Behind the Shattered Glass

Lady Emily Ashton Mysteries #8

by Tasha Alexander

Anglemore Park is the ancestral home of Lady Emily Hargreave's husband Colin. But the stately calm of country life is destroyed when their neighbor, the Marquess of Montagu, bursts through the French doors from the garden and falls down dead in front of the shocked gathering. But who has a motive for murdering the young aristocrat? The lovely cousin who was threatened by his engagement, the Oxford friend he falsely accused of cheating, the scheming vicar's daughter he shamelessly seduced or the relative no one knew existed who appears to claim the Montagu title? Who is the mysterious woman seen walking with him moments before he was brutally attacked? The trail takes readers into the gilded world of a British manor house and below stairs to the servants who know all the secrets. One family's hidden past and a forbidden passion are the clues to a puzzle only Lady Emily can solve.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical, Fiction, Victorian, Romance

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2013

About the author

The daughter of two philosophy professors, I grew up surrounded by books. I was convinced from an early age that I was born in the wrong century and spent much of my childhood under the dining room table pretending it was a covered wagon. Even there, I was never without a book in hand and loved reading and history more than anything. I studied English Literature and Medieval History at the University of Notre Dame. Writing is a natural offshoot of reading, and my first novel, And Only to Deceive, was published in 2005. I'm the author of the long-running Lady Emily Series as well as the novel Elizabeth: The Golden Age. One of the best parts of being an author is seeing your books translated, and I'm currently in love with the Japanese editions of the Emily books.

I played nomad for a long time, living in Indiana, Amsterdam, London, Wyoming, Vermont, Connecticut, and Tennessee before settling down. My husband, the brilliant British novelist Andrew Grant (I may be biased but that doesn't mean I'm wrong) and I live in southeastern Wyoming. I still don't have a covered wagon, but a log house goes a long way toward fulfilling my pioneer fantasies. Andrew makes sure I get my English characters right, and I make sure his American ones sound American.

Reviews

[Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lady Emily series has been one I have followed since its inception. I number it among one of my favorites, but I find myself rather disappointed with the latter books.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore Lady Emily and her husband, the valiant, gorgeous, charming, and altogether impeccably perfect Colin Hargreaves, but there is a time for a series to make a graceful end, and as sad as I am to see the demise of a series, it's about time. I would rather see a series I love make an elegant bow rather than to watch it succumb to absurdity as it continues.

I liked this book, I didn't love it, and my love for the series as a whole very much factors into my enjoyment of this book. I am biased, I love this series, and it shows. The act of reading this book is a familiar, comforting one. It is the revisiting of beloved, well-known characters, in which I have invested significant amounts of time in the past (I have reread book 1 countless times), and this has definitely colored into me rating this book a 4. For someone not as enamored with this series as I have been, this book would more likely rate a 3.

Lately, this series and its mysteries has gone more towards the realms of the improbable, and the sensationalistic. I enjoyed it, but even I have my doubts when it came to the plot.

Lady Emily and her husband, Colin, are now comfortable settled in Anglemore Park, Colin's estate in England. It has been over a year since their last adventure in Italy, and they are now a family of 5---when we last saw Emily, she was newly pregnant, and I have to admit, I'm thankful that this story didn't take place during her pregnancy---that would have stretched the borders of imagination, given the preposterousness of a woman---much less a pregnant woman sleuth in Victorian times.

During a dinner party, horror of all horrors, the Marquess next door stumbles in, bloodied, and soon, dead. Colin and Emily set out to resolve the mystery, all the while under the very disapproving gaze of Emily's overbearing mother, on an extended visit. That woman would try the patience of a saint.

The narration is a little different this time around, because it incorporates the use of alternating "Upstairs," "Downstairs," chapters. The "Downstairs" chapters are from the service staff's points of view, most from a very young maid named Lily. The mystery itself is interesting and fun to read. It unwinds in a rational way, there's no James Bond-ish stunts, there's no Sherlock Holmes deduction, it's just pure deduction and good old fashioned footwork. Clues and trails are followed, useful or not. Such is the Victorian way of detecting, there's no technology here, just pure brainpower.

