Beauty met the Beast and there was . . . Bloody murder?
It’s the Annual Ambassadorial Ball in Glause, and Lady Isabella Farrah, the daughter of New Civet’s Ambassador, is feeling pleasantly scintillated.
In the library is Lord Pecus, a charming gentleman whose double mask hides a beastly face, and who has decided that Isabella is the very person to break the Pecus curse.
In the ball-room is … curse.
In the ball-room is young Lord Topher, who is rapidly falling in love with an older woman.
And in the card-room, lying in a pool of his own blood, is the body of one of Isabella’s oldest friends: Raoul, Civet’s Head Guardsman. The papers sewn into his sash seem to suggest espionage gone wrong, but Isabella is not so certain.
Lord Pecus, as Commander of the Watch, is of the opinion that Isabella should keep out of the investigation and out of danger. Isabella is of the opinion that it is her murder to investigate, and that what a certain Beast-Lord doesn’t know won’t hurt him. . . .
Will Isabella find the murderer before Lord Pecus does, or will she end her investigation as a bloody spatter on the parlour floor?
W.R Gingell is a Tasmanian author who enjoys reading, bacon, and slouching in front of the fire to write. More titles in the Two Monarchies Sequence will be upcoming, and readers are encouraged to visit wrgingell.com or follow @WRGingell for the latest news and publication dates.
Other publications by W.R. Gingell include A Time-Traveller’s Best Friend: Volume One, and Ruth and the Ghost.
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I just discovered this author via BookBub last week when her book Spindle was offered. I liked it, so tried out another! I. Love. Masque. Witty dialogue, funny, lovely and lively characters, excellent story…there was NOTHING I didn’t like about this book! It is a variant on Beauty and the Beast, which is one of my favorite fairytales. This one is far and away my new favorite retelling! I recommend it!
A nice romantic romp with shades of historical romance setups in a fictional fantasy world. Lots of fun fluff but written well. Why not 5 stars was the heroine refusing to discuss the situation with the hero when people are dying (and there are a lot of folks dying) because of her pride just really brought it down for me. I would have liked more interchanges between them too also.
I came across this book quite by chance, and almost decided to not spend five bucks on this, but boy am I glad that I did! What really drew me in was the unique combination of themes: Beauty and the Beast meets The Phantom of the Opera with an intriguing murder mystery unfurling throughout the entire book. What’s not to love?
Despite being somewhat of a “retelling” of stories that we have all read time and again this was so creative with the characters and themes I don’t think you can even classify it as a retelling or anything of that caliber. I suggest throwing any expectations out of your mind from the get-go.
I thought that the characters were masterfully done with my favorite being the delightfully snarky Isabelle, who just made me so happy with her cleverness (who doesn’t love an heroine that actually thinks?), distinctive revenge tactics, and unique brand of courage.
This plot was so twisty and turny, it made me actually think and hypothesize about the story, which really makes this book great in my eyes. Not many books warrant a thorough thinking-through these days.
I highly recommend this book to any and all, you will not be disappointed.
Another wonderful read from a consistently talented author. Her books never disappoint!
A fun, light read. A fairy tale re-telling/re-imagined. I didn’t want it to end. I’ll be reading more from this author.
This book is amazing!!! Well written with witty dialogue, imaginative world building, characters with depth, and fantastic descriptions.
A lot of fun! A who-dun-it with a magical twist.
Very fun fantasy with likeable characters.
I’ve enjoyed the Two Monarchies Sequence. W.R. Gingell writes very well, the characters, world building, and plots are good, there’s plenty of action and subtle humor through out. I personally didn’t like the way the romance between the two lead characters played out, but can’t fault her writing, it’s just my personal taste. My only other comment was that I wish I’d discovered this series after it was complete and could have read the books all in a row. It’s been quite a while since I read the third book and I couldn’t recall some of the references to previous incidents in the books before this one.
This is the most original retelling of Beauty and the Beast I’ve ever read. It is packed with suspense, romance, humor, murder, and some unforgettable characters! This book hooked me on Gingell, and since I picked it up, I’ve read every book she has published.
This is a delightful retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” that takes the story in a way readers would never expect it to go. Think Disney’s Beauty and the Beast meets Sam Spade, private detective, set in Regency England. In this version, Isabella Farrah, the daughter of an ambassador, is more interested in getting her man than she is in being rescued. The only problem is Lord Pecus, Commander of the city’s Watch, keeps getting in the way. Well, Isabella actually keeps getting in his way, but if Pecus would just let Isabella have her way, she’s certain she could nab the murderer of one of her oldest friends. A feisty heroine whose nobody’s fool and witty dialogue highlight this story’s unique blend of the fairy tale and murder mystery genres, making Masque a retelling must-read.
I had never read a retelling of Beauty and the Beast done in such a way. I loved how this was retold, not quite what I expected. I did not want to put it down.
The story of this retelling involves a heroine, Isabella, who is a bit of a thrill seeker, discovering clues that will lead to the identity of the man who killed a long time friend of hers. She is forced to keep her investigation a secret due to the fact that Lord Pecus is intent upon heading his own investigation while keeping her safe and secure in the confines of his own home.
Lord Pecus has been cursed with a beastly face, and wears nothing but a mask he has created from magic. He believes that Isabella can break the curse, but runs into one obstacle after another in order to keep her safe.
This book makes me want to read everything else by the author.
This book, and others by the author, really pulled me in and had me hooked early. I chose it because of the premise (re-approaching fairy tales) but I love how it veered off in a direction all its own.
Retelling of Beauty and the Beast which is also a murder mystery. Very entertaining and well done – the author was quite adept at staying true to the original while making it fresh and new. The mystery was pretty easy to solve given that, but it was still wonderful. Highly recommended.
A cross between Phantom of the Opera and Beauty and the Beast. There are more references in the story to ‘Beauty’ but the romance and mystery remind me more of ‘Phantom’. While the world isn’t the same, I would compare it to Jane Ann Krentz’s Arcane Society series that is set in the Victorian era… Not torrid, the two MC’s meet over a mystery and while there is romance, the mystery is the main plot and the romance a close second.