Dying for a Duke

The Regency Romance Mysteries #1

by Emma V. Leech

Straight-laced, imperious and morally rigid, Benedict Rutland - the darkly handsome Earl of Rothay - gained his title too young. Responsible for a large family of younger siblings that his frivolous parents have brought to bankruptcy, his youth was spent clawing back the family fortunes.

Now a man in his prime and financially secure he is betrothed to a strict, sensible and cool-headed woman who will never upset the balance of his life or disturb his emotions ...

But then Miss Skeffington-Fox arrives.

Brought up solely by her rake of a step-father, Benedict is scandalised by everything about the dashing Miss.

But as family members in line for the dukedom begin to die at an alarming rate, all fingers point at Benedict, and Miss Skeffington-Fox may be the only one who can save him.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Historical, Historical Fiction, Regency, Mystery, Regency Romance

326 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 24, 2017

About the author

Bestselling author hiding mostly in 19th-century England, venturing out only for chocolate and tea.

Emma V. Leech is the award-winning author of multiple bestselling series across Regency romance, Regency mystery and paranormal romance. Fall in love with swoon-worthy rogues, bold heroines, witty banter and deeply romantic happily-ever-afters. Follow Emma on BookBub for new releases and exclusive deals.

EMMA’S BOOKS

Rogues And Gentlemen
Regency romance – 17-book series (ongoing)
Sexy, tumultuous and irresistibly romantic. From pirates and smugglers to earls and dukes, these unforgettable rogues will sweep you away!

Winter Rogue
A Regency Christmas romance within the Rogues & Gentlemen world
A scandal-weary earl, a runaway heiress and a crumbling country estate snowed in for Christmas. A sensual, heart-tugging holiday novella about redemption, desire and a love neither of them expects.

A Rogues and Gentlemen Christmas
A standalone Regency Christmas romance
A collection of three romantic holiday stories featuring beloved Rogues & Gentlemen characters. Expect snowstorms, sizzling tension, unexpected proposals, mistletoe moments and heart-melting happily-ever-afters – a cosy festive escape for Regency romance lovers.

The Girl Is Not For Christmas
A standalone Regency Christmas romance
Miss Olivia Penrose is the only thing standing between her family and ruin when a brooding aristocrat crashes into her carefully laid plans. Sparks fly amid family secrets, snowy scandals and irresistible festive longing in this passionate, witty and deeply romantic winter read.

Girls Who Dare
Regency romance – 12-book series
Inside every wallflower is the heart of a lioness. When these overlooked young women make a pact to change their lives, rules are broken, reputations are risked and love becomes the most daring adventure of all.

Daring Daughters
Victorian romance – 19-book series and two compilations
The next generation of the Girls Who Dare. Their mothers risked everything for love – now their daughters are ready to be even bolder. An ongoing series of fiercely romantic stories set in a rapidly changing world.

Wicked Sons
Victorian romance – 12-book series
Their mothers dared all for love. Their sisters did the same. Now it’s the sons’ turn… dangerous, tempting and determined not to fall – until the right woman brings them to their knees.

The Venturesome Ladies Of Little Valentine
Regency romance – my current series
A quiet seaside village, a wave of scandalous newcomers and local ladies who refuse to be swept aside. A warm, witty Regency series full of secrets, second chances and delicious enemies-to-lovers romance.

The Regency Romance Mysteries
Regency romantic suspense – 3-book series
Dashing heroes, wicked villains, murder, mystery – and heroines who refuse to sit prettily and wait to be rescued. Perfect if you like your Regency romance served with danger and intrigue.

The French Vampire Legend
Paranormal romance – 4-book series
A dark, dramatic and heart-wrenching tale of courage, sacrifice and a love that not even time, war or monsters can destroy. Gothic atmosphere, high stakes and a romance that refuses to die.

The French Fae Legend
Fantasy romance – 4-book series
An award-winning saga with close to sixteen million online reads. Moving between modern-day France and the Fae Lands, these books weave powerful magic, danger and an all-consuming love that proves stronger than any enchantment.

The Book Lover
A standalone paranormal romance novella
A book-obsessed young woman, an infuriatingly charming stranger and the unnerving sense that stories might be bleeding into real life. A short, intensely romantic tale for anyone who has ever fallen in love with books… and perhaps with something not entirely of this world.

