3 of 5 stars
Thomas Devereaux, Lord Rockbourne, regrets ever marrying his wife, but when she suffers a fatal accident, he's suddenly on the Bow Street's radar. It seems his mother-in-law is making claims that Tom killed his wife. The more Bow Street investigates, the more things point to Tom's guilt. His only witness, Beatrix Linley, cannot come forward if she doesn't want to have her reputation in tatters. How could she explain that she was in the tree outside the Rockbourne home spying on her the duke, her father who abandoned her years ago?
I liked Thomas who by trying to do the honorable thing in protecting his dead wife's reputation finds himself the number one suspect in a murder investigation. He was the perfect flawed hero. I wasn't so enthralled with Beatrix. She has a habit--both conscious and unconscious--of stealing items from events she attends. While this is mentioned a number of times, once Thomas declares his love, it seems to disappear. I'm not sure that could happen so quickly. Also, throughout the book, the penknife is mentioned and when it's finally revealed it was stolen by Beatrix and pawned, it almost seems like an after thought and nothing else is mentioned about it.
I found it easy to put the book down a number of times and it took me almost a week to finish it. While I usually adore Ms. Burke's books, this one just wasn't as riveting as some of her other books.
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.
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