Customer Reviews

A Poisoned Season (Lady Emily)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tasha Alexander's second book, A Poisoned Season, in her series about Lady Emily Ashton is as charming as the first installment, And Only To Deceive. Lady Emily Ashton is a woman with sensibilities ahead of her time, with interests in antiquities and learning Greek. She is also a young widow with fortune and means to pursue her interests despite societal pressures otherwise. Fortunately, her love interest, Colin Hargreaves, is also ahead of his time, with less interest in taming her than capturing her heart and working beside her in their mutual interests. This time the mystery centers around the descendants of the French monarchy with plenty of twists and turns to keep mystery readers entertained.

With nods to the Ton and the Season, Queen Victoria and other standards of the era, this series is light enough for a pleasure read, but still has some intellectual 'oomph', including references to Greek texts. It reflects Lady Ashton's own tastes for reading popular fiction as well as Homer in Greek. The cast of supporting characters is also appealing with the butler Dixon becoming a personal favorite.

Especially recommended for fans of historical mysteries and historical romances, the book should appeal to fans of Victoria Thompson, Anne Perry and Georgette Heyer. It's rated PG, although there is sufficient sexual tension to please romance fans. Emily and Colin's relationship is also moving along at a pleasingly brisk--but not too fast!--pace for a mystery series instead of the tendency of other historicals to leave obvious attraction in a holding pattern for countless books before hinting at any progression.

I seen to be going through a mystery phase lately. When I was about nine years old I was all about mystery novels-Nancy Drew (of course) some Mary Higgins Clarke (I was precocious) even a little Lawrence Block. It was something I had common with my father, whose bookshelves are filled with nothing but mysteries and books on music. But like any evolving young reader I went through stages, mystery to old fashioned books, like Anne of Green Gables, to fantasy, to contemporary fiction (chick lit mostly) and then to historical fiction. Now, with the recent publishing boom of historical mysteries, I seem to have come full circle.

"A Poisoned Season" is the sequel to "And only to Deceive", in which we met the recently widowed Emily Ashton, who lives in London in the late Victorian age. Emily fell into the business of solving mysteries as she languished in mourning, and took the time to learn more about her deceased husband, who she barely knew in their short marriage. While reading his journal she stumbled across possibly stolen art ring and eventually, the truth of her husband's death. Along the way she found a love of Greek, especially the Iliad and ancient Greek art and began to know-and perhaps love-her husband's best friend Colin Hargreaves. She also develops an attitude towards society that could be described as unconventional at best, given the times.

In "A Poisoned Season" Emily returns, back from her villa in Greece, accompanied by her new friend Cecile de Lac to face the London society season. This season has some spice added to it not only with the introduction of Charles Berry, who claims (and is believed by society) to be the heir of Marie Antoinette, and if the monarchy still existed in France, the rightful king. With the appearance of Berry, who is a drunk, a womanizer, and a cruel and arrogant person, comes a cat burglar who only steals items that were once the possessions of the long dead queen of France. Emily's home is burgled but things don't get alarming until one of the men an item was stolen from is murdered-poisoned.

Emily winds up investigating this death in order to keep the police's prime suspect in the murder, a maid who the grieving widow insists is innocent, from being hanged. But as she investigates Emily discovers she is being followed; the Marie Antoinette thief leaves her love notes in Greek, things begin to disappear from her home and mysterious accidents start to happen. This, coupled with an attack on her reputation, makes for an increasingly treacherous society season...

I really, really enjoyed this book, much more than the first one in fact. While its predecessor had an excellent element of a tragic love story (Emily and her now dead husband), this novel has a romance with a breathing person-Coin Hargreaves, who is, in a sense, the perfect man. Charming, Handsome, a spy for the queen, and patient about Emily's reluctance to marry again (though not too patient-he refuses to kiss Emily until they are engaged and makes a bet concerning marriage with her.) The mystery in this novel is well planed out and hard to crack, the characters are believable and compelling. And it has a happy ending. This book is so good in fact, that I literally could not put it down and was up into the wee hours of the morning finishing it. I am quite sure that if you liked the first novel at all, you will love the second.

Five stars. I look forward with great anticipation to the third novel in this series and the event that will hopefully take place in it.

First Sentence: There are several things one can depend upon during the London Season: an overwhelming barrage of invitations, friends whose loyalties turn suspect, and at least one overzealous suitor.