My main complaint of the book lies in the subplot, that of the one involving Lily and a potential suitor. It is completely, utterly unrealistic, as open-minded and socially advanced as Emily and her group can be. The nature of the relationship itself is incredibly, given her absolute innocence and her suitor's age and worldliness. It makes me uncomfortable, and it feels rather creepy, considering her very, very young age and naivete.

Other parts of the book were tremendously fun. I loved reading about the investigation and the lighthearted flirtation between Emily and Colin. I loved the love/hate bickering between Matilda and the new Marquess. The book itself was light, enjoyable, easy to read.

I do not like how the mystery was eventually solved. I think it was unrealistic, given what we know of the culprit since the beginning of the book. I will not spoil the book, but I'm very unsatisfied with the ending.

Good book, not great. As much as I love this series, it's time for it to draw to a close.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 1 out of 5]

TERRIBLE. I've read the other seven Lady Emily stories and they weren't that bad. This one started badly, with supposedly witty repartee that fell flat, and then got worse. Everything about the estate is far too perfect, from the spacious well-lit kitchen to the redecorated servants quarters... Not to mention cozy reading nooks in each room. Emily's marriage is perfect, her children are perfect, etc., etc. her annoying mother is only there for comic relief and is perfectly avoided whenever she might grow tiresome. It feels fluffy and shiny and false.

The story line with Emily basically throwing a servant into the arms of an aristocratic guest is not only exceptionally false to the time period, but it also just feels uncomfortable.

This book feels a bit like the author wanted to do a version of Downton Abbey or Upstairs Downstairs, only American-style fantasy, where everyone is equal in the end and big houses are not drafty and servants hours aren't so bad. And everything ends happily for everyone, aside from the corpse who really had it coming to him after all.

There's not note of truth or reality in this story. Sorry I bought the hardback.

[Margaret Foreman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh. I'm trying to remember what I liked about the Lady Emily books in the first place--was she always this tedious? If I'm trapped in someone's brain, I'd like that brain to have some interesting thoughts, perhaps a little self-doubt, maybe surprised a bit. Emily's first-person narrative is just a bit too omniscient. She's never caught off-guard or dismayed that she might have followed a red herring. And speaking of red herrings, Alexander throws one in and then throws it out in the next chapter--this is more of a scavenger hunt than a mystery. But my biggest disappointment is the lack of character development. Emily, Colin, their friends and family are all perfect so there is no conflict or opportunity for growth which makes them boring. A mystery has two elements--a perplexing puzzle and interesting characters. Really good mysteries have both, but you can get by with just one, i.e. Agatha Christie's characters are pretty flat, but her puzzles are superb. So throw a few bombshells into Lady Emily's life and I might be back.

On another note, I've been trying to figure out why I adore Amelia Peabody and can't stand Lady Emily, both first person narrators of the Victorian period. Amelia is biased and absolutely certain of her point of view, but over the books comes to more egalitarian views through hard experience. She still has standards though and insists on maintaining them. She might eventually acknowledge a relationship between an Egyptian and an Englishwoman but she won't be happy about it for some time. And Ameila has faults, visible to the reader, if not to herself. By contrast, Lady Emily seems to have spontaneously reached her views by exposure to port and cigars. She facilitates a relationship across class lines as though it were needlepoint, disregarding the difficulties that such a relationship would encounter. If Lady Emily likes it, well then, everything will be just fine. And the author agrees. Another issue is the choice of language. Amelia expresses herself as a formal Victorian, even "drawing a veil" across her amorous interludes with her spouse. Lady Emily sounds like a 21st century transplant, like someone from the PBS reality show, Manor House. So if you want to see how it's supposed to be done, read Elizabeth Peters' Ameila Peabody series.

[Teri · Rating 2 out of 5]

First let me say that I have been a fan of the Lady Emily series since the beginning and I was thrilled to start #8 in the series. Sadly I was terribly disappointed in this latest addition. There were a number of things that really bothered me. First, as at least one other review has pointed out, the relationship between the aristocratic guest and the maid simply didn't ring true to me. While relationships like this occasionally occurred during Victorian times, I found this one improbable. Second, the resolution of the relationship between the victim's cousin Matilda, who loves Montagu Manor, and the new Marquess of Montagu seem to come out of left field. It was almost as if the author realized she was reaching the end of the story and needed to tie up some loose ends. Finally and my biggest complaint was the disconnect between the behavior and emotional state of Lily throughout most of the story versus when she admitted to killing the late Marquess to defend her virtue. Suddenly she's overwhelmed with guilt and distraught enough to run away when up until that point Lily was preoccupied with the attentions of Lord Flyte? Not likely.

