A Fatal Waltz: Lady Emily Ashton, #3 -- Tasha Alexander
To support her friend Ivy, Emily joins a shooting party at Lord Fortescue's estate for the weekend. She'd much rather not be there -- not only do she and Lord Fortescue openly despise each other, but for reasons both personal (the despising thing) and political, he'll stop at nothing to prevent her marriage to Colin Hargreaves.
Also at the party is an Austrian countess, who was once romantically involved with Colin -- and who, it appears, has no intention of giving him up without a fight. (And man, is she NASTY! Though she'd make a great protagonist -- smart and brave and very much like Emily herself -- and I'm sure she'd be much more sympathetic if we could read her perspective.)
That weekend, Lord Fortescue is murdered, and due to an altercation shortly before, Ivy's husband is the prime suspect. As Colin is off doing Secret Stuff for the Crown, it falls to Emily to prove Robert innocent.
Which brings her to Vienna -- and places all she holds dear in grave danger.
I'm starting to wonder if this is an odd-numbered series the way that Nightmare on Elm Street is an odd-numbered series -- meaning that the odd-numbered ones are better. Because while I enjoyed A Poisoned Season well enough, I did feel it was weak -- and A Fatal Waltz was strong strong strong strong strong.
There was real suspense and a sense of actual danger; I loved the details about Viennese café culture as well as the glimpses into the worlds of the artists and the anarchists; I was glad to be reminded of the Mayerling Tragedy, which I've been meaning to read about for (literally) years; it made me want to read more about Elisabeth of Bavaria; Tasha Alexander does an excellent job of weaving her historical research into the narrative without any HEY LOOK WHAT I KNOW or EXCUSE ME, READER, WHILE I EXPLAIN THIS TO YOU moments; the ballroom scenes were written in such a way that I could actually hear the music; I was reminded again to read Lady Audley's Secret; I really wasn't sure if Emily and Colin's romance would last -- or if he would even survive (I knew she would, because there's a fourth book); and probably most importantly, I felt that Emily became a person again, rather than just a character. [Edited to add: Oh, and how could I have forgotten JEREMY? Love him.] As I figured out the solution to the mystery quite a while before Emily, I did have a few OH, COME ON, LADY, FIGURE IT OUT moments, but I enjoyed everything else about this one so much that I didn't mind very much.
I'm looking forward to the fourth book, though I've had a few people -- here and at the library -- tell me that it isn't that strong. Well, we'll see.
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Previously:
1. And Only to Deceive
2. A Poisoned Season
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Book source: Library copy.
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