Murderous family secrets: Summer 1764. Alec and Selina anxiously await the birth of their first child at their estate in Kent. It should be a time of family celebration, but the death of a young poacher has Alec investigating murder. And when renovations to his sprawling manor unearth a secret burial chamber, a shocking family secret comes to light. Everything Alec thought he knew about his birth … birth is again called into question, and with it the special bond with his irascible uncle Plantagenet. Rated a Discovered Diamond Best in Historical Fiction by DD Reviews, also awarded triple 5-Star reviews from Readers’ Favorite and a B.R.A.G Medallion.
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i have waited a long time for this series to continue. i was convinced it never would. a really great story and a page turner to boot. love Alex and Selena and the duchess and PH of course. like others i would really recommend reading the first 3 books but you dont have to. Cant wait for the next book! Hope its sooner than this one.
Series: Alec Halsey Mystery #4
Publication Date: 11/15/19
Number of Pages: 414
We’ve had to wait sooooooo long for this book that I had begun to fear that we’d never see it. Four years is a long time between books in a series and I really wish I’d gone back and re-read the first three before I started this book. This one can certainly be read as a stand-alone, but the relationships between all of the characters are much richer to you if you’ve read them all. I understand that more books are planned for the series – thank goodness – and this book nicely sets up what I’m guessing will be the next book.
As with any Lucinda Brant book, the writing is excellent, the characters are fully developed and robust, and the research is impeccable. Happily, I learned something new in this book (and it is a large part of the focus of the book) – and the Author’s Notes section explains it very well. I have always thought that Primogeniture was the ONLY law dealing with succession, estates, inheritance, etc. – but that isn’t the case. One lone county, Kent, in England has a different law – Gavelkind. It is certainly different from Primogeniture and I can see where it would definitely take a huge bite out of a family’s wealth and soon leave them with nothing.
Alec Halsey, diplomat, husband, father-to-be and Marquess has come to his huge, sprawling, long-neglected estate in Kent, along with his wife Selina to await the birth of their first child. Alec inherited the vast estate about a year earlier when his brother was murdered. If it were up to Alec, he’d tear the pile down and build a new and modern structure with all of the updates and comforts of a newer home. However, Selina loves the old place and Alec will do anything to keep the love of his life happy. So, they are pouring boatloads of money into repairing, refurbishing and updating the old place. Both Selina and Alec are very anxious about the impending birth and having the estate to focus on gives them a bit of relief from the constant worry.
Alec very quickly gets more distractions than he knows what to do with – a boy goes missing and when his body is found they discover he was brutally murdered. Then, beneath a section where they were replacing the paving stones, they find a room that isn’t on any of the architectural drawings of the estate. Is it a crypt? What could a poor thirteen-year-old boy have done to be so brutally murdered? Alec has a lot more questions than answers, but he’s determined to solve ALL of the mysteries.
Alec quickly realizes that not all is as it seems at Deer Park and people have been keeping secrets from him as well as ignoring his orders. Chief among those secret keepers is his beloved uncle, Plantagenet Halsey. Why is his uncle thwarting his efforts and keeping secrets? Who murdered that poor boy they found and caused the death of yet another young boy?
If you’ve read the three earlier books, you probably had your suspicions about certain things. Well, you’ll find which suspicions were true and which weren’t. If you haven’t read the earlier books, you’ll still learn all about Alex’s early life and why his family cast him out. You’ll also learn a number of things about the Halsey family that weren’t even hinted at in earlier works – so new information for all of us there.
I thought that some of the revelations – especially with his uncle – drug out a bit too long. I was already very tired of it – and knew what it was going to be – long before it happened. There really wasn’t any reason for it to drag on that long and it had no bearing on the solution to the murder. I also wish we could have seen more of Selina this time around, but, she was ready to give birth at any second and couldn’t be out tromping around the countryside. Maybe we’ll get more of her in the next book.
I highly recommend this author, this book and this series. I can’t wait for the next one – and hopefully, it won’t be four years in the making.
I’ve had this book on my TBR list for quite a while in both Audible and Kindle versions. Initially I held off reading because I was a bit disappointed that the narrator had been changed for the Audible version. However, ultimately I did really appreciate Matthew Lloyd Davies’ narration.
I honestly am always amazed at the writing of Lucinda Brant. Her characters are so well defined that they are recognizable in any given situation. Alec is an incredible character and, of course, It is beautiful to finally see Alec and Selina together after hoping and waiting for it throughout this series. So, in this way, the story was a delight.
However, there was an aspect of the story that was so dark, it was depressing and difficult for me to read. And I did struggle with that. Also, who could not possibly see his Uncle as a constant blessing and support in his life throughout this series. However, Plantagenet, in trying to protect Alec from unhappy truths, has kept a MULTITUDE of secrets from Alec in this addition to the story and at times it just totally frustrated me. In fact, it made Alec appear foolish to some extent in that practically everyone in Kent were keeping major secrets from him, as well as defying the limitations that he had established on his estate. That did not sit well with me. Ultimately, in addition to some shocking revelations, there are so many secrets and mysteries in this one that I was having trouble tracking and following them.
However, I loved the updates on the main characters: Alec, Selina, Olivia, Plantagenet, Tam, Hadrian, and now Helen. I am intrigued to learn more about the various “Fishers” as well as Hugh Turner. I so look forward to more of this series!