Reviews

[Vintage · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out so promising with a smart and feisty heroine that stands no guff from a stuffy hero. The dialogue is snappy between the two, and she is smart enough to manage the grumpy hero as well as his even grumpier fiancee. Toss in a kind of madcap family and the suck-on-lemons fiancee to the hero and you have a great comedy of manners set in the Regency.
The advent of the murder mystery and the plot thins. Someone is killing off the hero's less than desirable relatives, and the murders are coming closer and closer. On the surface this was an okay twist, but the author doesn't give us the usual investigative shenanigans that makes this work.

Big spoilers
Leech falls into the mystery trope I dislike most where she takes a beloved friend/family member and makes him the villain for really no good reason. I can see killing off one impediment to a title, but this villain had already killed off two and was looking at a possible five deaths to maneuver yourself as heir is stretching a little.

I was so disappointed as it came out of nowhere and was too much of a stretch. It ruined the book for me. Once the villain was outed I lost interest.

This issue compounded with how the banal, boring and, yes, evil fiancee is dispatched was just no fun. I was hoping the heroine would finagle something to force the fiancee to cry off the engagement. not have the author kill her off.

It's too bad as Leech's writing was well done. Plotting needs a little work.

[Adrianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty solid 2.5 stars. I actually did enjoy it eventually, though it was occasionally jarring in it's inconsistency and lack of punctuation.

The first turn-off for me was realizing the author, Leech, took the plot of Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy and morphed it into a sub-par, dirtier, Gothic mystery. A girl who's brought up by a rake of a military father, "following the drum," who seeks to "save" her new family by getting rid of the head of the family's (her cousin, btw) uptight fiancée, complete with questionable manners and her own wolfhounds? Please. And it's easy to spot Heyer's signature cant terms when they're filched for another novel. Phoebe (the Sophy wannabe) was very nearly unlikable in her manipulation tactics and revolting, overt seduction of Benedict that never would have happened in that time period unless she was an experienced courtesan.

Like another reviewer mentioned, Leech mixed up some of the family relationships throughout the book, which was distracting, as was the lack of commas in essential places, or the sudden end of a sentence with a period and the continuing of that thought with a new sentence.

Another problem I had was, that while these continued murders were happening in the house, no one thought to remove the children from the premises?? Especially when one of them was a likely candidate to be murdered, being in line to the dukedom? And many of the secondary characters just seemed to drop off the scene for a long time until you started wondering where they all were during this whole mess.

The writing flow itself was not bad, and it was entertaining enough, hence the 2.5 stars, but if I'd known it was a Heyer rip-off, I would never have read it.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

This author just keeps proving over and over again that her books are great reads from beginning to end.. They keep you in the edge of your seat.. And make you want to finish it the day you purchase it..

[Susan in Perthshire · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have enjoyed many of this author’s books but this was awful.

This book is clearly inspired, if not borrowed from, Georgette Heyer’s ‘The Grand Sophy’ and yet is lacking all the charm, wit and clever plotting of that book, I struggled to get through it and ended up skimming it.

The characters are one dimensional cardboard cutouts and the plotting is melodramatic, unbelievable and ridiculous.

The villain kills off family members to clear his way to inherit a Dukedom. Yet he is not in line to inherit according to the law of the period.

Georgette Heyer created the Regency Romance and her authenticity, married to her writing skills made her the Queen of the genre. This is such a poor imitation. I am beyond disappointed.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave this one a try since I was disappointed by the other book of the author’s I’d read. Unfortunately, the lack of characterization and the focus on plot with bits skipped are just not my style. I do t care about these people at all.

[Jessica D Berkley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writing was immature. Characters annoying. Couldn't finish.

Writing was immature. Characters annoying. Couldn't finish. It had potential. It was difficult to follow the characters and what relevance they had.

[Kim Gasparini · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want a novel where you kill off several people in fairly ridiculous ways in order to move forward with a bland plot, then you should read this book. Otherwise, avoid.

