When the ladies of the ton of Regency London need discreet assistance, they turn to Rosalind Thorne—in these mysteries inspired by the novels of Jane Austen . . . Trust is a delicate thing, and no one knows that better than Rosalind Thorne. Lady Melbourne has entrusted her with recovering a packet of highly sensitive private letters stolen from her desk. The contents of these letters hold great … The contents of these letters hold great interest for the famous poet Lord Byron, who had carried on a notorious public affair with Lady Melbourne’s daughter-in-law, the inconveniently unstable Lady Caroline Lamb. Rosalind is to take up residence in Melbourne House, posing as Lady Melbourne’s confidential secretary. There, she must discover the thief and regain possession of the letters before any further scandal erupts.
However, Lady Melbourne omits a crucial detail. Rosalind learns from the Bow Street runner Adam Harkness that an unidentified woman was found dead in the courtyard of Melbourne House. The coroner has determined that she was poisoned. Adam urges Rosalind to use her new position in the household to help solve the murder. As she begins to untangle a web of secrets and blackmail, Rosalind finds she must risk her own life to bring this desperate business to an end . . .
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I’d actually give this book 4.5 stars. I like Rosalind Thorne and the Regency setting for a mystery. The actual mystery itself was complex with lots of distractions and red herrings. Lady Caroline Lamb was a fascinating, wonderful character, and I really did NOT want her or her husband to be a murderer. The subplot of Adam Harkness being sidelined because of politics bogged me down, even though I really enjoyed meeting his mother. And I was disappointed that Rosalind and Adam interacted so little in this book. I’m hoping that in the next book Rosalind makes her decision and it’s not too depressing because I’m no fan of love triangles. The pace of the book picked up and the story became much more riveting from the middle of the book to its really strong ending.
Well written characters with interesting personal stories and none of the glaring historical inconsistencies sometimes found in these cozy mysteries. Enough to make it well worth reading.
And Dangerous to Know earns 5+/5 Stolen Letters…Engaging Entertainment!
The death of an unidentified woman is obviously murder, but Adam Harkness, the principal officer at the Bow Street Station, is disappointed the King’s coroner is prepared only to make personal notes, then quietly have her interred. Nothing official, no public notice, no warrant allowing Harkness to inquire further. The body was found at the gates of Melbourne House, residence of the very influential Lord Melbourne, and it would be inappropriate, if not career ending, to put under suspicion anyone in that family, despite quiet rumors of scandalous indiscretions. However, if someone discreet could ingratiate “herself,” and without notice, investigate and find answers…Miss Rosalind Thorne is brought to mind.
Rosalind Thorne has been approached by Lady Jersey, who is personally aware of her unique abilities, to provide her “particular assistance” to Viscountess Melbourne. A packet of letters, letters that would prove embarrassing to her, her family, and George Gordon, Lord Byron, have been stolen. Acting as Lady Melbourne’s confidential secretary, she would be well positioned to ask questions, search private areas, overhear quiet conversations, and hopefully locate the stolen property. Living at Melbourne House offers some challenge since Rosalind’s wardrobe has not seen an upgrade since her family’s financial crisis, but a five hundred pound stipend is quite the inducement or is it a bribe…payment for her complete silence.
After Adam Harkness relates his predicament with investigating the young woman’s murder, Rosalind observes, “It would seem, Mr. Harkness, that our paths have converged.”
Brilliant! I am new to this series by Darcie Wilde, and after only a few pages of the third book in her Rosalind Thorne Mysteries, I am a big fan! Setting the drama in the early nineteenth century is unique in my experience (I see Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Darcy) offering fascinating historical insights into events of the day, the English ton, and the criminal justice system such as it is. Darcie Wilde also pens historical romances, so this mystery seems to take on an epic nature delving more deeply into relationships, interactions, and formal and informal social gatherings along with the drama of a murder investigation. Each chapter cleverly begins with a title and passage from the sought after “personal correspondence” selected to illustrate directly and indirectly the drama and provide insights into background, behaviors, and motives. Darcie’s writing style using a third-person narrative with descriptive language and dialogue that does well to show tone of the era, emotions, and personalities. The mystery was an engrossing tale with twists and secrets; the insights into the “ton” were fascinating reminiscent of dynamics that might be found in Downton Abbey, but a century earlier; the characters were varied, well-developed, and realistic as I understand, with Rosalind’s strength and intelligence and Alice’s independence and ambition a real delight. Then Adam….ooooh! I loved it and am eager to read the first two books!
All three Rosalind Thorne books are available on Audible with A Useful Woman and A Purely Private Matter narrated by the delightful Sarah Nichols. However, And Dangerous to Know is narrated by the fabulously talented Pearl Hewitt, my all time favorite voice artist. I decided to get the audio version to finish “listening” to Darcie Wilde’s drama. Pearl’s engaging artistry has always enriched my experience; she does well to illustrate tone and various personalities through a change in volume and style along with slight and obvious variations in the British accent to depict dialect, age, gender, and status, even a French-ish accent pops up. A challenge for all female narrators is to perform adequately the male voice which Pearl gives more than an entertaining performance. I loved it and highly recommend Darcie Wilde’s book, especially the audio version!
I enjoyed the first two books in the Rosalind Thorne mysteries and was patiently awaiting the third book. It was a long wait but the latest installment, And Dangerous to Know, did not disappoint. In this book, Rosalind investigates the disappearance of the letters belonging to the famous Lord Byron. Rosalind is hired by Lady Melbourne, whose daughter-in-law is Lady Caroline Lamb, Lord Byron’s notorious former lover.
In addition to the disappearance of the letters, the body of an unnamed woman was found near Melbourne’s residence. Who was the murdered woman and did she have anything to do with the missing correspondence? Rosalind agrees to help Adam Harkness, the Bow Street runner, to help solve the murder. But solving the murder and the mystery of the missing letters may put Rosalind in danger. This was a very satisfying mystery with interesting characters and brimming with intrigue. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
I am a long time fan of historical mysteries but somehow I missed this series. Starting with the third in the series convinced me to put the previous two books on my must read soon list and the series on my list of favorites. Even though I didn’t have all of the backstory I felt that this worked well as a stand alone.
It’s 1817 London and we are introduced to Adam Harkness of the famous Bow Street when he is called by the Coroner of Middlesex which includes London. An unidentified woman has been delivered to the cellar under the Brown Bear tavern – a mortuary. When the men doing the delivering of the body are questioned about the who and the why of it, all they would share was the pickup location. Because of that, the Coroner calls Harkness as it appears that it involves the Haute Ton and needs a delicate touch to investigate. The woman, it becomes clear, is connected to Melbourne House. The Coroner would prefer to call her a Jane Doe, sign off on the case and put her in a paupers grave. The end. Harkness knows that isn’t going to happen and sets out to contact the one person he knows who would be perfectly positioned in society to help him solve the murder. Rosalind Thorne was raised an aristocrat but her father lost his fortune and then abandoned his family. Rosalind now makes her way in life by being both discrete and very clever, helping the Haute Ton deal with rather sticky matters. At the same time Harkness is planning to contact her, Rosalind is visited by Lady Jersey, a veritable whirlwind who knows what she wants and expects to get it. She wants Rosalind to find out who stole a packet of personal letters from Lord Byron and, to do that, she will have to stay awhile at Melbourne House. Two cases – are they connected?
I enjoyed every page of this mystery. The setting, the voice, the puzzle, the wonderful characters (both historical and fictional) all came together in a pitch perfect read.