Despite this, I look forward to the next book in the series in hopes that this effort is an anomaly.

[SidneyKay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I decided to read this book based on two things: the cover and the lovely title. Those are logical reasons as far as I'm concerned. I probably want to look into that reasoning a little more. Before I could jot down my thoughts on this one, I had to take a breath and closely examine my thoughts.

This is the eighth book in the Lady Emily series, and the first one I've read. Having never read any of the other Lady Emily books, I think may have been a disadvantage for me. I suspect that I would have liked the book better if I had been able to watch the characters grow. Both Lady Emily and her husband Colin are from the previous books and perhaps their personalities have been more fully developed in the preceding stories, I don't know. For me, they were flat. There didn't seem to be any chemistry, although the author did insert some suggestions of bedroom antics. I found both Emily and Colin tedious. Actually, Colin was almost a secondary character. But, then, this isn't a romance story, it's a mystery. However, the mystery was also lacking in substance.

The book did have an interesting layout though. The story is told from two different viewpoints, the upstairs and the downstairs (can anyone say Downton Abbey?). The upstairs dialog is done through first person (I hatessss first person) and the downstairs is told through third-person narrative. Even though first person makes me groan, I actually liked the way this tale flowed. I just wish there had been more texture to the story.

I also had a problem accepting the future matrimonial relationship between an Earl and a servant. This plot-line was sooo improbable, and the solution was really a stretch. Sometimes the HEA isn't plausible, no matter what fairy tale you're reading. I occasionally think that the happy ending should be two people who don't end up together. He should marry someone of his own class and she should go on to school, become a world-renowned artist. Then one day she will pass him and his family on the street, direct a tender smile his way and just move on.

Overall, this book was okay - nothing exciting, not bad, just so-so. I probably won't venture into Lady Emily's world again, but I don't mind if you do.
KaysBlog

[Jacqie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tasha Alexander is like a box of chocolates- you never know what you're going to get with her books. Some I have adored, others I've laid aside without finishing. I'm so pleased to have really enjoyed this book that I'm giving it five stars- it's really in comparison with her other books.

The problems I had with the last book have been rectified. Colin and Emily love and want each other, and are good partners in solving the murder. Emily at least takes a stab at being a better mother than her own mother by being affectionate with her children when she sees them. There were lots of possible candidates for the murderer, and I did not guess who it was. On the down side, I'm not sure that the author played quite fair with the murderer's identity and what we know.

This book gets a bit into the Downton Abbey craze by letting us see another POV- that of Lily, a young housemaid at the Harcourt's country estate. We see a bit of the politics in play among the servants, and see another point of view of the workings of a great house. The fact of the matter is that Victorian England had vast differences between social classes, and while Emily and Colin may be liberal in their views, they are a product of their times and can't help but contribute to the inequities of the system.

There was lots of deception and lots of people lying for not very good reasons, which did become somewhat frustrating at times. However, a lot of the reason that I like these books is because I like the main character, a young woman who is striving to be the best that she can be and to define herself instead of allowing herself to be defined. Emily's mother also has quite an amusing interrogation scene- could there be more of this in the future? I'd love to see that, and it could also have the effect of making Emily's mother a bit less of a one-dimensional villain.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was first introduced to what was to become the Lady Emily series several years ago, when I was recovering from major surgery and read "And Only to Deceive," a Victorian-era mystery featuring a very likeable strong-willed female character. I liked the first book enough to continue following as each new addition to the series came out, and haven't found a bad one in the lot.

This latest outing is a bit different from the previous books, in that besides Lady Emily's first person narration of the main story, we get alternating chapters telling parallel stories of members of the household staff. It is a kind of Upstairs, Downstairs treatment, and gives us a behind the scenes look at the lives, and loves, of the people who usually just fill in the background scenery in a book like this.

Emily and Colin are, as usual, a treat to read about. Lady Emily's mother is a hoot in her own tradition-bound way, and the new characters were entertaining.

[Adrienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alexander does write beautiful thrillers set in last century upper class England. I like that she covers 'above and below stairs' intrigue. How difficult it is even if the owners wish to improve chances for their servants.
Unputdownable

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Emily and Colin are at home at their country estate of Anglemore Park, their neighbor the Marquess of Montague, manages to stumble into their foyer to collapse and die after being hit over the head with a rock. Naturally, Emily and Colin take up the investigation. Suspects abound, including the Marquess's cousin who should have stood to inherit, women scorned, and an old friend from his childhood days who may have been looking for revenge.

I remember fully enjoying the first couple of Lady Emily books, but the later works in the series have not been as captivating, and this newest installment was unfortunately another disappointment. In this story, the point of view alters between Lady Emily's and that of one of the maid. The upstairs/downstairs plotline is certainly a popular one right now, and it felt a bit forced, like Alexander was trying to jump on that bandwagon.

In addition, within the story itself, the anachronistic views of merit versus aristocracy feel unrealistic within the dialogue, taking away from their overall effect. Finally, I think I may have finally pinpointed what has been bothering me the most about the last few Lady Emily books. There is a tendency to telegraph how the action/plot will advance through the dialogue, which means that in effect, the story is constantly 'telling' the reader what will happen before 'showing' it.

All in all, a frustrating read, and yet I'm probably enough of a sucker after having enjoyed the characters of Emily and Colin so much from the first couple of books in the series to continue reading the new publications in the hope that they will return to their former glory, even if I'm quite skeptical. I'm not fully sure if that makes me an optimist or a pessimist.....

[Graff Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Emily series 08 Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

Medium-paced

Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters are a main focus? Yes

4.0 Stars

I do not understand why I put this book down, then forget about it, then think I had finished it, but just now finished it. Ugh.

This deserved better than that.

One of the things that I loved most about this story, is that it reminded me of Downton Abbey. The Upstairs / Downstairs narrative really was done well.

Lily was my favourite character (obviously, in the downstairs). She was put in an awful position, and it was interesting to see how the mystery and story were revealed.

This story also had a ring of a Agatha Christie or Josephine Tey (two authors that I adore).

The main characters in all these stories are Lady Emily and her husband Colin. The way they navagated the complexity of the murder, and gathering clues and deciphering who lied about what...was fun to read.

Again, do NOT look at how long I read this book. It was perfectly paced. I just forgot about not finishing it, and got diverted in so many other directions. This was totally my fault, and should not show any disfunction of the novel itself.

Now, on to Lady Emily 09 The Counterfeit Heiress, soon. Very soon. I love this series.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kinda stupid and very Downton Abbey, but everyone got their comeuppance and I just really enjoyed everything so idk what to say.

The best unintentional comedy in this series comes from Emily’s constant attempt and yet utter failure to check her privilege.

[Leticia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining, with a couple of new interesting side characters.

[Betty Strohecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book in the Lady Emily series. Tasha Alexander usually intersperses Lady Emily's story with letters or an alternative story within the story, and this time it dealt with the world of the servants within her employ. Entitled "Downstairs", short vignettes were included between each chapter, telling about the staff at husband Colin's Anglemore Park country estate. This way we got to glimpse more closely the world of both the aristocracy and servant class in the Victorian England that Colin and Emily inhabit.

The story begins with the murder of a newly minted Marquess from the neighboring estate. When the Marquess of Montagu bursts into their library and immediately drops dead from a head wound, Emily and Colin must put their investigative talents to work. Of course the story has many suspects to interview and unravel this mystery, including heirs to his estate. And it appears the Marquess might not have been the man many thought him to be.

Returning characters to the series are Emily's indomitable mother, Lady Bromley, always a thorn in Emily's side, and Davis, her most trustworthy butler who followed her into her marriage with Colin. At the end of the last book, Emily was expecting a child, and we find out that she and Colin now have twin sons. Along with their toddler ward, also obtained in the last book, we are treated to a look into the nursery to glimpse Emily's approach to motherhood. New characters include a very likable housemaid, Lily, and a longtime friend of Colin's, Simon, Earl Flyte. At the Montagu estate, we meet eccentric Lady Matilda, who believed the estate was left to her by her grandfather, and the equally eccentric world traveler Rodney, who appears to be the heir upon the death of the murdered Marquess. We also get further glimpses into Emily's and Colin's radical ideas about social reform as the aristocracy is headed for change.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.