[Tonileg · Rating 2 out of 5]

Historical English murder mystery romance set in a country party where all the men have reasons to be guilty, well everyone except the actual Duke who is quickly losing family members.
Lord Benedict Rutland, the young Earl of Rothay is tightly controlled in rebellion against his spendthrift wild family and he is saddled with another female relative (very extended definition of 'family' and 'relative') when his step-cousin, Miss Phoebe Skeffington-Fox. Phoebe and Ben are obviously our main romance couple, but there is other stories going on simultaneously which makes for a twisty mystery. Although real cousins got married often, so they could have made them real cousins to make this story historical accurate. This could have been better if the story hadn't felt so rushed, Phoebe and Ben's romance was a sprint to the finish with maybe less then a week in this story. Also where is the grief and fear with so many family member murdered, dying and poisonings all in a crazy summer?! I would be on the next boat to France instead of hanging out at the Duke's country estate with a huge bulleye painted on my forehead.
Fun fluff read. Stand alone story with a HEA and too many death threats.
280 pages and kindle freebie
2 1/2 stars

[Virginia Tican · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had its moments as far as the humor go but it had too many loose ends:

1. What was John asking Keane to do for him?
2. What is the relationship of Harold and Wilfred Spalding given that the author saw fit to imply something sinister about Spalding?
3. What was Spalding blackmailing Harold for, if indeed he was blackmailing his so~called friend? Even if the situations that give rise to questions 1 ~ 3 are red herrings, still they must all be addressed and come to a proper conclusion.
4. Given that Theodora died in Grizedale Court, why did not the Pinchbecks at least made little disgruntled noises given that their ambition of having a Duchess in the family has been permanently thwarted and that she was apparently jilted as well as dead? Theodora may have been as joyless as dry dust and sanctimonious to boot but her story should have an ending too.

p.s. ~ Same as one of the readers/reviewers here, I also thought that Phoebe's character and situation is reminiscent of Georgette Heyer's 'The Grand Sophie' plus some of the characters' names like Phoebe and Sylvester are from Heyer's 'Sylvester or The Wicked Uncle' and Jessamyn from 'Frederica.' Nothing wrong with that just an observation, it just means the author is also a fan of Ms. Heyer.

[Mari · Rating 1 out of 5]

The grand Sophie ............... was a better book

[Melissa Bee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blatant theft of Georgette Heyer

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much of the plot was borrowed from The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benedict Rutland is an earl with a great deal of responsibility. When he was 19 he inherited his title along with a family filled with people who have no concept of money. Now, Ben has become engaged to a woman who is serious, narrow minded and generally a very cold human being. His family dislikes her, but Ben believes that she is exactly what he needs to manage the family and his fortune.

Ben's mother has invited a young lady to come and have her debut in London.

Phoebe is the step- daughter of Ben's uncle. She has been raised following the army during the Napoleonic war. She is a free spirit who enjoys keeping Ben off balance. She teases, she jokes and she endears herself to everyone in the family. Phoebe becomes especially close to another of Ben's uncles, Sylvester, who is a duke.

Ben begins to realize that he has made his life small and serious and dull. His fiance encourages that kind of Ben and Phoebe wants to see Ben look at life and enjoy every minute.

Ben's family has lost two of the men in line to inherit Sylvester's title of duke. The first death appeared to be an accident but from the knife in the chest, it is evident the second one is a murder. When a Bow street runner comes to investigate, all the clues point to Ben as the villain.

This is a fast moving story with a great deal of action. The plot is filled with all the information needed to solve the mystery. There is also humor, a warm and loving family as well as romance.

The characters are well defined. Phoebe is attractive and very active. At times, I felt she inserted herself in places which she should not have. But, she has a kind heart, she falls in love with almost all of Ben's family and she makes friends with nearly everyone she meets.

Ben starts out as a stick person. He sees no humor in anything. But, when he starts seeing Phoebe for who she is, he unbends and becomes a more human gentleman. It is apparent to him that he has allowed all his responsibility to influence his entire being.

The secondary characters add a great deal to the story. It is pretty evident who are not very nice people. But, recognizing that fact does not detract from the story.

Ms Leech is a new to me author. I look forward to reading more of her books.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good premise..

