Lady Gwendolen Investigates

by Anne Ashley

Village Scandal, Society Wedding... Elegant yet feisty, well traveled yet innocent to the world, beautiful yet modest - prying into others' lives isn't for Lady Gwendolen Warrender. Until murder and mayhem come to Marsden Wood.

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

281 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Anne Ashley was born in Leicester, England, UK, where she was educated. She lived for a long time in Scotland, but she now lives in the West Country, England, with her husband, two sons and two cats. She writes historical romances for Mills & Boon since 1997.

Reviews

[Harlequin Historical]

A compelling read.

Those who know my reading habits well, know that I have to be in the correct mood for a romance that contains an intrigue element to it. I find the hidden mystry usually distracts me from the romance and that can irratate me. I read romance for the emotional experience not the CSI experience. HOWEVER, I would with no qualms at all, recommend Lady Gwendolen Investigates to my friends who feel the same way about romances as I do. I never lost the emotional connection with the characters because of being compeled to examine every word the author wrote in hopes of discovering the culprit. I enjoyed solving the puzzle at the same rate the heroine did. I enjoyed the development of the relationships she made not only with her hero but with her staff and neighbors. Yes, I wanted the crime solved but I wanted the HEA more which made it a perfect romance that also pleased me on an intellectual level. The answers were never glaring at me but I could wait for the them just as the heroine could. It really helped that she had a quick wit and wasn't afraid to voice her thoughts or that they usually made the hero laugh. Definitely a keeper!

[Annii · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, this is only very vaguely a romance novel. There is no sex, and really no kissing either. This is a mystery novel with a romance thrown in on the side. As mysteries go, it's alright, although I think the cuprit was a bit easy to guess and the climax with him at the end was really kind of flat. As for the two characters, their 'love story' kind of came out of nowhere, and really had no depth to it...this book was okay, but nothing special.

[The Book Coyote · Rating 2 out of 5]

First off, this is only very vaguely a romance novel. There is no sex, and really no kissing either. This is a mystery novel with a romance thrown in on the side. As mysteries go, it's alright, although I think the culprit was a bit easy to guess and the climax with him at the end was really kind of flat. As for the two characters, their 'love story' kind of came out of nowhere, and really had no depth to it...this book was okay, but nothing special.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another boring and tedious Regency period romance book. I stopped reading half-way through on page 136. It didn't hold my attention because it was going absolutely nowhere.
Lady Gwendolen is now a widow and has inherited her late husband's estate out in the country. She learns upon her arrival that her best friend, who was the neighbor's governess, was murdered out in the woods. Gwen attends and gives dinner parties so she can meet the other local gentry and she if she can learn who might have murdered her friend and two other local women.
She develops a crush on her neighbor Joss, and I cannot even fathom why. He's extremely boorish, judgmental, and condescending, especially to women, even though he has four older sisters. I was more than a little bit irritated by his snobbish attitude, and I couldn't even understand Gwen's attraction to him.
At the point where I stopped in the novel there wasn't even a bit of sexual attraction. Supposedly, Jocelyn (Joss) had proposed marriage to Gwen, but I must have missed that conversation because of his "hoity-toity" manner of speech. So I wasn't even aware that he had proposed to her until a later conversation he had with his friend Merriot. By half-way through the book, where I stopped, there hadn't even been any "stolen kisses" nor had there been any kind of discussion, whatsoever, about how were "marital relations" between Gwen and her former husband. Zzzz...

[Maggi Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

No one can deny Ms Ashley can write a Regency with aplomb. She builds up the relationship between the hero and heroine rather slowly, weaving in details of the horrid crimes committed in the area. I guessed who the murderer was rather early on, though, and I found the book lacked pace for me. But maybe that's unfair because I do like a more complex murder mystery than is intended in this sweet romance. A reader who expects a bit of sex or even some strong sexual tension in their romances will not like this one.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up in Wales simply because I had a strange desire to read a Mills & Boon. (That seems so much classier than reading a Harlequin. Don't ask me why.) I wasn't expecting much from this, but it was surprisingly good. It read very much like a Georgette Heyer, with witty banter, likeable characters, a fun mystery to solve, and no sex.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rereading: ehhhhhhhhh


Really horrible murder, but the romance was great and all things proper:)
Really enjoy and would recommend Anne Ashley!
Plus, I knew who it was when the bird got slashed...