A Virtuous Death

Lady of Ashes #3

by Christine Trent

A gripping tale of vengeance inside the extraordinary world of Queen Victoria’s court, this richly layered novel from Christine Trent will delight fans of historical mysteries.

Queen Victoria, still mourning her late husband Prince Albert, has found solace in John Brown, an enigmatic palace servant who dabbles in the occult. Undertaker Violet Harper is invited to attend one of Mr. Brown’s readings, during which he implies that Buckingham Palace will soon be shrouded in death’s dark veil. Well acquainted with death, Violet shrugs him off as a charlatan—until his sinister divinations begin to prove true…

The aristocratic young friends of the queen’s daughter are dying mysteriously. The deaths merely buttress the queen’s enthusiasm for Mr. Brown’s ominous talents. Is Mr. Brown an innocent court favorite, or does he have a malevolent plan that involves both the queen and Violet? Or does Violet suspect the wrong man entirely?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Victorian, Fiction, British Literature

287 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Christine Trent is the author of the Heart of St. Mary's County series set in her beloved Maryland hometown. Book 3, THE CEDAR POINT AFFAIR, releases in July 2025 and Book 4, THE MADNESS OF MOLL DYER, will release in February 2026.

She is also the author of the ROYAL TRADES series about women in unusual professions, including THE QUEEN'S DOLLMAKER (a dollmaker to Marie Antoinette), A ROYAL LIKENESS (an apprentice to the great waxworker, Madame Tussaud), and BY THE KING'S DESIGN (a cloth merchant to the Prince Regent). These books were re-released in 2023.

Christine is best known for her LADY OF ASHES series featuring Violet Harper, a Victorian undertaker with a passion for her macabre work. Christine's latest entry in this historical mystery series is THE DEADLY HOURS, an anthology written with Susanna Kearsley, C.S. Harris, and Anna Lee Huber, which follows the travels of a cursed pocket watch through time.

Can't get enough historical mystery? Christine has also written two novels (NO CURE FOR THE DEAD and A MURDEROUS MALADY) featuring Florence Nightingale as an intrepid sleuth.

Learn more about Christine at www.christinetrent.com.

Reviews

[Melodie · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I've recently been introduced to 2 series set in this time period that I'm really enjoying. Came across this series while looking around on Amazon. The idea of a female undertaker in Victorian England was interesting, so I gave this a shot. (The first 2 got mostly poor reviews, but this one got much higher marks.) Shouldn't have bothered. Didn't like Violet, the Royal family and court were annoying as Hell and the story was just really mediocre. Won't bother to read further.

[Ash reads stuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great story line, no smuttiness and some well thought out plot twists. A great read!

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good mystery with a little history thrown in. Learned more about the funeral practices of the time. Enjoying this series very much.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violet Harper, an undertaker, is back in England and staying at St. James Palace and at Queen Victoria's beck and call. She is not quite sure how she did this, but she is part of the Queen's spiritual quest to talk to dearly departed husband, Prince Albert. The group also includes John Brown, a servant of whom the Queen has become quite fond. Violet also gets involved with the deaths of some of Princess Louise's friends. Sam Harper, Violet's husband, appears to have stayed out of Violet's difficulties by being in Wales investigating the mining situation there. This is another enjoyable installment of this series. Violet certainly gets herself into interesting situations, but she is a clever woman who manages with some luck to come out on top. What is next, Violet?

[Nicole Siemers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear lord this book. It's written like a terrible romance novel with no romance. I was unsure about the first book in this series, the second gave me hope, and this one? I can't continue on. The main character is an UNDERTAKER. The author has made her into a sometime undertaker, and full time investigator. What? The story(ies) would be compelling if written about victims written from the undertakers's POV, but don't have her out there trying to figure out whodunnit, that's just stupid.

The author's use of random German from Victoria is ridiculous. Is this is a book about the Royal Family or an undertaker, I can't tell. After I finish this travesty, I won't be reading anymore. They are a complete waste of a good character in a terrible series.

[Sallee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very detailed with so many twists and turns that I had to keep taking breaks by reading another book. There is a great deal of detail in Victorian funeral customs which was interesting. There are many suspects and you are left wondering which one it could be until almost the very end when it becomes apparent. I was entertained but the story moved very slowly which was frustrating at times.