[Jodi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lady Emily series is one of my favourite historical sleuth series, an autobuy whenever a new book is released. That said, I was a bit disappointed with this book. The mystery is solid and I liked the sneak peeks into the servants world with the 'downstairs' bits. But the mystery itself didn't grab me as, for instance, the previous book did (Death in the Floating City). Plus I was totally annoyed with Simon throughout the entire book!

His crush - I can't think of another way to describe it - on Lily felt totally unrealistic. The class difference (he an Earl, she a maid) would have made it nearly impossible in those times even with the improbable solution Emily came up with, but.... what about the age difference! Lily is eighteen, young and vulnerable (as it turns out even more so than originally thought), while Simon - as Colin's best friend from his schooldays - is somewhere in his mid- or late thirties, I assume, though his age is not mentioned. If I'm right: he is about TWICE her age. If the whole earl-maid thing doesn't scream ABUSE OF POWER, the age difference surely does! The whole relationship was underdeveloped and unbelievable. I couldn't help but feel that Lily was flattered by the attentions of an older, titled gentleman, far out of her reach and developed a schoolgirl crush. Come to think of it: Simon acted like a lovesick schoolboy the entire time, so they might suit after all.

Another minor grievance - though in keeping with Emily's upbringing and Society - is the fact that she (and Colin) barely seem to spend any time or thoughts on their new-born babies at all. In fact, I wish book 8 would have featured them coping with pregnacy while sleuthing. Instead, we fast forward to a couple of months after the birth of the twins. I honestly can't even remember their names at the moment.

So yes, a bit disappointed right now.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love early 19th century murder mysteries! My usual go to author is Victoria Thompson and her Gaslight Series which takes place in turn of the century, New York. For a change of pace, I decided to pick up Tasha Alexander’s Behind the Shattered Glass. Alexander’s novel is also a 19th century murder mystery but the setting, this time, is the English countryside.

Our unfortunate victim is the Marquess of Montagu. After attending a late night party, he bursts through the door of his next door neighbors, the Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband Colin. The Marquess then proceeds to fall down dead at their feet. As luck would have it, both Colin and Lady Emily are sleuthhounds that work for the police department. And so the investigation begins…

Thank you Tasha Alexander for providing me with a fun novel filled with murder, suspense, romance and a touch of Downton Abbey all rolled into one. I loved how Lady Emily’s search for the truth brought the investigation to the servants quarters and allowed us to experience what life was like below the stairs. It reminded me so much of Downton Abbey. And yes, I do love Downton Abbey!

I’m very excited to say that Behind the Shattered Glass is just one in a series of many Lady Emily mysteries. I’m happy to give it four stars and I look forward to checking out some of the other novels as well. 

[Lisa Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lady Emily is happily settled at her country estate with her husband and her boys, when one evening, her neighbor, the marquees, stumbles into her home and drops dead. She, and her husband Collin, are given the task of finding the murderer, and soon she finds herself wondering who is telling the truth and what they have to hide - even some of the servants in her own home.

Although this book started off a little slow for me, it picked up, and I got pulled into the mystery, like I always do with Tasha Alexander's books. I think part of the reason I had trouble getting going, was that it had been a while since I had read the last book in the series, and was trying to remember the characters, as well as how in this book, she switched back and forth from Emily's 1st person point of view, to the point of view of the servants. A fun read though, and I love how the story came together in the end.

[Keilani Ludlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books and this one fits right in. I will say that they were a bit more entertaining early on, but still are very good. In fact, I appreciate that Lady Emily and Colin have gotten most of the bumps worked out of their marriage in these later books. The plot isn't exactly my favorite, but it is good and does keep one wondering who and how and why. The manner in which Lady Emily handles her mother is absolutely a delight to read. I'm not much of a mystery reader but these ones will always keep me coming back.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to get an autographed Advanced Reader Copy of this at the ALA Conference in Chicago in June. This was another enjoyable mystery in this series. This one had lots of suspects and surprises. I really liked the clever Upstairs/Downstairs format of this one as well as seeing the developments in the lives of Lady Emily and her husband Colin. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

definitely the weakest of the series...sorry but I'm not buying Lily's love story, and no matter how well educated she is going to be, people would never forget her background & family.
and boy I miss Jeremy, Cecile & Margaret.... are we ever going to see them again? or even heard any mention of them? Please bring them back, even just for a little visit

[Nancy Haddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful characters, tightly woven plot, and we get to see Colin's ancestral home to boot! I tend to read books in this series in one sitting if I possibly can - even if I'm up late into the night. To me, they're amazing!

