Bath Belles

by Joan Smith

Her fiancé Graham’s estate finally settled, Belle Haley, with her mother and sister, comes to London to inspect her inheritance. Though the house is tiny, wealthy Desmond Maitland expresses great interest. Apparently Graham was murdered for a large sum of money, which is still missing. Then Graham’s relatives descend, with various scoundrelly hangers-on, and the search is on—much to Belle’s chagrin. Regency Romance by Joan Smith; originally published by Fawcett Crest

Genres: Regency, Romance, Mystery, Clean Romance, Traditional Regency

224 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 1986

About the author

Joan Smith is a graduate of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, and the Ontario College of Education. She has taught French and English in high school and English in college. When she began writing, her interest in Jane Austen and Lord Byron led to her first choice of genre, the Regency, which she especially liked for its wit and humor.
Her favorite travel destination is England, where she researches her books. Her hobbies are gardening, painting, sculpture and reading. She is married and has three children. A prolific writer, she is currently working on Regencies and various mysteries at her home in Georgetown, Ontario.
She is also known as Jennie Gallant

Reviews

[Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bath Belles was the author's snarky bon mot. It referred to two sisters and their widowed mother that recently arrived in London from Bath, of course! The eldest daughter, Belle, had inherited a small house from her deceased fiancee. She arrived so she could prepare the dwelling to sell it.

Within a short period of time, her betrothed's name was in tatters and there was a hunt for a stolen stash of money. Accusations, little white lies and a tendency to lean toward ignorance filled the pages. The arrival of Desmond Maitland on the scene further exasperated Belle.

Told in first person tense, Belle referred to herself as 'the tyrant'. Young, highly opinionated and naive, she was a peculiar heroine. I wondered more than once what Des saw in her.

The story was a mild mystery with a cast of moody characters. There was a dash of romance when the bickering couple could get past their trust issues and stop acting like hotheads. And where would everyone be if not for Ms. Smith's unorthodox humor?

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick light mystery. It's written in the first person narrative, and some things that are fairly obvious to the reader are less than clear to the FMC. Some fun dialogue.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Belle tells about moving with sister 17 and mama 40+ from Bath, to sell London house of her murdered fiancé Graham, searched for missing cash. Suitors: Des, Graham cousin Eliot. Typos 3.11 braise IS bruise 9.17 We IS . We 10.24 forgethis IS forget his 13.21 thepark IS the park

[Fluttershy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars.

[Lola · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think this is my least favourite Joan Smith that I've read so far. A heroine that is too stupid to live, a whole host of unsympathetic supporting characters and a plot entirely out of character for the sort of gentle Regencies Smith usually wrote.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this one. I really like how Ms. Smith presents her many characters - the secondary ones are always colorful.

Clean.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, fun read - a Regency with considerable humour, a very engaging narrator/ heroine and a less-than-noble hero. Different from many I've read and very enjoyable.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.50 stars - rated pg13?

Enjoyed. Romance/mystery.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The heroine is not very intelligent, and the hero is not much better. Both jump to unwarranted conclusions when alternative explanations are available.