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The Matter of the Secret Bride

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 6 weeks
Set in Regency London, this charming Jane Austen-inspired mystery series features Rosalind Thorne, a resourceful young woman with a talent for helping ladies of the ton with their most delicate and pressing predicaments. But now she's faced with a task of royal proportions. Literally.
KingGeorge IV is petitioning Parliament for a divorce from his queen on the grounds of her adultery. But rumor has it that the king secretly married Maria Fitzherbert—long before he married the queen. Now Mrs. Fitzherbert has been robbed—and she's frantically calling on Rosalind for help.
Because what those thieves took is proof that she and King George did really marry. That single piece of paper could destroy Mrs. Fitzherbert and her family—or it could prove the king guilty of bigamy.
Rosalind races to investigate. With her is ex-Bow Street officer, Adam Harkness, with whom Rosalind shares a complex and rapidly intensifying bond. But a case of theft soon turns to murder . . .
Josiah Poole, a disreputable attorney specializing in helping debtors—and who was seen entering Mrs. Fitzherbert's house—is found brutally murdered. Mrs. Fitzherbert has debts. Could she have staged the theft, and employed Mr. Poole to sell the marriage certificate? Or is the truth even more complicated? Mrs. Fitzherbert's daughters have secrets of their own. And Poole himself had no shortage of enemies.
With suspicious coincidences mounting, and more danger encroaching, Rosalind and Adam must move quickly to unravel a history-making mystery that might just lead them straight to the palace itself . . .
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    • Kirkus

      January 15, 2025
      Rosalind Thorne, advisor to London's haut ton, tackles a case with grave political implications. In her quest to become self-sustaining, independent of father or husband, Rosalind has met with a great deal of success. She earns enough helping other women solve their domestic problems to own her own home, complete with cook and footman. She no longer relies on the generosity of her clients; her man of business now negotiates a fee for her services. And she's able to pay former police detective Adam Harkness for his help. But success comes at a price. When Maria Fitzherbert summons Rosalind to her gracious home on Tilney Street, Rosalind can hardly decline, even though some consider Mrs. Fitzherbert "the most notorious woman in the kingdom" because of the rumor that she married the Prince of Wales, now King George IV, when both were young--a marriage that would have been forbidden by British law, since Mrs. Fitzherbert is Catholic. George went on to marry Queen Caroline, with whom he's now embroiled in a bitter divorce. Mrs. Fitzherbert has discovered that her marriage contract with George was stolen from her bedroom, and she wants Rosalind to find it. Her reasons are personal, but the political stakes are enormous. The burden of the task takes its toll not only on Rosalind but on the reader. This case just isn't as light of heart as the heroine's earlier outings, and sorting out the amorous tribulations of the king and his multiple wives weighs heavily on the narrative. The series has created quite a dilemma: If Rosalind doesn't climb the ladder professionally, she risks stagnation. But climbing too fast makes her queries more consequential, more fraught, and a little bit grim. Here's hoping for more fun in future adventures.

      COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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  • English

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