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Logical Lady
Prim and rational Elizabeth Carstairs has difficulty remaining aloof when she meets the cynical and handsome Frederick Ashfield, a man who is in trouble over the murder of his cousin
- GenresRegency
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
8 people want to read
About the author
Janice Bennett
64 books10 followers Janice Bennett never intended to be a writer, but with B.A. degrees in anthropology and classical civilizations and an M.A. in folklore and mythology, what choice did she have? Her first jobs included the usual abc's—archaeologist, bookkeeper and college craft instructor. Then, on a whim, she submitted her first novel, a Regency, and life took on a fascinating new twist.
Several books later, she began presenting work-shops, teaching novel writing at a community college, serving as a writing panel member at WorldCons...then became an editor. So far, she has written twenty-six novels and more than twenty novellas and received a number of awards, including two Lifetime Achievement awards from Romantic Times/Rave Reviews.
In her spare time, she spins wool (and pet hair), knits, crochets, weaves, and quilts. She lives in a rural town with her husband, never enough cats, a huge dog, an organic garden—and a computer she swears runs on chocolate chips, not silicon ones, which explains a lot about her.
www.janicebennettbooks.com
Several books later, she began presenting work-shops, teaching novel writing at a community college, serving as a writing panel member at WorldCons...then became an editor. So far, she has written twenty-six novels and more than twenty novellas and received a number of awards, including two Lifetime Achievement awards from Romantic Times/Rave Reviews.
In her spare time, she spins wool (and pet hair), knits, crochets, weaves, and quilts. She lives in a rural town with her husband, never enough cats, a huge dog, an organic garden—and a computer she swears runs on chocolate chips, not silicon ones, which explains a lot about her.
www.janicebennettbooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 22, 2023
From the back cover:
A SINGULAR SENSATION
Miss Elizabeth Carstairs, in the ordinary way of things, was a level-headed young lady, not given to flights of romantic foolishness. But when Mr. Frederick Ashfield arrived at Halliford Castle, after two years on the Continent, Lizzie's heart started a most alarming flutter that showed no signs of abating. What had been a schoolgirl's companionable liking had turned into something quite, quite different...But there was no time to ponder this shocking development, for things were in a dreadful state. Frederick had come straight from the Grange, his ancestral home, where he had visited - and quarreled with - his cousin, Viscount St. Vincent. And shortly after Frederick's abrupt departure, the Viscount had been discovered stabbed to death.
A DESPERATE GAMBLE
Frederick, having inherited the title, repaired to the Grange with Lizzie and the duke and Duchess of Halliford. At the scene of the heinous crime, Lizzie provoked Frederick's lazy smile - and something more - as the young beauty's endeavors revealed an abundance of suspects, but a dismaying dearth of clues. then Frederick suffered a nearly fatal "accident", and it was obvious what had to be done. To clear his name, Frederick must risk his very life - and Lizzie's dearest hopes - to trap a killer!
The blurb for the book is pretty accurate in describing the plot (except that the hero is gone for 5 years), so I will not add to it. What drew me to the book was the title since I love a story with a sensible heroine. Unfortunately, I didn't realized that logical relates to how she deals with the murder mystery and not necessarily herself. She's young (20) and a bit of a hoyden, which is not favorite type of heroine. I could see her being precocious and adorable when she was younger but not as endearing as a young woman. I did like that she was active and was constantly on the move (particularly liked her dog). I also appreciated her idea of love, and that she didn't believe in swooning over someone but, unfortunately, she did start to become missish as she realizes she's in love with the hero, and her thoughts become very annoying (he likes me but only as an uncle; he admires me but he prefers sophisticated women). The hero was pretty likable but unremarkable. He was a rake, but you don't see any inappropriate behavior here. In fact, we get to know what goes on in his head also, and he believes he's not good enough for the heroine because of his past.
