A Fiancée's Guide to First Wives and Murder (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781496731609)

In Dianne Freeman's lighthearted mystery series set in Victorian England, the American-born Countess of Harleigh uncovers more deadly intrigue among the uppercrust...

For Frances Wynn, widow to the late Earl of Harleigh, life has a cosmopolitan flavor of late. No sooner has she sent her mother and daughter off on a shopping trip to Paris than she and her fiancé, George Hazleton, are socializing with visiting members of the Russian royal family. Yet amid this whirlwind, scandal also comes calling when Inspector Delaney turns up outside Frances's house with a young French woman with a shocking claim: she is Mrs. George Hazelton.

As the future Mrs. George Hazelton, Frances assumes the woman is either lying or demented. "Mrs. Hazelton," aka Irena, makes other outrageous statements. Among them, she insists that she is the illegitimate daughter of Russian royalty, that she has been abducted and held for ransom many times, and that someone is sending her threatening letters. When George arrives, he clarifies that he is certainly not married to Irena--though he can confirm her royal parentage. But even as he agrees to investigate whether Irena's life is in danger, her claim proves tragically true. Irena is found strangled in Frances' garden.

To uncover a killer--and clear their own names--Frances and George must determine which of Irena's outlandish stories were based in fact, and who stood to benefit from her death. And as the search reaches a shocking conclusion, they may find that villainy lurks all too close to home...

Author: Dianne Freeman
ISBN-10: 1496731603
ISBN-13: 9781496731609
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Language: English
Published: 07/27/2021
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.85lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.70w x 1.20d

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 06/01/2021
Publishers Weekly 06/14/2021
Library Journal 07/01/2021 pg. 58
Booklist 07/01/2021 pg. 28