Lady Emily Ashton is through the period of mourning for her husband in time to join London's social season. A new face on the scene is Charles Berry who claims to be heir to the French throne in this post-revolutionary time. Although he is courting a friend of Emily's to be his future Queen, he wants Emily as his mistress. Is he the one sending Emily anonymous poems written in Greek? And who is stealing treasures of the late Marie-Antoinette? But most important, who poisoned society member David Francis? Although her maid has been arrested, Mrs. Francis asks Emily to prove her maid innocent.

Ms Alexander combines history, society and a dash of romance into a first-rate read. She has taken three threads; who committed the murder, who is the thief and who is trying to ruin Emily's reputation, and combines them into one very interesting, intriguing story. Emily is a great character; smart, independent and resourceful. There is a romance, but she doesn't depend on him to save her. Her depiction of Victorian England is delightful, while very much the upper class. It does show the intrigues and intricacies of live among the social elite. The plot kept me going and I didn't expect the ending at all. While it didn't have the emotional pull of her first book, "And Only to Deceive." this was a very good read.

When I find a new author that I like, and especially when their first novel is very good, I tend to get a bit wary when the second novel is released. It's not very often that I enjoy the next effort, it's usually that there is a bit of the joy of discovery isn't there. And when it involves continuing characters, there's a good chance that the story is going to slip somewhere, badly.

Imagine my surprise when Tasha Alexander's follow-up to And Only to Deceive turned out to be just as entertaining as the first.

Some time has passed since Emily, the widowed Lady Ashton, has met the dashing and handsome Colin Hargreaves. She certainly has feelings for him, but she also is enjoying her freedom that only a wealthy widow in late Victorian London can have. She can indulge her passion for the study of Greek and ancient antiquities without some pesky husband overshadowing her and while her mother remains just as pushy as ever, insisting that Emily remarry, Emily can always retreat to the comfort of her books, cigars and port when it all becomes too much. A widow can do pretty much as she pleases as long as she remains discreet...

But sometimes discretion isn't enough, as we see in this one. Emily's two best friends, Ivy who is married to a government official, and Margaret, a brash American who longs to study at Oxford, both come to Emily with problems to be solved, and Emily does her loyal best to help them. Ivy is quietly crumbling under Society's eye and the expectations that she provide and heir and soon -- but she's afraid that her beloved husband Robert is already straying, and her in-laws are pressing her to become not as daring as her friend. Margaret is chafing under the demands of her parents to find a titled husband for herself, and isn't at all interested -- so she asks Emily to help arrange a supposed romance for her -- and it's one that may seriously backfire.

Mixed in with all of this is a mystery about a cat-burglar and a claimant for the French throne. True, France is a republic, and seemingly has no intention of restoring a monarchy, but that isn't stopping Charles Berry from pressing his extravagant claims as a descendant of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. The fact that he seems to have settled on Emily as a potential royal mistress and his social skills are less than proper makes our widow very nervous indeed. When a prominent member of Society and a fellow collector turns up poisoned, Emily is determined to find out what is really going on -- even if it means that she has to get closer than she would like to Mr. Berry.

And it seems that Colin has not one, but two rivals in this story for Emily's affections. One is the Duke of Bainbridge, who is helping along Margaret's charade, and the other a very dangerous, very mysterious man who seems to know everything about her, but is very adept at keeping himself hidden from view.

How it all becomes resolved along with a few good witticisms and some biting commentary is what makes this story work. I was kept up through the night, wanting to find out what happens next, and not being disappointed in the slightest by this story of intrigue and romance.

What I do like about Ms. Alexander's work is that she does research into the time and place, and knows how to work in the subtle details and gossip of the period and still keep the story and action moving briskly along. I recognized quite a few little tidbits of actual goings-on that slip into the story, but it's so subtly handled by the author that I found myself chuckling and grinning over it, thinking Nicely done! to myself.

While most mystery series have ongoing characters that provide the momentum and narration to a story, this one involves quite a bit about Emily and Colin themselves, not to mention all of the secondary characters. It's pretty easy to dip into a novel into the series, and not find a lot of changing going on with the sleuthing team. This time, however, there is a great deal of backstory that will be missed if the reader skips over Alexander's first novel. While Colin isn't as prominent in this one, neither does the author give a lot of details about why he and Emily are so close. Besides the first book was so much fun, that I would hate to have anyone skip it over -- it's worth the effort to take in.

As well as the mystery itself, the author kindly includes some sources for further reading for those who want to know more about the Society and their ways. There are several notes that explore the history behind the story of the son of Louis XVI and the various claims made by adventurers over the last two centuries, as well as why Charles Worth was so important. An excerpt from Tasha Alexander's next book, A Fatal Waltz, is also included, and looks to be just as exciting as this one.