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favourite series and this installment was one of my favourite within the series. It had everything I love about the Lady Emily world - most notably the English aristocracy in all its behaving badly ridiculous nonsense, completely stupid class system, and entertaining upstairs/downstairs interactions.

This book takes place in England, where Emily and Colin are entirely within their element and sorting out the world around them, protecting those in need of protection, and tweaking the noses of those who actually believe that an accident of birth makes them better than other people, rather than just lucky. I absolutely ADORE Emily and Colin and love going along on their continuing adventures.

This book has everything I especially enjoy about this series, in particular Emily dealing with her mother, and her hilarious interactions with her butler, Davis [completely inappropriately familiar for the time but utterly delightful! Davis is almost as wonderful a character as Emily is and I love him too!].

The investigation Emily undertakes here is engaging and interesting, and I did not see whom the murderer was [or why the individual murdered the corpse] coming at all. It was very enjoyable!

I also loved all the supporting characters who people this installment - they are wonderfully quirky, and very fun to get to know.

This series is a "go-to" for me, especially when I am looking for an audio book for my daily commute or a long drive as the narrator is excellent and perfectly captures both accents and character personalities of the cast in the books. I never worry about enjoying the story when I pick up a Lady Emily book - it's a given that I will!

And if you enjoy audio books, consider listening to this series rather than reading it - you won't be disappointed.

I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.

[MargaretDH · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lady Emily and her handsome husband are having dinner when the Marquess from the neighboring big estate stumbles in and dies right on their very carpet! So of course Lady Emily and her handsome husband solve the mystery.

This is a cozy little whodunnit, and Alexander intersperses perspective from the downstairs staff with Lady Emily's usual first person narrative. I did like this, except for the highly implausible romantic relationship that develops as part of this narrative.

If you like cozy historical mysteries, these are pretty good! The mystery construction is usually pretty solid, Lady Emily is an engaging narrator, and reading from this series is a pretty good time.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though I began out of sequence, this was my first time to try this series. I was really enjoying getting to know the characters, and there was a bit of Downton Abbey upstairs/belowstairs feel to it, but——toward the end of the book, the plot took some very odd and unrealistic turns. Until that point, I was looking forward to reading the whole series, but now, I just don’t know.
2.5 stars—maybe other installments have more believable storylines and resolutions.

[Misha Herwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, with a good twist, in spite of clumsy dialogue and some historical innacuracies.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars- I enjoyed this book! A sweet little British murder mystery, if a murder mystery can be sweet

[Karen Potts · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good mystery. The characters came alive, the plot was absorbing & the resolution was thorough. This series gets better with each book.

[Amanda Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, the turns this story took! I still feel the whiplash! So many different angles and potential clues, then the very unexpected outcome.... Wow!! Wonderfully written!

[Cyn McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, a victim who truly deserved it! The B story is simply the doings of the servants, especially the smart and virtuous maid Lily and the vicious kitchen girl Pru, as the upstairs folks try to solve the murder.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Special Content only on my blog, Strange and Random Happenstance during Alexander Autumn (October-November 2018)

Emily and Colin are rusticating and recuperating at Colin's ancestral home Anglemore Park in Derbyshire after the birth of their twins. Aside from a few staffing issues involving their ward Tom their calm is only strained by the continued presence of Emily's mother, Lady Catherine Bromley, and her opinions on child rearing. After another torturous night en famille the calm is finally shattered when a man staggers through the French doors and drops down dead on the Axminster. Thanks to Lady Bromley's obsession with the aristocracy she quickly identifies the victim as the new Marquess of Montagu, Archibald Scolfield, who just happens to be Emily and Colin's neighbor. Emily rushes to Montagu Manor to deliver the tragic news to Archibald's cousin and Emily's acquaintance Matilda who is holding a party for her now deceased cousin. But could Matilda have had a motive for killing Archibald? She inherited all her grandfather's money but the title and the ancestral seat went to Archibald. Could this have strained their cordial relationship? Once Colin convinces the police to let him handle the investigation he vows they will get to the bottom of this crime.

