A Lethal Legacy

by A.L. Jambor

When her stepmother is murdered in 1882, Lady Felicity Armstrong learns that her yearly income will barely cover the cost of food, but she has a secret. While the manor house called Rosendale is being inventoried to cover her stepmother’s debts, Felicity discovers something in her birth mother’s dressing table that gives her hope of a brighter future. She also has a plan, which she hopes will bear fruit, and deliver her from a life of poverty.

Two years later, she is struggling to survive. Her young maid, Millie, a plucky urchin whose devotion to her lady is irrefutable, has taught Felicity how to live without a cadre of servants, and Felicity has helped Millie shed her provincial accent. While their life is far from ideal, they have each other.

One day, a man comes to the cottage without warning. When he introduces himself as Lord Dudley Winston, Felicity remembers him as a neighbor during her years at Rosendale. Despite his breach of etiquette, Felicity offers him tea, all the while believing that his breach of etiquette is a consequence of her reduced circumstances. His explanation for the visit does little to dispel that notion.

Following his visit, Felicity recalls a day when Dudley and his father came to Rosendale. An adolescent in the throws of her first crush, Felicity found Dudley fascinating, but was frustrated by his lack of attention. Those dim memories do nothing to satisfy her curiosity about Dudley’s arrival in Tolwich, or his reason for coming to see her, but there is someone who might remember Dudley’s visit to Rosendale - her former housekeeper, Mrs. Muir. Felicity writes to Mrs. Muir, who sends her train fare, and an invitation to visit. As she boards the train to Whitley, she has no inkling of events to come, or of her parents’ lethal legacy.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 15, 2017

About the author

A.L. Jambor lives in Florida with her husband, Hans. Amy began writing at the tender age of fifty-eight when she was inspired by a photo of her granddaughter. The result was But the Children Survived, an apocalyptic story about how a pharmaceutical company’s greed led to the destruction of North America. From there, Amy began writing fantasy mysteries that incorporated both her love of puzzles and her humor. Nick Dandino and Lord Percival Plep are two of her protagonists – the first a PI in heaven, the second an English lord reincarnated as a pudgy terrier named Libby. She has also written an historical time travel series and a dark crime thriller. You can find all her books on Amazon.com's KDP program and available with Kindle Unlimited.

http://aljambor.com/
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Reviews

[Denise Levendoski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to A.L. Jambor and Goodreads.com I won this book in a Giveaway.

Unique story of hope and what challenges people face to make them lose their faith. Reminds us that it's important to always believe and have hope in the impossible.

[Barbara Sutcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Reading

I happen to really like this author, she is quite a good story teller. One can picture the scenes, also what the characters are going through. The author makes one want to continue reading until the end.

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Points given for the fact that while there were some typos, they were few and far between, and the writing was competent. At least some of my problems with this book may be with my expectations, though I personally don't feel that they were unrealistic.

1. I wasn't really able to connect emotionally with the characters. The MC in particular just seemed to me to be too good to be true and, while she is supposed to grow emotionally in the course of the book, I just couldn't buy it. She started out well-nigh perfect if a bit naive, and even that wasn't really a problem since, apart from the bad guys, every man she met wanted nothing but to help and protect her, which I didn't find very realistic.

2. The subtitle is "A Victorian Mystery," but as far as I was concerned there was no mystery. Maybe "suspense" would have been a better characterization, since the identity of the villain (at least the main one) was obvious pretty much from the start, as was the reason, and the only suspense, to the extent there was any, was when and how he would be caught.

3. Many may not care about this issue but I do. One of my biggest beefs is when an author, writing about the British nobility and literally a Google search away from precise and accurate information, just feels that all they need to do is throw in a Lord This and Lady That, especially when they do take the trouble (nice touch) to research the history of Scotland Yard. "Lord" is not a rank in the peerage. It's a courtesy title that's given (along with "Lady") to younger sons and daughters of peers of the top ranks. There is never any indication of peers being involved, or even that the MC's parents had any family whatsoever apart from her mother's parents, who pressured her to marry "Lord" Michael and are thereafter never heard from again. Most crucially, no rank apart from the monarchy is inherited by daughters, so even if there were a Lord Michael, his daughter would most definitely not become "Lady Felicity" upon his death.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to thank A.L. Jambor, author and Goodreads First Reads Giveaway for the eBook Kindle copy of A Lethal Legacy that I won in the Giveaway.

Lady Felicity Armstrong enters hard times when her mother, father and step-mother all die leaving debts so she has just a small annual income and a poorly furnished cottage by the sea. She finds a young girl Millie to live with her and adapts to her new life.

She also has her mother's jewels and sells them and invests in a ship and trusts Captain Henry Fowler to bring it back with goods to sell to help support her. She also falls in love with him.

A murder of her childhood housekeeper, a secret about her birth and real father, an evil half brother, an attact on Millie and a great ending to an exciting historical tale by A.L. Jambor makes this an enjoyable historical fiction about the 1888's in England.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a E-copy to read and give an honest review.
A very nicely written clean romance, no explicit scenes.
Good locations and descriptions. The characters are likable, and easy to relate with.
Some of the flashback parts were not as clearly defined as flashback, and was just a bit confusing for a moment.
I really enjoyed show well the book finishes off with a good epilogue...not just they fell in love..The End.

[Sheridan Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be incredibly flat. Throughout the book there never seemed to be any pivotal moments. *spoiler* Even when her stepmother was beheaded it seemed random and unnecessary. I was never able to connect to any of the characters especially Felicity. She was too perfect. She became unrealistic and unbelievable.

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Victorian Era Mystery Romance. To loose everything but a pittance while danger follows you and you don't know why not to mention what happened to the handsome captain? The unfolding of these events and conclusion to this clean romance is a comfortable read that I really liked. Thank you good reads for this free amazon kindle edition giveaway.

[pam moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greatly enjoyed this book

I would recommend this took to anyone who enjoys a good, clean mystery. I have always liked books that are set in the English countryside, and this certainly fulfills that. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a Kindle edition of this book in a giveaway on Goodreads. A Lethal Legacy was a quick read and a good story. Great descriptions that made it easy to picture people and places.

I do think this book needed a good editor or proofreader. There were several instances where a sentence or paragraph were repeated twice in a row and in one scene the lady's skirt changes from black while standing in doorway, to pink when she sits and adjusts the folds. Things like this disrupt the flow of reading and are why I gave the lower rating.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be rather shallow, both in plot and character development. There was no actual mystery to be solved. It was all simply a matter of when the bad guy would be caught. I did find this book was a good selection to read on a long flight, since it was short and light.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. A fast read, but interesting. I just want to know, what happened with the sailing ship?

[Doreen Ashbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

A period piece that is fun to read.