MURDER ON BLACK SWAN LANE by Andrea Penrose
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The Earl of Wrexford is used to being skewered by the press. His “ungentlemanly” interest in chemical experimentation and his scandalous liaisons with members of the opposite sex lend themselves to artistic satire. But the cartoonist A.J. Quill rankles him. It’s more than the tone of Quill’s cartoons–it’s how disturbingly accurate his information is. It’s almost as though Quill is following him around, although Wrexford is sure he would have noticed such surveillance.
Charlotte is good at what she does. Since taking over her husband’s artistic pseudonym after his death, she has managed to keep the creditors at bay and to support herself and the two young urchins she’s taken under her wing–who also happen to supply her with the juiciest gossip for her cartoons. But when their inside information leads her to a murder scene, she ends up embroiled in a mystery involving not just her husband’s mysterious past, but the one man she’s hoped most to avoid: the Earl of Wrexford.
This Regency mystery series has a secret society, a handful of comic characters, and a touch of romantic tension. I wouldn’t recommend it to pure romance readers, however, since the romantic moments are fleeting and unfulfilled. This will more likely appeal to readers of historical mysteries who like unconventional heroes/heroines, over-the-top premises, and a bit of suspense.
Susan the Librarian 