Still enjoying this series, but there's a lot of what the heck? going on in this book. Colin is a completely useless partner, people are so spiteful and unpleasant to Emily all the time, and the mystery side is not unpredictable. I can't decide if I like the fact that every mystery that she solves is never an unmitigated triumph -- there's always a human cost that we are keenly aware of -- I think that I do, and I enjoy her personality a great deal. At this point, I'm not impressed with Colin at all, and kind of want him to be the next casualty.

Also, the audio book narrator was... just odd. Is she Australian? Her accents were very weird and her cadence is very stilted. I miss the previous reader a lot. ( )

Lady Emily joins a weekend shooting party at the country estate of the political powerful and her enemy Lord Fortescue. Also there is a former love of her fiancée, Colin Hargreaves, the Countess Kristiana von Lange. Murder occurs and Emily's friend Robert Brandon is the accused. Emily is determined to find the real guilty party and goes to Vienna to start her search.
Coming straight into the series at book 3 might be a disadvantage, as the back story to these people is probably missing, which might make them more likeable. Also I like my mystery romances to be more heavily weighed toward mystery. ( )

This is the third book in the Lady Emily Mysteries. It begins with Lady Emily Ashton at a house party providing support for her friend Ivy and her husband Robert Brandon who is trying to build a political career. The party is hosted by Lord Fortescue who is very influential in politics but not a nice person. He uses blackmail and other unsavory techniques and has taken a strong dislike to Emily. She returns the feelings.

To add to the goings-on, she is with her fiancé Colin Hargreaves who is an agent for the British Crown and also with the woman - Kristiana von Lange - who was once his lover and who is still a partner in his work. Kristiana loves throwing their past relationship in Emily's face and Emily isn't at all convinced that Kristiana is going to give up Colin graciously.

When Lord Fortescue is found murdered on the hunting field after a falling out with Brandon, Ivy's husband is arrested for the crime. Emily needs to find out what really happened to Lord Fortescue to save her friend's husband. But there are so many political things going on that her task won't be an easy one.

Unravelling the mystery takes her to Vienna and another complicated political situation filled with anarchists, very suspicious "suicides." and an English agent who seems to want to cause a war between Britain and Germany.

I loved the historical detail in this story which takes place in 1891. I really liked Emily who is an intrepid and intelligent woman despite some bit of insecurity regarding Colin's love for her. The plot was nicely twisty and filled with engaging characters ranging from an Empress to a young man just beginning a future as an artist.

Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this story and be glad that there are still more adventures of Lady Emily Ashton to read. ( )

This is the third book in the Lady Emily Mysteries. It begins with Lady Emily Ashton at a house party providing support for her friend Ivy and her husband Robert Brandon who is trying to build a political career. The party is hosted by Lord Fortescue who is very influential in politics but not a nice person. He uses blackmail and other unsavory techniques and has taken a strong dislike to Emily. She returns the feelings.

To add to the goings-on, she is with her fiancé Colin Hargreaves who is an agent for the British Crown and also with the woman - Kristiana von Lange - who was once his lover and who is still a partner in his work. Kristiana loves throwing their past relationship in Emily's face and Emily isn't at all convinced that Kristiana is going to give up Colin graciously.

When Lord Fortescue is found murdered on the hunting field after a falling out with Brandon, Ivy's husband is arrested for the crime. Emily needs to find out what really happened to Lord Fortescue to save her friend's husband. But there are so many political things going on that her task won't be an easy one.

Unravelling the mystery takes her to Vienna and another complicated political situation filled with anarchists, very suspicious "suicides." and an English agent who seems to want to cause a war between Britain and Germany.

I loved the historical detail in this story which takes place in 1891. I really liked Emily who is an intrepid and intelligent woman despite some bit of insecurity regarding Colin's love for her. The plot was nicely twisty and filled with engaging characters ranging from an Empress to a young man just beginning a future as an artist.

Fans of historical mysteries will enjoy this story and be glad that there are still more adventures of Lady Emily Ashton to read. ( )

[A Fatal Waltz] by [[Tasha Alexander]] is third in the Lady Emily Ashton series of mysteries. Set in 1890s England, the books are a mix of history, society and murders. It took a couple chapters to get into this one but eventually I settled in. The history, in particular, is excellent: even in 1891, we are seeing the seeds of WW I. This one also included Prince Eddy and the Cleveland Street scandal. I've had fun doing more reading about these corners of the Victorian era. Part of it is set in Vienna at Christmas time and the descriptions were wonderful. The two main characters--Ashton and her fiancee Colin Hargreaves--are complex enough to keep the mystery solving interesting but there was one spot where I found myself yelling at the obvious plot twist. ( )