[Barb reads......it ALL! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although not my favorite in the series, I still enjoyed the character of Violet and the fictionalization of Queen Victoria and their relationship.

My favorite parts of this series are the history of the time period and the history of funeral processes/mourning. I felt that this title took way too much liberty with true Victorian culture and social etiquette.

Still fun

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Violet Harper, undertaker, is still living at St. James Court and the beck & call of Queen Victoria.... Much to Violet's dismay she is summoned by the Queen to attend a spiritualist message session given by the Queen's Ghillie, Mr. Brown.

Mr. Brown's tarot reading warns the Queen that there is death & plots abounding that will be their undoing.

While attending the Queen, Violet befriends both Princess Beatrice & Princess Louise. Princess Louise is involved with a group of aristocratic young women who are working against to abolish "The Contagious Disease Acts (1864, 66, & 69). When one of the young women in the group dies, Princess Louise is convinced that her friend was murdered and sends Violet to attend to the remains. When two more young women of the group are found dead, with similar symptoms, Violet is forced to go to Scotland yard for help. Aside: I realize Violet is a professional undertaker and lacking medical experience, but she seemed rather blasé about the odd double bite marks found on each of the women's bodies .

In Wales, Sam Harper, Violets husband is witness to the Mold riots and the murder of a young housemaid, Margaret Younghusband (actual person killed in riot) by indiscriminate shots fired by soldiers at the townspeople. Margaret's 1/2 brother, Reese Meredith (fictional character for this book), is so distraught & ired by the murder of Margaret, that he seeks revenge upon the Royal Family.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the stories therein. The plot kept moving, seemed credible, and held my interest.

[Carole (in Canada) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"How had she just gone from royal undertaker to royal snoop?" (quote from the book)

Well, not only have Queen Victoria and John Brown solicited Violet Harper's help in chasing down mysterious happenings at Buckingham Palace, but Princess Louise has asked for her help with the death of a close friend. Little does anyone know that it will not be the last!

"Everyone keeps secrets, Mr. Brown, both the dead and the living." (quote from the book)

There is a wealth of historical detail within this novel which, for me, tends to enhance it. I enjoy how these details are woven into a story. I just think too many of these details slowed this story down. I also felt the transitions were too abrupt which didn't allow it to flow as well as it could have. This time I figured out way before Violet who the murderer was! There was just one detail I couldn't figure out what had caused it.

Overall I am enjoying the series, though this one has been the weakest so far for me. The next book has me intrigued, and I look forward to reading it.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and was so excited because I LOVE the Victorian era, mysteries and female detectives. And I was not at all disappointed!
Not only did Christine Trent write a fantastic fictional piece, she used a lot of historically accurate practices, events and names.
Her knowledge of Victorian funerary practice is extremely morbid and descriptive. The characters are very likeable, the bad guys are the perfect amount of bad and the annoying drunkard "psychic" servant is perfectly written.
At first I was disappointed because I thought the mystery solved by the end of Chapter 12, and I was like "Well that was predictable!" and then BAM she hits you with Chapter 13. Perfect plot twist.
I will definitely be seeking out more books by Christine Trent, she may have just made it onto my list of favourite authors!

[Marley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the premise of the book: a Lady Undertaker. That said, I could barely get through it (but I hate to give up on a book). I found Violet rather dense and annoying at times. The villains 1-dimensional and their motives were rather dumb. IOW. bored. The author's notes at the end were more interesting to me, than the actual novel.

On the upside, I enjoyed details about Buckingham Palace and especially funeral and mourning customs. especially making mourning jewelry.

One small, but also big gripe. Violet says she had one female"client" who died from Hemophilia. But females can only be carries. they cannot actually suffer the disease

