I very much enjoyed this more than the previous book And Only To Deceive. Lady Ashton became a much more enjoyable character for me and I really liked her in this book. And unlike And Only To Deceive, the ending wasn't so predictable; I didn't see it coming from a mile away. I echo from my review of And Only To Deceive: I loved the character of Colin Hargreaves, more so after reading A Poisoned Season. ( )

Lady Emily Ashton is back. It's the beginning of the social season, and she has a mysterious admirer who is sending love notes written in Greek. There's also a burglar who is stealing items which had once belonged to Marie Antoinette. When Mr. Francis turns up dead, his wife asks for Lady Emily's help in clearing her maid of the charges against her. There are lots of plots and subplots in this novel, perhaps a bit too many at times. However, I enjoyed this novel more than the first in the series. There are some elements in the novel that remind me of the story lines in "romantic suspenses" such as those crafter by Phyllis Whitney although I would not characterize this story as one of those. ( )

Tasha Alexander's second novel featuring the independent Lady Emily Ashton was a treat! She expertly weaves multiple mystery storylines into a seamless plot in A Poisoned Season while entertaining the reader with the fascinating details of the Victorian London social season: high society dinners and dances, balls, the opera, high teas, parading through Hyde Park in carriages, and designer fashions. What's not to love? It is a faster paced plot than her debut novel (And Only to Deceive) and is a compelling, multi-faceted mystery. Who is the mysterious cat burglar targeting aristocrats with French treasures? Who is responsible for the murder of a prominent society gentleman? Who is Emily's anonymous admirer...who turns to endanger her life? Is Charles Berry truly who he claims -- a descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette? As the saga continues, Colin Hargreaves and Lady Emily, in true Victorian style, keep their obvious attraction to each other in check, and you can cut the physical tension between them with a knife. He's smart enough to give Emily the room she needs to be independent and pursue her intellectual interests while courting her in a way that will make her (free spirited and not ready for remarriage) want to change her mind.

Lots of surprises all around at the end, with the promise of things to come. I enjoyed this fast-paced mystery and the charming writing style. Looking forward to continuing the saga in A Fatal Waltz. ( )

The second in the Lady Emily Ashton series. A man claiming to be Louis-Charles great-grandson is making his way in society. After meeting him Emily hopes he is not really the heir to the royal family. At the same time items belonging to Marie Antoinette are being stolen. And David Francis, a many of her aquaintance, is murdered. Lady Ashton begins to investigate the murder, but soon has other mysteries to solve. I liked this book much better than the first one. I find myself liking Lady Ashton more and more. I like the way she tries to help out all the people around her including servants.I can't help but compare this series to Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey. Both women are widows and both find themselves investigating crimes. The first book of both series the women are trying to find who murdered their husbands. I thought this book, A Poisoned Season, was better than the first and didn't find myself comparing as much between the two series. Emily Ashton has found solace since her husband's death learning to read Greek, study's Homer and is also involved in antiquities. While Julia Grey doesn't do that. I think the further in this series I read the more differences I will find. ( )

At the beginning of the London season, young widow Lady Emily Ashton hopes to avoid as many social obligations as she can to allow her more time to pursue her newly found interest in Greek literature and antiquities. It doesn't take long for her to find other distractions from the superficialities of the season: catching a cat burglar who specializes in items once owned by Marie Antoinette, solving the murder of an acquaintance who was also one of the cat burglar's victims, and identifying the mysterious suitor who leaves her gifts and notes written in Greek.

I enjoyed the book, but not quite as much as the first book in the series. It took a while for me to become fully absorbed in its pages. I attribute this to the number of plot threads and the setting that needed to be created for each thread. At various points Emily had trouble deciding which investigation was the most pressing, and I shared her puzzlement. There were an awful lot of characters to keep track of, yet surprisingly few suspects among them. Some of the characters disappeared from the action for long periods of time only to reappear again many chapters later, like in a Dickens novel. Emily's sudden passion for scholarly pursuits seemed more out of place in this novel than in the first. It has been quite a while since I read the first book in the series and I would have benefited from a reminder of Emily's motivation for her Greek studies, which the previous book explained.

Readers who like the characters in the Victorian Mysteries by Robin Paige will likely enjoy reading about Lady Emily Ashton and her circle. ( )