It was a good idea for a storyline. Personally, I felt things moved a little quickly, especially for the time period it was set in. But then again, people often decided they were in love or married after the most superficial of interactions without really getting to know one another, so perhaps it was more fitting that the pace was quick as far as the emotions developing. One of the biggest issues I had was it really, really needs a good proofreader or editor. The author seems to have lost track of the familial relationships several times, the most recent one I read sticking in my mind of the now Marquess' youngest sibling greeting his new wife as his Aunt rather than as his new Sister in Law. It was very jarring each time this happened, pulling men out of the world of the story. My other major issue is that the book's format upload seems to have lost the first page or two (or more) of each chapter in the Kindle edition I got.

As I said, the storyline was a good idea, it could have been developed much more. The multiple murders taking place so quickly in succession would, and should, have created more of a tension, and suspicion, than it seemed to. It also seems odd to me that the author would cut out what could have been an interesting dichotomy so quickly after the, at the start of the book, Marquess' murder. Though it was too easy to lay blame there, it would have diverted suspicion from the true villain for a little while. As it was, I had already figured out who the murderer was by that point.

On the good side, the issues aside, it was a brief but of entertainment and good for a light read with a bit if romance, murder and mystery if you can look past the mentioned editing problems. So I will stand in the middle with 3 stars for this one. If the author decides to do a re-write, I would be interested in reading it.

[Gerda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Besides stealing the plot from Georgette Heyer's "The Grand Sophie" this book was utter bullshit. Apparently the author has no idea of speech, behaviour, and customs of the Regency, but most annoyingly no knowledge of succession of the English peerage. Didn't she read "Pride and Prejudice"?

The duke's oldest son would have the title "marquess" and his grandson "earl". Benedict as the son of the duke's third son would never be an earl but a mere Lord Rutland.

The murderer is the son of the duke's sister, so he certainly is not in line for the title. And the idea that even in times where criminal investigation was still in its infancy somebody would get away with six murders is preposterous.

I was also puzzled by the age of various characters:
Benedict was 19 when his father died 10 years ago, so he is 29 now. His mother is 45, so she was 16 when giving birth, unusually young even for that time.
There is an age gap to his sister, she is just 17, followed by 14 and 11 year old siblings. Why the gap?

The book could use an experienced editor: Leech mixed up some of the family relationships throughout the book, there was the lack of commas in essential places, or the sudden end of a sentence with a full stop and the continuing of that thought with a new sentence.

The book "The Grand Sophie" is much more fun to read with hilarious dialogues and banter, friendly and loving interaction between the members of the family, and a very clever plot to end the hero's engagement so everybody saves his/her face.

[Martha B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

He didn't know what he was missing, until she showed up on his doorstep.

Benedict Rutland, the Earl of Rothay has spent the better part of his adulthood saving his family and securing their future. Now that he has his life well under control, he refuses to let a mouthy piece of baggage upset his world. It will take some time, but soon he will realize he has truly underestimated Miss Skeffington-Fox.

The arrival of Miss Phoebe Skeffington-Fox is the very last thing the prickly taciturn Earl of Rothay needs. To his chagrin she seems to have her own agenda, that includes seeing the depth of his undiscovered good qualities. When it comes to Phoebe, her beauty stands second only to her vibrant personality, stubborn will and loving, loyal heart.

Dying for a Duke by Emma V. Leech is a truly entertaining Regency romance, with a hefty dose of humor, danger and mystery. I liked Ms. Leech's well paced, descriptive writing style that stayed true to the period, even with the dialogue. All of her characters were well developed and believable. I liked that the H/h were both very good people, each caught within a tangle that threatened to pull them apart. I especially enjoyed the epilogue, which made the ending more satisfying.

There were no cringe-worthy vulgarities in this book, and the small amount of intimate content was not too detailed, leaving much to the imagination.

All in all I loved this stand-alone novel. I recommend it to readers who love historical romances and with some mystery thrown in for good measure.

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma always tells a beautiful intelligent action filled story.
This book swept me off my feet as I drifted back in time to an era long forgotten,when ladies and gentlemen held them selves with such dignity and grace. Where a scandal was scandalous,not just another headline in the Internet.
I through myself into Miss Skeffington Fox!
As I imagined I would be that kind of lady if I lived in there era. Phoebe was exciting,outspoken always being caught in positions that would then have been considered scandalous and very un lady like even if it was under legitimate circumstances.None the less it was considered very un lady like to be one of the boys.

