A Virtuous Death (Lady of Ashes Series #3)

by Christine Trent

Overview

Queen Victoria, still mourning her long-dead husband Prince Albert, has found solace in John Brown, an enigmatic palace servant who dabbles in the occult and keeps the grieving queen entertained with his tarot card readings. Undertaker Violet Harper is invited to attend one of Mr. Brown's infamous readings, during which he implies that Buckingham Palace will soon be shrouded in death's dark veil. Well acquainted with death, Violet shrugs him off as a charlatan—until his sinister divinations begin to prove true. . .

Violet wonders if something foul is in the cards when the aristocratic young friends of the queen's daughter begin to die under mysterious circumstances. Her suspicions only grow when one of London's "moralists," a group bent on repealing the law that forces prostitutes into hospitals, suffers a similar fate. The deaths merely buttress the queen's enthusiasm for Mr. Brown's ominous talents, and, concerned by the fortuneteller's influence, Violet races against time to unearth the truth before the killer strikes again. But as she closes in on a murderer with an unearthly motive, Violet realizes she may be digging her own grave. . .

By turns heartwrenching and hopeful, A Virtuous Death is a gripping tale of fortitude besieged by vengeance inside the extraordinary world of Queen Victoria's court.

Praise for Lady of Ashes

"Rich with historical incidents and details." —Publishers Weekly

"A book you can sink your teeth into, with characters you'll fall in love with."—Mystery Scene Magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780758293268
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	10/28/2014
Series:	Lady of Ashes Series , #3
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Christine Trent lives in the Mid-Atlantic region with her husband, Jon, and five cats: Caesar, Claudia, Livia, Marcus, and Octavian. When she isn't writing, you can usually find her scrapbooking, planning a trip to England, or haunting bookstores. She is the author of the Lady of Ashes historical mystery series. Please visit Christine at www.ChristineTrent.com.

Editorial Reviews

2014-10-05
The cards say murder in Queen Victoria's court. Undertaker Violet Harper's help with several past mysteries (Stolen Remains, 2014, etc.) has made her a favorite of the queen. Now Victoria has called upon her to attend a tarot reading by her favorite outdoor servant, John Brown, who claims the cards reveal a dangerous plot against someone in Buckingham Palace that only Violet can thwart. Violet's American husband, Samuel, is in Wales promoting Alfred Nobel's wondrous new invention, dynamite, to mine owners when he witnesses a massacre of innocents in a mine dispute. Samuel's absence gives Violet, a guest of the queen, plenty of time to uncover the supposed palace plot. When several highborn ladies are found dead in mysterious circumstances, Violet discovers some tiny marks on their bodies, along with small pieces of odd-smelling cloth in two of their mouths. No believer in spirits, she's certain that Brown's séances are rigged but knows she must continue her investigation. The newly widowed husbands are prime suspects. So is a palace footman who's an adherent of Karl Marx. Meanwhile, the free-spirited Princess Louise and her friends have gotten embroiled with a group fighting to repeal an unfair law that punishes prostitutes but not their clients. Any number of people learning of her involvement might have marked her for death. As she uncovers more information, Violet is attacked and narrowly escapes her own demise. Filled with informative historical tidbits on some of the less salubrious aspects of Victorian times and plenty of red herrings but sadly in need of some judicious pruning.

Kirkus Reviews