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy the books in this series and this one was no different. The plots are very unusual, intricate without being confusing and the characters are very well rounded. The setting is London during Queen Victoria's reign, and there is quite a bit of period history throughout the story. The Queen plays a large part in the story and has been well researched. The reader doesn't have to worry about guessing who-dunnit by the second chapter, something I really hate in a book. These are cozy mysteries, interesting, exciting and fast paced. Violet keeps you guessing till the very end. I highly recommend this series and this book.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read to about 60%. This book is a hot mess of coal mines, Queen Victoria and Mr. Brown, spiritualism, Princesses Louise and Beatrice, communism, the making of funeral jewelry, dynamite, social ills, and oh by the way a couple of murders thrown in for garnish. Too many points of view, too much of a muddle, too many different things going on, and most of it not at all interesting to me. It feels to me that the author couldn’t decide what the book should be about, so she just threw in everything she could think of. Others may enjoy it, but I decided I was tired of forcing myself to keep reading.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Violet has once again been summoned by Queen Victoria to undertake and solve the mystery of her daughter's friends's deaths. So much Queen Victoria, and John Brown, and real people. Like Nobel and his dynamite, because why not introduce her husband to real life people, too? So not my jam, but I'm kind of addicted anyway. I like the real bits of history woven in, but it does go heavy on putting the characters into real life action with real life people. There's always too much detail, but the historical notes are good.

[Jeanette C. Montgomery · Rating 5 out of 5]

London, late 1880's. Undertaker Violet Harper finds herself being called upon by Queen Victoria to deal with a prediction of 'dark happenings' at Buckingham Palace. With no clue as to what might precipitate these happenings, Violet wanders the palace speaking to various servants and royal personages trying to determine what might be a threat to the Queen, her family or her country. When friends of Princess Louise begin dying mysteriously Violet investigates. An adventure through the streets of London and the back rooms of Buckingham Palace. Great read.

[Karalee Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Convoluted and somewhat improbable, still the audiobook was a good companion on a long drive. Queen Victoria's 4th daughter, Princess Louise, figures prominently in the story, and I was delighted when she made her first appearance just as I was driving past West Lake Louise, one of two lakes in this area that are named after her. (Her eventual husband, the Marquis of Lorne, also appears on the local maps, but he wasn't mentioned until almost the last pages.)

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good historical mystery in this series about an undertaker in Queen Victoria's reign. Now back in London at the behest of the Queen, Violet Harper is once again enlisted by the Queen to solve a mystery. This time, the Queen's ghillie, Mr. Brown, has mentioned a mysterious danger through his Tarot cards. Interesting tidbits of death customs and funeral procedures are interspersed with historical figures and events.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

Violet becomes even more embroiled in the lives of the monarchy when the queen has her investigate a vague threat within the palace. It's very interesting to learn more about Queen Victoria's children, even if all of the events portrayed are completely fictional. The queen herself is eminently famous and generally completely eclipses her many offspring. I'd refreshing to see them portrayed in a narrative.

[Xavier University Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Lady of Ashes series which focuses on a lady undertaker in the 1800s. I've enjoyed this series, but the portrayal of Queen Victoria annoys me. I don't know if the portrayal is close to reality or not, but the character bugs me so much that sometimes it's hard to get through her scenes. Nevertheless, I will finish this series because I enjoy Violet.

[Charron Dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been listening to this series on Audible. I am not a huge fan of the narrator, but the story lends itself well to being read aloud.

This series offers a glimpse of Victorian life from inside and around the castle. The main character can be a bit exasperating (why won’t she just talk to Scotland Yard). But the twists and turns kept me listening.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one. The plot seems far fetched, but the storyline builds really nicely around it.. and thankfully her job as an undertaker actually plays a role.

Bit predictive with the villain near the end but not in a way that makes you want to stop reading.

The side love interest gave me a soft chuckle.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good mystery

I think the final villain was sort of random. And I am a little suspect at which pieces Violet suddenly put in place. But I like the characters and the relationship between Queen Victoria and Violet.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victorian England

I am enjoying this series, but Victoria is getting ‘old’- not just her age of 50 here but her actions and senselessness. Not a pretty Royal picture and all too relevant to the last 100 years.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The undertaker heroine is called upon by Queen Victoria to figure out what the spirits conjured up by her spiritualist servant John Brown are trying to tell her. Meanwhile, women are being murdered in a peculiar and suspicious fashion. Worse, our heroine’s husband is out of town. It’s a good read.

[Diana Maculan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this installment in the series. Moved quickly with just the right amount of action. Looking forward to the next Violet Harper book.

[Nicholle Thery-Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

another good mystery with historical correctness

[Marquelle Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Cheryl Parris]

https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=a+...#

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book #3 in the series; read if you like mysteries or historical fiction.