A Scandal in Mayfair (A Lily Adler Mystery)
This fifth book in the Lily Adler series takes place over several days in London of 1817. Smart and beautiful high-society Lily, widowed for several years, has developed a reputation as someone who discreetly investigates and helps solve nasty situations. In the opening scene, she receives an anonymous letter from and then meets a young woman who claims an uncle has cheated her out of her dead father’s inheritance. The young woman’s fiancé suddenly appears at the meeting. Lily (and readers of the series) have run into the fiancé before and know he is a smooth-talking hustler. Jack Hartley, the best friend of Lily’s deceased husband, agrees to help look for evidence about the cheating uncle. However, the uncle is soon found stabbed to death in his own bedroom. Bow Street police investigator Simon Page, whom Lily has helped in the past, takes up the murder investigation.
In a second plotline, Simon Page’s niece, Fanny, tells Lily about a local woman growing poisonous plants in her window box. Fanny thinks the woman will kill someone or already has. Lily promises to investigate this too. The uncle’s murder and the poison plants lead to more suspicious deaths and mysterious sudden illnesses. Meanwhile, Lily and Jack’s long friendship grows into a charming romance.
The primary and secondary characters are easy to cheer for or despise, and sometimes both. The clothes, houses, servants and customs of Regency London all ring true. The inheritance theft and murders take surprising but realistic twists. Recommended for any reader wanting the combination of a cozy mystery and simmering romance in a difficult earlier age when people could interact only in person, by messenger or letter.