As Emily and Colin dig into Archibald's life his character isn't as upstanding as one would assume. He had two fiancees, one an American buccaneer, Miss Sturdevant, the other the daughter of the local vicar, Miss Cora Fitzgerald. His rapacious attitude toward women might have been the reason for a scandal at Oxford. He ruined his best friend, Mr. Porter, with plagiarism accusations after they toured the continent together. And as for Matilda, who thought she was next in line for the title, in walks Rodney, the heir apparent, a treasure hunter who might be from the wrong side of the sheets. With everyone having a motive and more than a few of them lying Emily and Colin have their job cut out for them. And while they are trying to come to grips with this horrendous crime they have romance blooming under their own roof as their house guest, Simon Lancaster, Earl Flyte, seems to have fallen for their housemaid Lily. Things are precarious enough with a murderer on the loose but a romance crossing classes might be the final straw for everyone.

Every Anglophile of a certain age can trace the origins of their affliction to PBS airing Upstairs, Downstairs in the 1970s. I myself am a second generation sufferer with my parents indoctrinating me throughout my childhood until the whole series became available on DVD and the binge watching commenced. In fact I'd go so far as to say that Downton Abbey succeeded because it tapped into this need of American Anglophiles to root for the denizens of a grand manor house from both sides of the baize door. Behind the Shattered Glass is a break, pun intended, from Tasha's other Lady Emily books in that her secondary story isn't letters, diaries, or correspondence, but a view behind the baize door. We are seeing Emily and Colin from the POV of the servants. But more than that we are a party to their trials and tribulations, their loves and their animosities, we are finally seeing Cook in the kitchen instead of her sending up a menu. Davis the butler isn't just proffering port he's holding court in his chambers. There is just so much more that happens in houses of this period that for the first time in this series we're getting a complete picture instead of just a view upstairs.

While I have seen a few reviews critical of this installment saying the narrative is constricted I would like to firmly refute that by saying a more focused narrative doesn't mean a more constricted narrative. Just look to Gosford Park! A long weekend, a murder, and all the suspects available to us which is the bedrock of so many British mysteries and is a movie I could watch again and again. And much like Gosford Park, Behind the Shattered Glass shines a light on the issues that arise when those from the two different levels of the house interact. This is a powerful book to read in the #MeToo movement because it deals with many facets of consent. Not just sexual consent, though that is the core of this book not just with Archibald Scolfield's predilections when he is away from home, but the burgeoning relationship between Simon and Lily and how they navigate a relationship when one member is viewed as having all the power. But also consent to access someone's personal space. I know Lady Emily is involved in a dire investigation when she searches the servants rooms, but at the same time, it sat badly with me. She was wielding her power over her servants and not being the enlightened employer, showing that even Emily can occasionally stumble.

Which brings everything back to Colin's argument against aristocracy and why he keeps refusing to accept a title from the Queen. Who is anyone to set themselves up as better than their fellow man? Just because they treat their servants well at Anglemore doesn't mean that these people should be stuck being servants forever. There's almost this idolatry going on at Anglemore where all the servants drank the Kool-Aid and just love their work making everything perfect for their masters. What's more they view them as their betters! Hard, physical labor, and yet they love it because they are given basic humane conditions in which to live? This here is showing how the class system really started to fall apart and how the era of the grand country houses would implode. This era needed to end because it wasn't glorious or wonderful, it was hard work that for some is soul crushing. Just look to kitchen maid Prudence! She is miserable and I think she more accurately depicts what life was truly like downstairs. You are cut off from family and friends and work so that others can just live the idle life. Yes, this might be harsh on Lady Emily and the dream of Downton Abbey, but it's the truth!

