. So if historical romance mystery floats your boat and you enjoyed the first two, then certainly try the third. You won't be surprised by anything that happens, but you'll certainly feel satisfied.
    • 4/5
      This book is the third appearance of Lady Emily Ashton, a Victorian widow who finds that her newfound freedom can be both invigorating and dangerous. Engaged to man of mystery (and aristocrat) Colin Hargreaves, Lady Ashton finds herself at a somewhat twisted version of the traditional country house party when murder (murder most foul) intrudes. Someone is wrongfully accused, and for complicated reasons, Lady Ashton and her friends must travel to Vienna and unravel a plot that involves the Hapsburgs, a rogue English agent, Gustave Klimt, anarchists, and lots of Viennese confections. This book itself is something of a confection--something entertaining and amusing to read when real life (or boring books) begin to overwhelm. At times I did wish that Alexander would commit to one genre or another--the book starts off as a traditional mystery, but when the scene moves to Vienna, it switches to a tale of amateur espionage. All the while, there are soap opera moments of romance, as Lady Ashton comes into close contact with her fiancee's former lover (and current associate). Into this already full buffet Alexander throws the historical mystery known as the Mayerling Incident: in 1889, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and his lover, Baroness Mary Vestra, were found dead in the Crown Prince's hunting lodge. It was ruled a suicide, but the Crown Prince's (somewhat) radical politics, along with the fact that Vestra was apparently shot post-mortem, led many to suspect that all was not kosher in Vienna. (For those who have seen the classic film The Third Man, cue zither music). All in all, a yummy bit of confection, though its richness may cause some to seek out something a bit less caloric. PS-The heroine of this book bears a striking, almost familial resemblance to author Deanna Raybourn's Silent in the Grave. It features a widow whose mourning engenders a newfound independence, along with the need to solve her husband's murder. Lady Julia Gray, however, inhabits a slightly darker world, though it's nonetheless an entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      Lady Emily finds herself an unwelcome guest at the country home of her enemy, Lord Fortescue. Before the event is over, Lord Fortescue is murdered, and the husband of her good friend, Ivy is arrested for the murder. In an attempt to free him, Emily travels to Vienna and finds herself involved in international intrigue as well as a murder mystery. I really enjoy these books. The first person narrative moves you through Victorian society at a nice clip. I feel that I know the characters and the time. The attention to detail, particularly clothing, and the inclusion of historical characters add to the fun of these lively books.