TEST
A Terrible Beauty, the eleventh entry in the Lady Emily series, returns to a pivotal event that occurred prior to the first book: the death of Lady Emily’s first husband Lord Philip Ashton. Over the course of the series Lady Emily has gone from being a recent widow to being a respected Greek scholar, and is a strong-minded, independent woman. She also fell in love with, and married Colin Hargreaves, Philip’s best friend, and a special agent for the government.
Colin and Emily head to Santorini with two of their friends. When they arrive at Emily’s villa, they learn Philip has returned. While there are eventually murders and other mysteries to solve, the central mystery is: Is this really Philip? Both Emily and Colin are skeptical initially, but the man knows things only the real Philip would know, and has scars matching Philip’s. Emily isn’t sure. She had only a superficial knowledge of Philip prior to their marriage, and he left almost immediately after their honeymoon to hunt in Africa.
The narrative switches back and forth between Emily’s and Philip’s perspective, with Emily’s chapters occurring in the present as she and Colin attempt to solve the mystery of Philip as well as a series of unsettling occurrences on the island. Those from Philip’s perspective provide information about where he’s been, without revealing if the man is Philip or not.
I’ve been a fan of the Lady Emily series since reading the first book, And Only to Deceive, but was nervous about the plot of A Terrible Beauty. I love Colin and Emily’s relationship. They’re each bright and a bit stubborn, but they adore and respect each other. Their feelings never waiver, as each makes it clear they will not lose the other, no matter whether the man is Philip or not. As a side benefit, I love the author’s descriptions of 1899 Santorini, so different from the tourist-filled island of today.
If you haven’t read any in the series, I would suggest you start back at the beginning, as I believe this book will have far less impact if you do not know Emily, Colin, and Philip’s full history.
Grade: A-
Book Type: Historical Mystery
Sensuality: Subtle
Review Date: 01/11/16
Publication Date: 10/2016
My first memory is sitting with my mother on a blanket in our backyard surrounded by books and she is reading one of them to me. My love of reading was encouraged by my parents and it continues to today. I’ve gone through a lot of different genres over the years, but I currently primarily read mysteries (historical mysteries are my favorites) and romances (focusing on contemporaries, categories, and steampunk). When I’m not reading or working, I love to travel, knit, and work on various community projects.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.