From gifted new writer Tasha Alexander comes a stunning novel of historical suspense set in Victorian England, meticulously researched and with a twisty plot that involves stolen antiquities, betrayal, and murder
And Only to Deceive
For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily’s dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly. His journals reveal him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new image of her dead husband and she immerses herself in all things ancient and begins to study Greek.
Emily’s intellectual pursuits and her desire to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband’s favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to complicate matters, she’s juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve the crime, her search leads to more surprises about Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.
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Sexual Content - 1/5
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Violence - 1/5
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Language - 1/5
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Drugs and Alcohol - 1/5
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Summary
Overall And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander is just my kind of mystery. Not all blood and severed body parts. Yes people are murdered but their is a reserve about it. It takes place in the Victorian era when women must have been bored to tears with what society said they could do. Emily turns away from what society dictates she isn't just a pretty face. Although she does marry someone she hardly knows just to get away from a controlling mother. Phillip, her husband dies shortly after their marriage and
she decides to find out more about him and his death. Unfortunately she realizes too late just how interesting he really was. This is the first in a series with Emily who seems to find dead bodies wherever she goes. I love the writing of Tasha Alexander and highly recommend this book and series.
Violence
Language
Sexual very minimalbut well written
Drug & Alcohol They drink port/wine/whiskey but no one appears drunk.
Review by Ahna