The Adventuress (Lady Emily, #10) by Tasha Alexander Series: Lady Emily #10
Published by Minotaur Books on October 13th 2015
Genres: Historical Mystery
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
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I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Emily and husband Colin have come to the French Riviera for what should be a joyous occasion - the engagement party of her lifelong friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, and Amity Wells, an American heiress. But the merrymaking is cut short with the shocking death of one of the party in an apparent suicide. Not convinced by the coroner's verdict, Emily must employ all of her investigative skills to discover the truth and avert another tragedy.
Lady Emily’s long time best friend, Jeremy is finally getting married. To celebrate the engagement Emily and husband Colin have come to the French Riviera but, what should have been a happy time for the couple is soon shadowed by a murder and other unexplained events. When Neville is found dead in Jeremy’s room and it was proclaimed a suicide, not only does Emily question the verdict but also if it was a case of mistaken identity.
It’s no secret that Lady Emily and Jeremy have a very close relationship, they are the best of friends. Now that Jeremy has chosen to marry a woman named Amity, the relationship is explored in this book. Does Jeremy love Emily as more than a friend? and how does that come between him and his new bride to be? Unexplained stuff begins to happen to Emily, events that try to put a wedge between her and her friends but most of all between her and Amity.
Thought I figured out who done it very early in the book. I have to say the motive threw me off. It is probably the only reason I took stars off from this book because out side of that, I thought it was really well written and very character driven. Historical combined with mystery makes for a very intriguing read for me and I loved how it explored other subplots outside of murder, because while Emily did not believe Mr. Neville committed a suicide, she tried to find the real reason behind his murder while trying to avoid all her misfortune that was aimed to make Emily look bad.
I found there had been several characters I hate in this book. Amity and her entire family got on my nerves. Her brother was weird, her parents were vicious, and she was fake and unlikable. I get that Emily was trying to become friends with her for Jeremy’s sake, but really, that woman was just awful.
That being said, the ending made me pause and a bit angry. It felt kind of thrown together as if for a second there the author panicked and didn’t know who to blame for the murder. Not only did I find it a bit unbelievable, but odd, maybe mostly because there was nothing that implied in the book otherwise. It left me scratching my head like I completely missed something, but no, I don’t remember any tiny hints of it throughout the book outside of the obvious as to who was trying to, but not the why.
Overall, the writing is actually quite good. The characters are well developed. I really enjoy historical and mysteries, so the two genres together was a bonus. It was fun to follow Emily through the French Riviera.
Heidi
It is too bad this is so disappointing as far as the mystery aspect goes. It makes it not worth reading. Hope your next read is better.
Heidi recently posted…Tell Me Something Tuesday #123: Favorite Shifters
Trish @ Between My Lines
I’ve seen this one around a lot but wasn’t sure what it was about. I like the setting and the historical/mystery theme. Pity you guessed whodunnit so quickly! But the characters sounds well rounded. Am going to add it!
Trish @ Between My Lines recently posted…Between Reads : That Song I Keep Hearing
LilyElement
I’m always intrigued when books have whodunit aspects. I always wonder how well it will be written, if it comes out of left field or if I’ll get it right away. I’m happy when I can’t figure it out but it makes sense once revealed. Great review!
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Brandi Breathes Books
Oh the angry feelings from the ending has me sad for you
Red Iza
Maybe I won’t read this one, but I might very well try another book from the series. Great review !
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Sophia Rose
I loved this one and didn’t think about it at the time, but yes that was a rushed ending.
kindlemom1
That is disappointing about the whodunit part being so out of the blue like that. Darn it! It sounds like other than that, this was a really good read.
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blodeuedd
Rushed ending and all, it sounds good
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Carla @ Lipstick & Mocha
I’ve always loved historical fiction, but very recently started getting into historical mystery and omg yes, it is amazing!! <3
This sounds very nice, it's a shame the ending wasn't that great.
Carla @ Lipstick & Mocha recently posted…Crimson Peak (2015)
Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog
The genre - historical mystery sounds super interesting and a combination of two I really like. Sorry the ending made you angry and felt rushed though!! Great review!
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Naomi Hop
I understand what you mean, even though you figured out the murderer, you want a solid reason to believe it. Sounds like a good read though!
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Christy LoveOfBooks
Oh boy, don’t you just love endings like that? <- sarcasm. At least there were positives that brought it up.
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kimbacaffeinate
I like the combination of historical and mystery. I am curious about the motive.
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Jennifer @ Bad Bird Reads
Hmm, the ending is not sounding that great. Not sure about this one.
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Melliane
It’s a bit sad to have an end like that because the idea is quite intriguing. Hmm maybe! I’m curious about the feelings of each.
Renee (Lover of Romance)
I always enjoy it when you mix historical and mystery. It just adds more depth to a story so I like that. That truly sucks about the ending though, because that is the part of the book I always look forward to.
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence
The history, mystery and lots of subplots definitely make this book sound interesting! A shame about the unlikable characters though.
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Sarah @ One Curvy Blogger
Sad about the ending, but I’m glad the motive was a shocker!
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Alise
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres so I’m definitely interested in this. Some of the characters sound a bit frustrating but the rest seems good!
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Ksenia @ Ksenia's Book Blog
I haven’t heard about this series before, though I rarely read historical books. I love mysteries; though I’m afraid figuring out who was the culprit very early in the book can be an problem for me. Glad to hear you enjoyed this book overall despite some issues.
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Charlene @ Bookish Whimsy
I haven’t heard of this mystery series, but I like the premise of a Victorian lady solving mysteries. It’s too bad this wasn’t the best, but I suppose there are ups and downs in any series. I’m interested in trying out this series now, so thank you for this review!
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