On discovering the lifeless body of an innocent ingénue, a peer attending a country house party joins forces with the lady-amazon sent to fetch the victim safely home in a race to expose the murderer before Stokes, assisted by Barnaby and Penelope, is forced to allow the guests, murderer included, to decamp.Well-born rakehell and head of an ancient family, Alaric, Lord Carradale, has finally … finally acknowledged reality and is preparing to find a bride. But loyalty to his childhood friend, Percy Mandeville, necessitates attending Percy’s annual house party, held at neighboring Mandeville Hall. Yet despite deploying his legendary languid charm, by the second evening of the week-long event, Alaric is bored and restless.
Escaping from the soirée and the Hall, Alaric decides that as soon as he’s free, he’ll go to London and find the mild-mannered, biddable lady he believes will ensure a peaceful life. But the following morning, on walking through the Mandeville Hall shrubbery on his way to join the other guests, he comes upon the corpse of a young lady-guest.
Constance Whittaker accepts that no gentleman will ever offer for her¿she¿s too old, too tall, too buxom, too headstrong¿too much in myriad ways. Now acting as her grandfather¿s agent, she arrives at Mandeville Hall to extricate her young cousin, Glynis, who unwisely accepted an invitation to the reputedly licentious house party.
But Glynis cannot be found.
A search is instituted. Venturing into the shrubbery, Constance discovers an outrageously handsome aristocrat crouched beside Glynis¿s lifeless form. Unsurprisingly, Constance leaps to the obvious conclusion.
Luckily, once the gentleman explains that he¿d only just arrived, commonsense reasserts itself. More, as matters unfold and she and Carradale have to battle to get Glynis¿s death properly investigated, Constance discovers Alaric to be a worthy ally.
Yet even after Inspector Stokes of Scotland Yard arrives and takes charge of the case, along with his consultants, the Honorable Barnaby Adair and his wife, Penelope, the murderer’s identity remains shrouded in mystery, and learning why Glynis was killed – all in the few days before the house party’s guests will insist on leaving – tests the resolve of all concerned. Flung into each other’s company, fiercely independent though Constance is, unsusceptible though Alaric is, neither can deny the connection that grows between them.
Then Constance vanishes.
Can Alaric unearth the one fact that will point to the murderer before the villain rips from the world the lady Alaric now craves for his own?
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A historical murder mystery and lovely romance – what more could I ask for. As always, the writing is well above average, the story is well plotted and excellently delivered. I really enjoyed the romance in this one because the heroine is unusual. She is tall and statuesque and everything the hero thought he didn’t want in a wife. It shouldn’t bother me, but it does – you very rarely learn anybody’s rank or title in this series. I don’t want the title, etc. to be a big deal in the story, but it just helps me put things in perspective if I know.
Alaric, Lord Carradale is thirty-seven years old and head of his family. He’s finally come to the determination that it is time for him to wed since his cousin and heir is a complete putz. So, he’s been getting his affairs in order, updating his home, etc. and planning to find himself a peaceful, biddable bride. It is a bit of a hassle to attend his good friend Percy Mandeville’s house party while he’s trying to get everything ready for a bride, but he can’t hurt Percy’s feelings by not attending. He’ll attend the party, but he won’t stay over, he’ll just come and go each day since his estate adjoins Percy’s.
The attendees at this house party are different than those Percy usually invites. There are married couples and even a couple of single young ladies there. Alaric wonders at the change but doesn’t think much of it. He meets one of the debutants, Glynis, and she asks him to walk on the terrace with her. She chatters on pleasantly and then they return inside. Alaric soon decides it is time to leave for home.
Constance Whittaker has been sent by her family to retrieve her cousin Glynis from the house party. The family doesn’t believe it is a proper environment for Glynis and they want her home. Since Glynis’ mother is ill, Constance was sent in her place. Constance has resigned herself to spinsterhood, she’s too old, to buxom, to straight-forward, etc. for any man to make an offer for her.
As Alaric returns to Mandeville Hall the next morning, he discovered the lifeless body of Glynis lying in the hedges. As he is looking at the bruises on her neck, he sees an Amazon coming his way. At first, she accuses him of having murdered her cousin. Once she hears his story and sees his concern, she realizes he isn’t guilty and they decide to work together to find justice for Glynis.
The local magistrate is called, against Alaric’s wishes. He knows that with the new rules, Scotland Yard is supposed to be notified. Alaric also knows that Chief Inspector Stokes would be the one sent to investigate and Stokes would involve Barnaby and Penelope Adair. The local magistrate wants to sweep it under the rug until a second murder occurs and Alaric makes it all but impossible for them not to notify Scotland Yard.
This begins a lovely romance between Alaric and Constance and a double-murder investigation. Do they have more than one murderer or did the same murderer commit both crimes?
I thoroughly enjoyed both the romance and the mystery – although I have to say the murderer was pretty obvious to me from early on. Maybe I’ve read too many mysteries. That didn’t take away from my enjoyment – I just enjoyed reading to discover that my assumption was correct.
Another winner by Stephanie Laurens. I specially enjoyed the larger heroine in this one. Even though she still has to look up at the hero, she’s taller than some of the other men and owns it rather than trying to diminish her height. She also has a powerful demeanor and is accepted and loved as she is.