My main issue with the book is its length (350 pages) and its pace. The mystery just drags on and most of the clues they find lead nowhere. They go through all this thought process for pages only to come to the conclusion that it could be anyone. For example, the previous Viscount dies from a stabbing and they think it should be someone who can handle a sword (no idea why it needs to be a skilled person). Well, they discover that all male suspects can fence so it's back to square one. One of the characters even mentions how curious it is that they are all skilled in this outmoded art. Then, the one obvious crime being committed is ignored until later in the book. Finally, unless I missed something, I found no reason for the murderer to do the things he did after the fact.
I didn't realize this was part of a series before reading it, although you can tell right away that this is a sequel. The hero and heroine met prior to this book and, I have to say, it made it a bit icky for me since he's much older and would have been more of an uncle figure to her. Not sure how old she was when they first met, but she last saw him when she was 15, which would have made him 33 at the time, if I'm not mistaken. There's nothing offensive or particularly wrong with the book - it was just not my cup of tea.
A SINGULAR SENSATION
Miss Elizabeth Carstairs, in the ordinary way of things, was a level-headed young lady, not given to flights of romantic foolishness. But when Mr. Frederick Ashfield arrived at Halliford Castle, after two years on the Continent, Lizzie's heart started a most alarming flutter that showed no signs of abating. What had been a schoolgirl's companionable liking had turned into something quite, quite different...But there was no time to ponder this shocking development, for things were in a dreadful state. Frederick had come straight from the Grange, his ancestral home, where he had visited - and quarreled with - his cousin, Viscount St. Vincent. And shortly after Frederick's abrupt departure, the Viscount had been discovered stabbed to death.
A DESPERATE GAMBLE
Frederick, having inherited the title, repaired to the Grange with Lizzie and the duke and Duchess of Halliford. At the scene of the heinous crime, Lizzie provoked Frederick's lazy smile - and something more - as the young beauty's endeavors revealed an abundance of suspects, but a dismaying dearth of clues. then Frederick suffered a nearly fatal "accident", and it was obvious what had to be done. To clear his name, Frederick must risk his very life - and Lizzie's dearest hopes - to trap a killer!
The blurb for the book is pretty accurate in describing the plot (except that the hero is gone for 5 years), so I will not add to it. What drew me to the book was the title since I love a story with a sensible heroine. Unfortunately, I didn't realized that logical relates to how she deals with the murder mystery and not necessarily herself. She's young (20) and a bit of a hoyden, which is not favorite type of heroine. I could see her being precocious and adorable when she was younger but not as endearing as a young woman. I did like that she was active and was constantly on the move (particularly liked her dog). I also appreciated her idea of love, and that she didn't believe in swooning over someone but, unfortunately, she did start to become missish as she realizes she's in love with the hero, and her thoughts become very annoying (he likes me but only as an uncle; he admires me but he prefers sophisticated women). The hero was pretty likable but unremarkable. He was a rake, but you don't see any inappropriate behavior here. In fact, we get to know what goes on in his head also, and he believes he's not good enough for the heroine because of his past.
My main issue with the book is its length (350 pages) and its pace. The mystery just drags on and most of the clues they find lead nowhere. They go through all this thought process for pages only to come to the conclusion that it could be anyone. For example, the previous Viscount dies from a stabbing and they think it should be someone who can handle a sword (no idea why it needs to be a skilled person). Well, they discover that all male suspects can fence so it's back to square one. One of the characters even mentions how curious it is that they are all skilled in this outmoded art. Then, the one obvious crime being committed is ignored until later in the book. Finally, unless I missed something, I found no reason for the murderer to do the things he did after the fact.
I didn't realize this was part of a series before reading it, although you can tell right away that this is a sequel. The hero and heroine met prior to this book and, I have to say, it made it a bit icky for me since he's much older and would have been more of an uncle figure to her. Not sure how old she was when they first met, but she last saw him when she was 15, which would have made him 33 at the time, if I'm not mistaken. There's nothing offensive or particularly wrong with the book - it was just not my cup of tea.
February 16, 2013
Good characterization, witty, funny dialogue. I really liked the heroine, who seemed to be very upfront. I thought the plotline itself was only okay, but the ending is good. A very good read.
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September 1, 2013Carstairs Sisters Book 3
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews