Our Lady of Pain: An Edwardian Murder Mystery (Edwardian Murder Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Marion Chesney (Author)

Book Description

Series: Edwardian Murder Mysteries | Publication Date: April 4, 2006

Lady Rose Summer, the wayward Edwardian debutante who keeps getting mixed up in disreputable adventures, would swear she is not a jealous woman. After all, she knows her engagement to private detective Captain Harry Cathcart is only a ploy to keep her parents from shipping her off to India to find a husband. But then Harry's latest client, Dolores Duval---a vision of curves with a seductive French accent---starts appearing everywhere at his side. And that changes everything.
In a fit of rage, Rose threatens Dolores, only to be found the very next day, standing over her dead body. The newspapers rush to convict her, but can Harry and Superintendent Kerridge of Scotland Yard clear Rose's name and put the real murderer behind bars?
Filled with drawing-room scandal and murderous intrigue, Our Lady of Pain is a delightful addition to Marion Chesney's beloved Edwardian mystery series.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Proper Edwardians Rose Summer and Capt. Harry Cathcart must contend with scandal and murder in their amusing fourth adventure (after 2004's Sick of Shadows) from British author Chesney (aka M.C. Beaton). When Harry is seen about London squiring Dolores Duval, a woman of ill-repute, Rose's father calls off his daughter's engagement to Harry and prepares once again to send Rose and her companion, Daisy, to India. Enraged, Rose confronts Duval and ends up threatening her—in a most unladylike manner—in front of numerous witnesses. Rose later has the misfortune of finding Duval's body and is immediately implicated in the murder. As is their wont, Rose and Daisy go on the lam, much to the chagrin of the Summer family, Harry and Scotland Yard. Readers will delight in the exploits of the fiery, increasingly independent Rose. As ever, Chesney shows herself a master of historical detail and color. (Apr.)
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Review

Praise for the Edwardian Mysteries of Marion Chesney

"If you missed the first novel in this series, get it right away."
---The Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Sick of Shadows
"A tidy and well-executed mystery/historical with strong overtones of romance: light entertainment for all collections."
---Library Journal

"A lighthearted romantic romp through Edwardian snobbery, with hints of the cataclysmic changes in store for high society substituting for any serious mystery."
---Kirkus Reviews

"An entertaining and charming tale…a fantastic Edwardian amateur sleuth mystery."
---Midwest Book Review

Hasty Death
"Once again Chesney has concocted an amusing brew of mystery and romance that will keep her fans turning the pages."
---Publishers Weekly

"Another cozy charmer."
---Library Journal

"If you are a fan of well-written traditional mysteries, Lord Peter, and Albert Campion, you might want to try this series."
---Reviewing the Evidence

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312329687
• ISBN-13: 978-0312329686
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,018,009 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a light but entertaining read, April 13, 2006

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Lady of Pain: An Edwardian Murder Mystery (Edwardian Murder Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun as always!!!, April 6, 2006

By 

Susan Lee (Hiram, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Our Lady of Pain: An Edwardian Murder Mystery (Edwardian Murder Mysteries) (Hardcover)

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.

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

By 

retroredux - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Our Lady of Pain: An Edwardian Murder Mystery (Mass Market Paperback)

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!