The Counterfeit Heiress

August 18, 2014
In Alexander’s puzzling ninth Victorian mystery (after 2013’s Behind the Shattered Glass), Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband, Colin, investigate the stabbing murder of Mary Darby, a middle-aged woman who was posing as reclusive heiress Estella Lamar at a costume ball hosted by the Duke of Devonshire in London. The Hargreaves’ quest for answers takes them to Paris, where their search for Estella becomes much more crucial than finding Mary’s killer. The villain of the piece considers himself a basically decent man who had been overwhelmed by events, but he never feels like more than a shadowy presence. Alternating chapters relating Estella’s story suggest a kidnapping, and more than a hint of mental illness. It helps to be familiar with the works of Dickens, to which there are frequent references, but most of the action seems like much ado about very little. Agent: Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Associates.

October 1, 2014
An aristocratic sleuth takes on a highly unusual case. Invited with her husband, Colin, to a masquerade ball at Devonshire House in honor of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Lady Emily Hargreaves dresses as Artemis. So does another one of the guests. Emily's friend Cecile du Lac has been told the second Artemis is her old friend Estella Lamar, who's been traveling the world for years. When she approaches her, however, Cecile realizes that the woman is an impostor who flees, only to be found murdered. Who was the intended victim, the impostor or Estella? Taking on the case, the dashing Hargreaves duo travel to Paris trying to track down Estella, who occasionally sends missives to the lawyer who handles her money. But she's been seen only in blurry pictures from all over the globe. Estella maintains several houses, each run as if she may return at any moment, but Emily begins to wonder if the elusive heiress is even alive. A mysterious auburn-haired man warns them off with ever escalating threats as they try to follow the money trail to locate Estella. Although they're trying to unmask a murderer, Estella's disappearance is so compelling that it becomes their primary focus and leads them through miles of underground Parisian tunnels and into the famous Pere-Lachaise Cemetery before they discover the bizarre truth. One of Lady Emily's most interesting cases (Behind the Shattered Glass, 2013, etc.). The Victorian detail enhances the difficulties of proving someone dead or alive and discovering a killer with none of the usual motives for murder.

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October 15, 2014

In London during July of 1897, Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, are in attendance at a ball hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. When a buzz begins that the reclusive world traveler Madame Estella Lamar is also a guest, Madame Cecile du Lac rushes to embrace her childhood friend but discovers an imposter, who flees the scene. Colin, trusted agent of the queen, and the equally clever Emily begin their investigation immediately and soon find the ersatz Estella dead by an unknown assailant. Alternating her story line between the current mystery and what happened to the true Estella, Alexander skillfully builds the tension as the action crosses from one perspective to the next and the intertwined truth is slowly revealed. For series fans, all their favorite characters have a part to play with a fairly big surprise at the end for one of the leading men. VERDICT A few threads are left hanging and the conclusion comes along pretty quickly, but longtime fans will be pleased enough to spend more time with old friends. [See Prepub Alert, 4/21/14; see also Alexander's e-original Lady Emily holiday story, Star of the East, reviewed on p. 83.--Ed.]--Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L., OH

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