All the characters are lovable and beautifully written,It's makes for such a great read.
More exciting for me was the murder mystery that was unfolding behind scenes. Everyone is a suspect in the murder that arises,it has your mind ticking over in excitement as all the pieces come together.
I really love this historical romance story,it's exciting taking a trip back in time and it's even better when the writer can bring that all to life and make you feel as if your there.
The smells,the scenery,food,the decor,the characters,voices,the movements,thoughts and feelings run through your body as though your breathing as the characters in there historical time.

This book was given to me from the publisher ~
Assassins Reading Reviewing Group

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical romance is the last genre that I tend to turn to, however, when one of my favourite instant buy authors releases historical novels.......well of course I just have to read them.

It took me a while to get round to reading the book but I am so glad that I did. Whilst the characters certainly don’t have an easy time of it you can’t help warm to their plight. The supporting cast of characters is well written, I adored Sylvester, his was a character easy to picture in your mind.

As for the who done it, initially I thought it was going to go a certain way (can’t say more as would be obvious who I’d thought), it became apparent I was wrong and read with glee as the story/plot unravelled.

The reason for docking a star....purely how the hero treated the heroine at the beginning and the way she seemed to fall for him in spite of this, if someone had treated me like that I would have done my best to wind them up, sure, however I wouldn’t have liked the person, at least not so quickly!

All in all a fab read

[Kebby Shropshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed immensely

This was a lovely book. Benedict had to shoulder great responsibility at a young age. His father died and left the family in financial straits, but Ben managed to bring them about. He led a life of strict propriety and was engaged to a woman who was even more straight-laced. When he meets Phoebe his world gets tilted.

Phoebe had led a rough and tumble life, and she was not only a beauty, she was full of life. Ben's mother planned to help her make her debut, but that was a few months away. The family visits Ben's favourite uncle who is a duke. The old duke dislikes all of his children but has a close relationship with Ben.

Those in line for the title are getting killed, and Ben is looking like the prime suspect. Phoebe pretty much set her sights on him the moment she met him. It takes Ben a little while to acknowledge his attraction and feelings for her. Before they can plan for a future together Ben and Phoebe have to break off Ben's engagement and save him from the hangman's noose.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off loving this heroine with her bold forthright nature. She is independent, knowledgable and self-possessed. There is a lovely scene in which she goes on about the heroes terrible attributes, but when queried on how much she dislikes him, responded by being puzzled and says that she thinks he is quite wonderful.

The murder mystery left me guessing until the the end reveal. The answer seemed too obvious at first, but even once we know, there is some drama to bring this all to an action-filled conclusion.

That said, the middle of the book was a huge drag to get through. This took me weeks to get through despite all of the action and multiple murders. It just was a lot of wading.

Also note: there are explicit intimate scenes, but they are super short and don’t really add to the emotional development of their relationship. The sexual tension is only there is maybe one or two brief scenes.

[Wendy Tavenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was a fast paced who dunit mystery read! It was hard to put down. After his cousin dies his uncle wants the family to stay with him for a holiday! Benjamin the Earl of Rothay is a straight laced stickler for the rules kinda guy who had the weight of responsibility laid upon him at 19, and 10 years later he still sticks to the rules. His mother announces her brothers step daughter is to come stay with them. As Phoebe enters there lives it starts to disrupts is carefully laid plans to marry a women who basically has a stick up her bum! When family members start to die Ben is the prime suspect and Phoebe does everything in her power to prove his innocence. A mystery where a bow street runner believes his innocence even though the cards are stacked against him. Time is running out to find the real murderer or we will find our hero go to the Gaols!

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 rounded up to 2 stars. I've read several books in Leech's Rogues & Gentlemen series, and they've all been fine to good. This one though was preposterous, and kind of ridiculous on top of it. I didn't buy any of it, not the mystery, not the progression of feelings, not the way the characters responded to things. It was all just over the top and verging on farce.
Now, not everyone cares about having some sort of tether to reality in their stories, I think if you're quite lax about that and just looking for a bit of fluff this would certainly do. I wasn't offended by it, and I liked an occasional thing, the heroine and the hero's old uncle charming each other was cute, for instance, so I am sort of generously rounding up rather than giving it a single star. It seemed kinda poorly done to me though, and wasn't at all my sort.

[Pontiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Phoebe enters Benedict's stable, staid life, she upends it with glee. I love her character, smart, quick, and unafraid to challenge anyone.

Meanwhile, family members are being murdered, and soon start falling like flies, with Ben as the prime suspect. Formby, the Bow runner, doesn't think it's him killing people, but there's no evidence to support that.

Ben and Phoebe pursue their own leads, and also fall in love, even though he's engaged to someone else. He regains his closeness with his family, and it all works out.

I love the mix of romance and mystery, and it's fun figuring out who's guilty of what. I never suspected the butlers secret, but I did figure out the rest, though it took awhile.

Very cool read.

KU

[Deb Diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dying For A Duke by Emma V. Leech is a fabulous historical romance. Ms. Leech has delivered a well-written book. Benedict's mother has decided to help her brother's step-daughter come out into society. Phoebe has followed battles with her step-father and is more down to earth than the normal young debutante. Ben and Phoebe's story is loaded with drama, spice, humor, twists and turns, murder and mayhem. I enjoyed every page of this book and look forward to reading more from Emma V. Leech in the future. Dying For A Duke is book 1 of The Regency Romance Mysteries but can be read as a standalone. This is a complete book, not a cliff-hanger.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh this was a fun book to read. Miss Phoebe Skeffington-Fox leads Mr. Benedict Rutland a very merry chase. Benedict is a man in his prime and now financially secure, he is betrothed to a strict, sensible and cool-headed woman who will never upset the balance of his life. But the moment "cousin" Phoebe arrives on the scene his world is turned upside down. Relatives start dropping like flies and he becomes a prime suspect all while unwittingly falling for his beautiful cousin by marriage. And of course dear "cousin" Phoebe must do all she can to help clear the name of the "cousin" she has fallen in love with. This was a fun delightful read with characters you will definitely like.

[Thu Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of murders here, even a Bow Street runner on the scene, and many potential villains with damning alibis. But the book is NOT an investigation/amateur sleuth type of book. It's not even have the feel of thriller or suspense. It's written entirely as a historical romance, with a touch of comedy. In this aspect, the writing is really enjoyable. The clash between starchy hero and hoyden heroine wasn't pushed to the hatred point, so it's not really enemies to lovers kind of trope, but the turnaround for the hero was agreeable. The heroine is obviously without ladylike manners but really kind hearted, and quick witted.
Hot level 2.5 out of 5.

[MELISSA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great dialogue with a good story

First, I loved the banter between Benedict and Phoebe then Phoebe and everyone else. Phoebe had no problem sticking up for herself. I found the mystery a bit overdrawn with someone possibly killing off a duke’s heirs, but I did not let that ruin any of the book for me. Quite a bit of action and not so much stream of consciousness that I had to skim to push past repetitive mind drivel. Thank you, Ms Leech. Overall, an entertaining historical HEA.

[ANSHEL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cant say I am overjoyed coming across this book but neither can I a say it was regretful.And thats a pretty big milestone considering the grammatical and other editing mistakes it presents. After 2 pages I realized it is based on 'The Grand Sophy' by Georgette Heyer and after few chapter I realized it has an amazing gothic twist to the main plotline,what with everyone in plain sight being murdered and everyone else being suspect. It yet managed to make me smile and even laugh at some points and I dont know what that says about a gothic romance but I liked it.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended Worthy 5 Stars Novel!

Another great book from the author. But this is my first time reading her Historical novel yet I'm impressed. The detailed plots and building up of the storyline was, personally, I'd say perfect. The characters especially Lord Rothay, Benedict, has grown exceedingly well from start to finish. As my first impression, Benedict seemed too snob and uptight, as the story goes on, he'd changed. Thanks to Phoebe. This book would be perfect read if you love reading historical romance novel with mystery and murder to boot.

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good regency romance!

Lord meet new family acquaintance, a female, who's bound to be a bother. Lord resist falling for new lady while bethrothed to a proper, stiff upper lip aristocrat who bore him to tears and would be the ideal wife of the ton. Phoebe is determined to save Ben from marital hell but dead bodies keep showing up and he's the main so suspect. Can Ben and Phoebe solve this mystery without being victims themselves? Read to find out. Good novel and look forward to reading another one by Emma V. Leech.