In Milady’s Chamber
South has moved from writing charming Regencies to a mystery set during the Regency. Lady Fieldhurst and her husband don’t have a very close marriage. Although she is used to attending social events without him, she has stayed faithful. On the night she changes her mind, she and Lord Rupert find their entry to her chamber blocked – by her husband’s dead body. A Bow Street Runner, John Pickett, is called in to solve the crime. He is young and idealistic and romantic, and also bright. He is absolutely opposed to general opinion that Lady Fieldhurst is the prime suspect.
While the story was engaging, with plenty of suspicious activities and characters, I was disappointed with aspects of the plot that didn’t seem to ring true. Would Lady Fieldhurst be entertaining callers within days of her husband’s murder? Would she and a Bow Street Runner have a relationship as close as the author portrays? And would the Runner be able to interview servants without their employer’s permission? A wife without the husband wanting to be present? While I am not an expert on the period, each of these situations seemed a bit off, and jarred me out of the story.
