Another light read in the Lady Emily series (book #2). A tale involving stolen jewelry, secret identities and murder. Lady Emily is being snubbed by society for the appearance of some improprieties. And yet, there is a mysterious thief with obsessive behaviors who keeps invading her home leaving notes in Greek. Her mother continues to meddle in her affairs and Lady Emily has a bet with her romantic friend, Colin Hargreaves, involving the identity of her secret admirer. Lady Emily's life is never dull. ( )

Didn't like it as well as the first one, but still really enjoyed it. I am, of course, deeply interested in the romance between Colin and Lady Ashton. Looking forward to the next one. ( )

There is a lot happening in London this season -
Lady Ashton has earned the questionable esteem of society's own jewel thief who has been targeting treasures that once belonged to Marie Antoinette. When one of the victims of burglary turns up dead, however, Emily finds herself drawn into the investigation - and not always as discreetly as she might hope.

In addition, heaps of condemnation are being heaped on Emily Ashton's head for dallying with two of the ton's most eligible gentlemen: Colin Hargreaves and Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, one of her childhood friends. Her bluestocking inclinations and her disinclination to heed the strictures of polite society make her fodder for the gossips. And her attempts to help her friend Ivy in her troubled marriage don't turn out well at all.

I have a weakness for historical mysteries - I love Amelia Peabody and Emily Ashton (though aside from a desire to actually employ their brains, there's not much similar between the two sleuths). I enjoy Lady Ashton's interest in cryptography, her love of Greek, and even more I love Colin for helping her figure out various mysteries and helping her when needed instead of insisting she remain packed in cotton wool. He shows an immense respect for her intellectual abilities (along with concern for her physical well-being), and I love that in a hero. Plus, I'm highly amused by the kissing embargo that he institutes until she accepts his proposal of marriage! They are a delightful pair, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with them in the next book.

The mystery itself is very clever as well. There were several interesting twists and turns, and nothing turned out quite the way I expected. At the same time, I didn't feel as if I'd been manipulated or kept in the dark regarding the outcome of the mystery - which is difficult to pull off simultaneously.

More at A Hoyden's Look at Literature. ( )

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. ( )

I enjoyed 'A Poisoned Season' much more than the first in the series. The mystery, subplots, characters all seemed more interesting, better developed, however, sometimes the writing seemed 'flat' though less so in this book than the first. ( )

I loved the first of the series and this one kept me up reading all night as well. Emily is a wonderful heroine. She continues to mature as a character, exploring what she wants from her life, sometimes making a few mistakes along the way, but she is quick to recognize her mistakes and learn from them. Colin continues to be very attractive, very forward thinking for a Victorian gentleman when it comes to equality of the sexes. I loved his challenge to Emily about his proposal. I never had any doubts as to how that would turn out, but it was entertaining.

The story is engaging, with a nice balance between the serious and the humorous. The moments between Emily and her dragon of a mother were funny -- and the scene with Queen Victoria was a hoot. Getting that wry British humor to sound right can't be easy for an American author, but Ms. Alexander manages it very nicely. My only quibble with the book is that the mystery wasn't quite as intense as in the first book, but then the first book's mystery was so intensely personal: Emily discovering who murdered her husband and why.

This plot is a bit more fanciful in that it deals with the descendants of the Lost Dauphin of France, the son of Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI. There's also a character introduced in relation to that subplot who is very interesting in his own right, and I wouldn't mind seeing him pop up again later on.

The cast from the last book is back, but with smaller parts. Ivy and Robert are having marital difficulties. Margaret still smokes and drinks, and spends most of her time being supportive of Emily (well, when she isn't off concoting some strange scheme with Jeremy, the Duke of Bainbridge.)

Even though the mystery didn't feel as intense, it baffled me for a good long while because there were so many subplots involved. By the time I did figure it out, it was about the time Emily did as well.

WONDERFUL book! Suspense and romance, couldn't be better. :) ( )

Not as entertaining as the first in the the Lady Emily Ashton series, And Only to Deceive but still a really good historical mystery. I'll be picking up A Fatal Waltz when it comes out in trade for sure.

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Lady Ashton gets caught up in another murder investigation but this time, she's also managed to find herself the recipient of romantic Greek messages from a secret admirer. Accidents, strange thefts and malicious rumors abound in this novel, keeping the readers on their toes and entertained. ( )

Though Book 2 of the Lady Emily Ashton series is much better than the first book, I have the impression that Alexander isn't quite sure if she wants to write a romance or a mystery. As a whole, I did enjoy this book a great deal. I also think this author has a lot of promise. I just can't quite put my finger on what's missing. Perhaps the third in the series will pull it all together. ( )

It is the Season in London and Lady Emily is once again under pressure from everyone, including the Queen, to marry again. She certainly is not at a loss for admirers, including a mysterious thief who specializes items that once belonged to Marie Antoinette and another person who claims to be the heir to the French throne. When one of victims of the thief is murdered, Emily is drawn into the investigation.

I enjoyed this second Lady Emily Ashton mystery. The Victorian age and all it's silly rules comes to life in these novels. Emily and her friends are great fun too. If there was such a thing as a Victorian chicklit mystery, this would be it. ( )

I throughly enjoyed this second book in the Lady Ashton series. The main character is very likeable and the story, involving stolen antiquities and murder, is interesting. In fact, I think this is the best of the two book series. I'll be reading number three when it comes out. ( )

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I thought it was a good continuation of Alexander's first book. I also didn't figure out the "bad guy" until almost the end of the book which was a nice change. ( )

Writing style is clunky especially with abrupt sentence and paragraph transitions, but a well-conceived plot and strong characters. Ending was a bit too predictable. ( )

absolutely loved the second book by tasha alexander. this one picks up shortly where "And only to deceive" left off. the mystery is well developed and I didn't see the ending coming at all. ( )