All in all, a happy thumbs up from me, and four stars overall.

Her first book And Only to Deceive I picked up at an airport and found myself finished by the night I landed. While I found her first effort very exciting and sort of a modern take on a historical story, I felt this one offered not a lot new and felt formulaic. The story is still interesting, but I found her searc h for information about her deceased husband in the first book, far more interesting than her search for a thief and a mysterious admirer. This felt much less personal. Do not get me wrong, if you want a good read that will last you a day or a weekend, then this is a great choice. It woudl be the perfect story for a summer beach read. But stick with the first if you want to be truly engrossed.

I love mysteries, and especially romantic mysteries, but I usually can figure them out before the ending. This one was so interwound, that I wasn't even close. Also met the author, who was very entertaining as well as interesting in her explanation as to how she evolves a plot and her characters. I always thought a book started with a story, and perhaps the main characters, but Ms. Alexander explained her books start with the main character, then the characters around her, and then finally the plot. Well recommended read.

I had been suitably impressed by Alexander's first book, And Only to Deceive, and was quite excited to read this new book. I was not disappointed - definitely an enjoyable read!

We are taken back into the life of Lady Emily Ashton, who is now being courted by Colin (from the first book) as well as several other love interests throughout the book, but we get the satisifaction of a match at the end (one that will bode well for future mysteries!).

Alexander combines the intrigue of a French pretender with jewelry thefts that all come together in the end in a fun - and hard to guess - way. I thought I had the ending figured out, but was proven wrong - always a fun situation. Emily's sleuthing in a combination of luck and hard work - she deciphers some coded letters with some textbooks provided by Colin.

What I like best of Alexander's work is that well Emily has many modern notions, she is still firmly entrenched in her time, making her an extremely believable character. I hate books where the heroine/hero is so modern there is absolutely no way they would survive in society nor even actually exist!

We also see the return of many of the best characters of the first book: Ivy Brandon, Margaret Seward and of course Cecile!

In her sequel to AND ONLY TO DECEIVE, Tasha Alexander manages to make her already appealing characters even more so. Lady Emily Ashton, who grew from a practically proper Victorian miss to a woman of substance while solving the mystery of her husband's murder in the first novel, now moves farther along on her journey. And the enigmatic Colin Hargreaves - whom Emily firsts distrusts despite her attraction in the first novel - is well on his way to becoming irresistable.

Emily is now, after two years prescribed mourning, able to re-enter society, but finds her season "poisoned" in many ways. First, by the strictures society (and her match making mother) impose upon a beautiful young widow. And then, quite literally, by the poisoning of a man whom she has just met. When Emily begins to suspect that advice she gave the man may have marked him for murder, when the dead man's wife accuses Emily of being his mistress, and when a peculiarly discriminating cat burglar begins leaving passionate Greek poetry for Emily, things become even more complicated.

As Emily works to find an antidote for this poisoned season, her relationship with her mother, her friends and especially with Colin are beautifully developed. Alexander creates a clear and convincing picture of the growing passion between Emily and Colin without ever resorting to behavior unthinkable to ladies and gentlemen of the period (much as Austen did with Elizabeth and Darcy).

Alexander also does a fine job of depicting the claustrophobic world of society ladies which demands women be passive and superficial simply to survive. Even Emily, who is determined to chart her own course, is forced to bow to some of the conventions of the time.

Having just read AND ONLY TO DECEIVE last week, and even knowing that the paperback version of A POISONED SEASON is due out in January, I found myself compelled to buy the hardback. And - having finished the book - I satisfied with my decision.

I got this book because it was referred to me when I purched my "emeral ring" book by Lauren willig. I decided to take a chance. I fell in love with this book and could not put it down!! Tasha Alexander is now on my favorite author must read list!

An absolute delight of a late Victorian mystery with Lady Emily Ashton as the beautiful, young widowed heroine who divides her time between collecting rare Greek artifacts for the British Museum, warding off suitors so that she can live an independent life (though one man is so alluring the reader hopes she will tell him yes), and helping her friends with their problems. Quite unexpectedly, she becomes involved in a plot of stolen jewelry and letters belonging to the long dead Marie Antoinette and is introduced to the dislikable man who claims to be the heir to the French throne. In the midst of trying to solve a double murder, the intelligent and resourceful Emily is brought by her domineering mother to tea with the ancient queen Victoria who urges Emily towards marriage. The plot is delightfully complex with a cast of upper and lower class characters and the sudden appearance of one particularly captivating blue-eyed stranger at a masked ball who has his own secrets to reveal.--STEPHANIE COWELL, author of MARRYING MOZART