Which brings me back to Pru. I literally spent the entire book hating her, because there's always that one servant that you hate, hello Thomas Barrow, meet your new BFF since O'Brien fled the coop, Pru! Though I doubt Thomas would talk to her, a kitchen maid being so far below a footman... But there it is, Pru is our Thomas, we are meant to hate her, yet by the end you see her more fully, more clearly, and pity should be your only feeling. She is what the class system made her. For comparison, whenever someone asks me "why are you angry" I think, hang on, I wasn't angry until you insinuated I was and therefore you made me what you thought of me. Pru has been made to be bitter and spiteful! So going back to those critics who call Behind the Shattered Glass constricted, no, it's not, it's you who have a constricted mind. You are unable to see how Tasha is exploring all these different angles of what it means to be a servant and what it means to be a master and how there's not just a symbiotic relationship there but a duty of care, actually in both directions. To say a book that is grappling with all these rather weighty issues isn't dealing with enough I just think you, whomever you are, need to open your mind.

But in today's America a closed mind is more common than an open one and we women, well, we are facing some scary realities. Our rights are in peril so it's nice to look back on historical context and precedent and think, at least we got from there to here so if we have to keep fighting we can. Also, please, go out and vote next week! Back to the book... it's interesting to see historical precedent which occasionally favors women. Because titles going down the male line is total BS. With Matilda it makes sense that she would want her family's title, not just because she was closest to her grandfather, but because she is for women's suffrage. She's Lady Emily on speed. She's throwing bricks and taking names versus trying to gently persuade. So much of this book is showing that change was needed and change was coming but it needed people like Matilda and Emily and Lily and even Pru for that change to happen. A man isn't always right and a patriarchy isn't always the right way. An episode of Magnum, P.I. I was watching the other day had a bumper sticker that said "The right man for the job is a wo-man." Now, I'm not going all militant feminist here, all I want is equality. Therefore can we hear it for Marchioness Matilda? Even if Queen Victoria wouldn't agree.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My least favorite Lady Emily book by far. The mystery started off well and the story was entertaining when Emily and Colin were investigating – actually investigating that is, not talking about what they’ve investigated instead of showing it. But the resolution came out of nowhere and I think undermines the more interesting parts of the investigation. There are some interesting secondary characters – Cora Fitzgerald was a tough nut to crack, and the Matilda/Rodney storyline could have been more interesting if it wasn’t overshadowed by the upstairs/downstairs theme.

The criticism I had with Death in the Floating City is that it relied on stereotypes of Italians as all being involved in affairs or Romeo-and-Juliet forbidden romances. Behind the Shattered Glass relies on upstairs/downstairs clichés. Lily, housemaid Simon has a romance with (more about that later), is the sweet, innocent maid; her adversary is the slutty, catty kitchen maid. There is an incredibly patronizing scene of the “magnanimous aristocrats” Lady Emily and Lady Matilda visiting a tenant’s hovel and cleaning for them. Emily feels very pleased with herself for offering a boy a job winding clocks in the hope he may one day become a footman or even a butler. Colin and Emily give lip-service to the unfairness of the social classes and Emily is supposed to be such a supposedly modern and progressive character, but the story reinforces their right to be upper class because they are so perfect and generous. Other than the villainous kitchen maid, the “happy servants” are pleased to be in service and so grateful to serve the wonderful Hargreaves. Take this passage from their butler: “The great families of this country possess their land and their rank because they have proven themselves time and time again. Your ancestors distinguished themselves in grand manner. Mind did not acquit themselves in such glorious fashion. That is not something for which you should feel bad.” (p. 239). Barf.

What has happened to Emily and Colin to make them so annoyingly smug and self-righteous? Emily and Colin’s country home is described in insufferable detail as the greatest place to ever exist. Their boys are also completely perfect (though barely in the book). Colin and Emily had no character development – actually, no one did except perhaps the evil maid as an excuse to prove yet again how generous Emily is.

The romantic subplot between Simon and Lily was the weakest part of the book, and I eventually started to skim those scenes. Everything came off as very artificial and forced. It was jarring to switch between the first person narration of Lady Emily’s scenes with the third person POV used in the “downstairs” portions. The POV even changes between Lily and Simon during these scenes. Overall, the subplot came off as very amateur.

In the end, everything wraps up just so bloody neatly that it’s actually unsatisfying because there were no surprises and seems too unrealistic.

I will give The Counterfeit Heiress a shot, but after the last couple books I’m afraid the author is phoning it in and there is nowhere else for these characters to go.