Sorry for the one star but I just could not get into this book. Rosalind is asked by Lady Melbourne to retrieve some letters written by Lord Bryon. As it happens a woman's body has been found at Melbourne House and the police ask Rosalind to help with the investigation since she has the society connection. Too much inane talk for me and I finally gave up. ( )

This was actually Book 3 in the Rosalind Thorne series. However, the backstory was subtle and did not overwhelm the current plot. It could be a stand-alone mystery quite successfully, since Darcie Wilde provides an insight into how the protagonist arrived at her tenuous social situation.

Two flaws detracted from my enjoyment of the novel.
The vintage-artwork of the front covers of these novels is what first attracted my attention. But I don't think the story inside has a vintage feel at all.

The writing style and story structure was just fine, albeit a bit of a trope, but I couldn't buy into the set up of a haut ton Regency maiden traipsing around in just this fashion. Yes, she had 'connections' but had fallen on hard times. That alone, without anything stellar to recommend her, should have relegated her to either a less exalted position in London society, or else sent her off to live in the country. The story might better have suited the 1930's era.

The other aspect that diminished the story is an unresolved relationship dilemma which Rosalind faces. Even though the reader recognises from both backstory and the earlier books that Rosalind is torn in her affections for two very different men, the prolonged lack of resolution derailed the plot and felt unsatisfying by the end.

I confess that some of my angst in this tale was the trope of the ethically questionable senior police hierarchy and its effect on the detectives. I'm also tired of that crazy-gentlewoman with the rather evil inlaws and the convoluted apparent good guy, oh oops, bad guy. While that switcheroo is often a fun aspect of murder mysteries, it was so white then black when this change happens. I like subtle rascals or up-front-always-was-a-bad apple. Despite these niggles, if you like assertive, non-professional female protagonists, give the series a try. ( )

A woman's body is found in the courtyard of Melbourne Place. The police enlist the aid of Rosalind Thorne, amateur sleuth, whose aristocratic underpinnings will allow her entrée among the haut ton. The case also involves a packet of letters stolen from Lady Melbourne that Byron (in Italy) has requested--through a drunken Scrope Davies--be returned to him. The letters in question are, of course, those revealing B's love for Augusta and the probable parentage of Medora. (Here, Lady M fears their being made public would be a scandal and potential blackmail to her, as she will be seen for having arranged her own niece Annabella's marriage to B with full knowledge of his wicked ways.) As a character here, B works better offstage (where he mostly is), since the actual portrayal is quite clichéd, but this is still a good time, full of "familiar faces." (Caroline Lamb so sympathetic and misunderstood here...well, every writer needs an angle.) ( )

When the notorious Lady Melbourne asks for Rosalinde Thorne's help in tracking down some missing letters, Rosalind is a bit apprehensive. The letters involve both the infamous Lord Byron and Lady Melbourne's daughter-in-law, Lady Caroline Lamb, and the proximity to the potential for so much scandal is dangerous for someone in such a precarious social position as Rosalind. However, when Adam Harkness of Bow Street informs Rosalind that a body was recently found on the Melbourne estate and sent by cart to the Bow Street coroner, Rosalind knows she must assist in the investigation.

I really enjoyed this third entry in the Rosalind Thorne mystery series. The historical details continue to be well done and the mystery is just as suspenseful as one could hope. The Lord Byron angle in this plot makes for intriguing reading, although I wish the author had included an historical note at the end of the book to clarify what was historically accurate and what was her own invention. The romantic triangle remains a small back burner subplot in this entry, although Rosalind's inability to make a decision is a much more sympathetic position in this series as her choice will have a massive impact on her social standing. Recommended for fans of the series. ( )