Synopses & Reviews
An American heiress, an English aristocrat, a nursery maid's death, a tangle of deception and adultery—the first book in a thrilling new Edwardian murder mystery series American Ursula Grandison accompanies Belle Seldon to visit her sister, Helen, Countess of Mountstanton, commissioned by their father, multi-millionaire Chauncey Seldon, to discover what is wrong with Helen's marriage and what has happened to her dowry. At decaying stately Mountstanton House, Ursula finds that the Earl is a cold fish, the Dowager Countess of Mounstanton the mother-in-law from hell, and Helen has not forgiven her for stealing her great love. Ursula discovers the drowned body of Polly, the nursemaid, thought to have deserted the household. Neither the Earl's brother, Colonel Charles Stanhope, nor Ursula believes Polly's death was an accident. Investigating against the Earl's wishes, they uncover a tangle of deception reaching into the past that threatens the reputation of the house of Mountstanton. After another death, Ursula fights to reveal the truth, to save Belle from dreadful scandal, and to fulfill Mr. Seldon's commission, with a final shocking denouement.
Review
"A better-than-average British cozy that's both stylish and entertaining." —Booklist on Death at the Table
Synopsis
Accompanying American heiress Belle Seldon on a visit to her ancestral family home in Somerset, Ursula Grandison soon discovers that the decaying stately Mountstanton House and its inhabitants has many secrets, including a crumbling marriage and a missing dowry. When Ursula discovers the drowned body of the nurserymaid, she is determined to reveal the killer and, in doing so, reveals a tangled web of deception and adultery that threatens the reputation of the house of Mountstanton.
About the Author
Janet Laurence is the author of the Darina Lisle culinary crime novels, which include Death at the Table. She is the former chairman of the Crime Writers' Association and was included in the Times' "100 Masters of Crime" in 1998.