Sweet Revenge

I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book. I expected a fun frothy period mystery and what I got was well developed multi-dimensional characters and a well plotted mystery. I loved the bits of chocolate history and adored the bickering between Arianna and the Earl. This is a great start to a series and I can only hope that the author continues to produce such quality in the future.

Good start to a series new to me. Some complex and well developed characters living in interesting times. Much about chocolate and also featuring the South Seas Bubble as a raison d'etre create an authentic environment for this ill met team of sleuths. Arianna, impersonating a male chef is suspected of poisoning the Prince of Wales. Politically, possibly a good idea but socially, just inappropriate. The Earl of Saybrook to the rescue.

Series: 1st in Lady Arianna Hadley Mystery

Sensuality: light romance, heavy innuendo and period cursing

Mystery Sub-genre: Historical Amateur Sleuth, Cozy

Main Character: Lady Arianna Hadley, although a lady, her father was disgraced and died when she was 15 and she had to make her way alone and penniless in the world.

Setting: 1813,England

Obtained Through: from publisher for an honest review

Since her father was murdered when she was fifteen, Lady Arianna lived through hellish times to survive, with her driving goal to find her father's killer and make him pay pushing her on. Which is why she is disguised as a French chef in Lady Spencer's home gathering information for her revenge. Her plans are interrupted when somebody attempts to poison show more the Prince Regent using her chocolate desert. Somebody felt the chef was the easy target to set up for such a treasonous act and Lady Arianna is now under scrutiny.

Alessandro De Quincy, the Earl of Saybrook is enlisted by an underhanded government official to investigate in spite of his war injury to his leg. Nevertheless Saybrook had been in the intelligence branch during the war and is sharp and devious. He sees through Arianna's disguise, just in time to save her from a bullet. He decides that she can be of use in the investigation and they reluctantly join forces to determine who tried to kill the Prince and why.

While this had all the ingredients to have been an good regency romance, the author kept the romantic tension in the background and focused on making a suspenseful mystery which paid off exponentially. Arianna is a heroine that you route for immediately. She has been through the school of hard knocks and survived with vengeance driving her. She picked up many skills along the way including the use of disguise from a theater group and especially how to fight dirty to survive. She has hardened herself and believes that she has no heart anymore after the things she has had to do in life. Trust does not come easily at all, and she sure doesn't trust the aristocrat Saybrook, after all, it was an aristocrat that murdered her father.

Saybrook has never been the same since the war and his injury. The assignment tossed to him by the government is clearly to let him be the fall guy for any missteps in the investigation. Saybrook takes this new lease on life and is inspired to get to the truth and not be used as a convenient scapegoat. The Saybrook character is just complicated enough with glimpses of his personal pain yet fire for life.

The plot has plenty of twists and surprises making it suspenseful. Who killed Arianna's father is not who anybody expected and that goes for the person who made the attempt on the Prince's life. The motivation for all this becomes clear as the story plays out.

The climatic confrontation with the killer is a nail-biter and gets the blood pumping, so kudos there. I must confess I didn't expect this level of writing, plot and character development that was balanced and polished throughout. I felt this deserved to be released in hardcover and spotlighted by the publisher more.

This novel contains drama, mystery, intrigue, adventure, smuggling, an influential criminal ring, history, sharp wit, and a touch of romance all blended seamlessly. I found this novel easily rivaled the Sebastion St. Cyr series and for me may (may) have even out done it. If you enjoy historical mysteries with plenty of suspense and intrigue, Sebastion St. Cyr, Charles Lennox, the gaslight mysteries with Sergeant Frank Malloy, or the Lady Emily mysteries I think you owe it to yourself to read this novel.

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Arianna Hadley has lived her whole life exiled and disgraced due to accusations against her father. When he is murdered in Jamaica where they are living, she vows revenge. Gaining a job as a chef at the home of Prinny's latest mistress provides her with access to many in the ton, so long as she can keep her French, male chef disguise. But, when Prinny is poisoned, she finds herself under greater scrutiny, especially from the Earl of Saybrook who has been brought in to assist with investigation based on his military intelligence career and his knowledge of chocolate.

When Saybrook discovers Arianna's secret, the two team up to share information but begin to find increasing overlap in their pursuits.

Lady Arianna Hadley is in disguise as a French chef for a mistress of the Prince Regent when Prinny is almost poisoned. Lord Saybrook who is an authority on chocolate is called upon to investigate. In an attempt on her life while Saybrook is questioning her he sees through her disguise. Although the two do not trust each other they agree to work together to find out who is after her and who is threatening the Prince. Arianna is seeking the men who killed her father and convinces Saybrook to let her pose as a wealthy widow relative with a slightly loose reputation in order to get near the men who seem to be at the heart of both mysteries. I liked the wordplay between the H/h and that neither character was perfect. Hero is recovering from show more a major leg injury and at the beginning dosing himself with too much opium. Heroine has had to fend for herself since age 15 and has a looser set of ethical standards. Lots of intrigue and action. Each chapter has some chocolate lore and a recipe. Looking forward to the next volume. show less

A captivating Regency period cozy with tantalizing intellectual parry. The history of and mouth-watering recipes involving chocolate are a delightful bonus and taunt the reader throughout the developing story. Well done Ms. Penrose!

Loved the book. Cannot wait to devour the others in the series.

Excellent swashbuckling mystery with historical details about the South Sea Island Bubble. "Nothing new under the sun," it seems. This novel sets the stage for subsequent novels in this series. Lots of action, with chocolate facts and recipes as an added bonus.