13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a light but entertaining read, April 13, 2006
Once again, Lady Rose Summer finds herself in the middle of another murder investigation and scandal, except that this time, she's the main suspect in the murder of the well known and disreputable French courtesan, Dolores Duval. And while, mainly because of the author's light, dry prose style, the book turned out to be a nice, easy read, it should be noted that the mystery subplot was very lightweight (almost non-exsistant at times). Where the book really shines though is where Marion Chesney writes about the social habits and attitudes of the times and the fashion.
Lady Rose is still pretending to be engaged to private detective, Captain Harry Cathcart, and is still unsure about where she stands with him. So that when Harry acquires the seductive and scandalous Dolores Duval as a client (who has been receiving threatening letters), and starts squiring her around, a very jealous Rose publicly threatens the woman. Unfortunately, Rose also decides to pay Dolores a visit in order to have it out with her. The last thing she expected was to find Dolores dead, and for the police to suspect her of the crime! Now, in spite of her confused feelings about Harry, Rose realises that she will have depend on Harry's detecting skills and her determination to prove her innocence and find Dolores' murderer...
The thing is that there really was the potential for a really good, absorbing mystery novel here -- it was just never really realised. Too much time was spent on old material: Rose's and Harry's confused up-and-down feelings for each other, and Daisy's (Rose's companion) relationship with Becket (Harry's valet). The mystery of who killed Dolores and why got lost for a good chunk of the book. It is true that about slightly less than half way through the book, things do suddenly come together as Harry, Rose, Daisy and Becket suddenly hunker down to trying to figure out who would want Dolores dead and why. Unfortunately, once again, the author decided to throw a spanner into these budding romantic relationships -- the relationship between the newly wedded Daisy and Becket becomes strained and Rose finds herself becoming attracted to someone else, and again the murder investigation suffered as a result. The resolution had a rushed feeling as a result, and many mystery fans might end up feeling disappointed. On the other hand, when discussing the fads, taboos and eccentricities of the Edwardian period, and the fashions, the book really shone and became quite interesting. And that, coupled with the author's sparkling prose style made up for the lightweight mystery subplot and lightly sketched characters, making "Our Lady of Pain" an entertaining 3 star read.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fun as always!!!, April 6, 2006
I love this series! She always leaves me wanting more! I was pleased with the ending this time and I hope the author continues with the angle of keeping Harry and Rose together. They need to get married and run the detective agency together! Any more twist between Harry and Rose will cause readers to lose interest. I really think Harry and Rose as a team personally and professonally could be fun. I was confused/disappointed with Daisy's character this time. I'm not sure where the author is going with her. We have watched this wonderful transformation of Daisy coming from a hard life and learning to be a "proper lady". I have also loved watching the love between her and Beckett blossom. However, this book brought her back to the behavors of her roots and then some from start to finish. I was very disappointed! So, I'm anxious to see why the author did that. It totally changed my impressions of Daisy and what I was hoping for her. But overall, it was great and I will be anxiously awaiting the next book.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
don't start the series with this one....., September 23, 2007
since others have summed up the storyline so well, I only want to add a few quick notes to the other reviews. First-do not start reading this mystery series with this one as you will be totally confused as the book is entirely written in the assumption that you already have read the first three in the series.
Secondly-I have to agree with several other reviwers-calling this fourth book a mystery at all is stretching it as the vast majority of the story centers on the travails of Rose's and Daisy's love lives and their many quirky misadventures.
Finally-stalwart Chesney fan that I am, I must admit this fourth book to be disappointing. Miss Chesney has several characters behaving completely out of character, and in the case of the two female leads, their propensity to get themselves into dire situations is now turning annoying.
The author doesn't seem to want the two characters to grow or learn from previous mistakes. There was several brief moments of hilarity but moreover they were diminished by overwhelming buffoonery that made me want to throttle the both of them:)
So overall I would suggest the book of fellow die hard Chesney fans but others should probably skip it or at least hold off to see if the author can redeem herself and her Edwardian Ladies in the next installment.
3.5 stars!
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