Another Review at MyShelf.Com

Publisher: Robert Hale
Release Date: October 2003
ISBN: 0709074689
Awards:  
Format Reviewed: Hardback
Buy it at Amazon  US || UK
Read an Excerpt
Genre:  Historical Romance/Crime [Regency London]
Reviewed: 2004
Reviewer: Rachel A Hyde
Reviewer Notes:  
Copyright MyShelf.com

Late for The Wedding
By Amanda Quick

     If you like Regency romances and historical whodunits then this is surely the book for you. You will presumably have also read Slightly Shady & Don't Look Back (also reviewed on this site) first, or if you haven't you had better do so before you read this, as this is very much a series. This time Tobias and Lavinia are enjoying a weekend away from it all at Beaumont Castle where a house party - and a fancy dress one at that - is in full swing. Of course, there has to be a murder, and Lavinia actually sees the victim falling to his death as she enjoys a stolen kiss with Tobias. Prior to this, she has stumbled on Tobias getting very friendly with an old flame, but he says that she has only come to him for help. Are the two events linked, and who is the murderer-for-hire known as the Memento Mori Man who leaves antique rings beside his victims? Surely, it cannot be Tobias' best friend back from the grave…

     It is true that by this third book in the series there is perhaps more sleuthing than smooching going on but then it is also true that there are plenty of other Regency romances while Regency detective novels are notably thin on the ground. There is the obligatory battling couples plus a teasing plot that I didn't entirely guess and the whole thing is a lot of fun. By now, the unsatisfying references to the fictitious lost civilization are long gone, but instead there is the wonderfully gothic idea of the Memento Mori Man. It would be nice if Ms Quick could write a historical romance or two before the next book, but maybe this series has taken the place of this type of fiction. I won't say that these are the best books she has written, and I am sure that a little more romance might make all the difference but I can't say that I didn't enjoy it.