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A Poisoned Season: A Novel Of Suspense
Unavailable
A Poisoned Season: A Novel Of Suspense
Unavailable
A Poisoned Season: A Novel Of Suspense
Audiobook9 hours

A Poisoned Season: A Novel Of Suspense

Written by Tasha Alexander

Narrated by Nic Frances

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

Stolen jewels, secret identities, and death abound in this sparkling tale of suspense set in Victorian England, from New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander.

London's social season is in full swing, and Victorian aristocracy can't stop whispering about a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. But he's not the only topic of wagging tongues. Drawing rooms, boudoirs, and ballrooms are abuzz with the latest news of an audacious cat burglar who has been systematically stealing valuable items that once belonged to the ill-fated queen.

Light gossip turns serious when the owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Lady Emily Ashton. It will take all of Lady Emily's wit and perseverance to unmask her stalker and ferret out the murderer, while faced with a brewing scandal that threatens both her reputation and her romance with her late husband's best friend, the dashing Colin Hargreaves.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateJul 2, 2012
ISBN9780062131577
Unavailable
A Poisoned Season: A Novel Of Suspense
Author

Tasha Alexander

When not reading, Tasha Alexander can be found hard at work on her next book featuring Emily Ashton.

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Reviews for A Poisoned Season

Rating: 3.8474800228116712 out of 5 stars
4/5

377 ratings32 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I thought it was a little over long and repetitious. Emily who has love for all things Greek gets involved in an investigation of an ancestor to Marie Antoinette who is looking to overthrow the French government. She’s receiving gifts and notes written in Greek that she needs to translate from “Homer.” There are lots of threats, dangers, burglaries, which she seems to dismiss with feeble excuses... She’s a widow, so is given a certain level of freedom, but is stifled by the times and becomes the topic of gossip. I finished this book but I don’t think I’ll read another one in this series.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I started this book after enjoying the first in the series. The recording was narrated by Nic Frances, and I had to stop less than 5 minutes into the tape. The readers voice was almost impossible to listen to, in a range that I could not understand, as a hard of hearing person. I wish publishers would test the readers before signing contracts with them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the 2nd book in the series that I have read (but I haven't read #1 yet, I put it down & now can not find it), so this makes me once again a "ROO"It is the early 1900's in Victorian England, a myriad of balls & parties when an American man shows up claiming to be the great-grandson of Marie Antoinette (soon to be the new King of France). Of course the society matrons decide he must be an eligible bachelor so out of spite & jealousy one of the jealous mothers sets up a campaign to discredit Lady Emily Ashton to keep her from marrying & keeping her shut-out of society.At the same time; a Cat Burglar is about, many treasured items that once belonged to Marie Antoinette have begun to disappear, and a man who owned a famous Pink Diamond, snuffbox & letters of the dead queen is found poisoned along with his valet.Lady Emily is called upon to help solve the murders and in doing so becomes the love interest of the burglar.This book was much better than it sounds in my review: Lady Emily's fiancée, Colin Hargreaves works for the crown and is caught up in the intrigue to put the self-claimed future king on the throne; there are the mysterious Greek love letters from the Cat Burglar; Lady Emily's interest in discovering the actual heir to the throne; and the friends & family surrounding Lady Emily.I liked the story, I like the historical tidbits (because I always learn something new), and I like the characters.... I do wish however, when the author describes Lady Emily's gowns by Worth there were watercolour illustrations.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Though Book 2 of the Lady Emily Ashton series is better than the first book, I have the impression that Alexander isn't quite sure if she writes social commentary, romances or mysteries. I think this author has a lot of promise but needs to narrow her focus or improve her outlines. The mystery is languishing!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I throughly enjoyed this second book in the Lady Ashton series. The main character is very likeable and the story, involving stolen antiquities and murder, is interesting. In fact, I think this is the best of the two book series. I'll be reading number three when it comes out.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Tasha Alexander's second historical mystery featuring Lady Emily lives up to the promise of this series. Lady Emily, a wealthy nineteenth-century widow, becomes quickly embroiled in scandal and a mystery surrounding a pretender to the French throne and Marie Antoinette's jewels. The persistent Emily uncovers secrets long kept by families and must deal with several determined admirers in addition to her love interest, the dashing Colin Hargreaves. A Poisoned Season was a fun and enjoyable read, highly recommended to fans of historical mysteries.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A Poisoned Season (Lady Emily, # 2) By Tasha AlexanderSet in the Victorian Era, a burglar is stealing items that belonged to the Queen. Then a murder occurs, one of the owners of stolen items turns up dead. Lady Emily Ashton is determined to find out who the culprit is. Also it appears that Lady Emily has a stalker, and (she is) beginning a romance with Colin Hargreaves.The perfect who-done-it. The plot is fast paced, with a lot of twists turns and secrets. The cast of characters is large, each one has their part in the story. I really Liked Lady Emily, and some of her friends. Murder, mystery, suspense, secrets, and a splash of romance makes for the perfect read. I highly recommend A Poisoned Season to those who enjoy Historical-Mystery.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I thought it was a good continuation of Alexander's first book. I also didn't figure out the "bad guy" until almost the end of the book which was a nice change.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I very much enjoyed this book. I love suspense and historical fiction, and this book (and series) combines those two, creating excellent page-turning reads. Lady Emily is a wonderful, forward thinking, stubborn character that one can't help adore. In "A Poisoned Season" as well as "And Only to Deceive" I feel transported back to the Victorian Era. Tasha Alexander is an excellent story teller and I can't wait to pick up the next book in the series.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Writing style is clunky especially with abrupt sentence and paragraph transitions, but a well-conceived plot and strong characters. Ending was a bit too predictable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    An enjoyable outing, glad I found Tasha Alexander listed in my recs here at LibraryThing. I missed the first in this series; And Only to Deceive is now on my to-read list along with the rest of the Lady Emily books.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I picked this up without realizing that it was the second book in the Lady Emily series, but it provided enough explanation of what went on in the first book that it didn't matter much.

    I don't really read mysteries (I can probably count the mysteries I've read on one hand) but I love the Edwardian period, so I thought I'd give it a chance. I certainly didn't guess either of the mysteries in the book, but I have to say that more than the desire to see who dunnit, I kept reading because I thoroughly enjoyed Emily as a heroine and Colin as her romantic hero.

    Aside from a few bits of dialogue that seemed a bit modern to me, the author seemed ot have a very good grasp on society and fashion etc of the period. More importantly (since this is the part that a lot of writers of historical fiction neglect) I thought she also did a very good job of staying true to the tone and mores of the times. Like most heroines in historical fiction, Emily has some 'unlady-like' hobbies (the study of Greek) but what I liked about this book is that it actually showed how these hobbies would reflect on her character to the rest of society. In fact, a good deal of the plot turns on how her unconventional hobbies (including sleuthing), desire for independence and lack of desire to get married to Colin, despite how much she love (and is attracted) to him all combine to give her a pretty scandalous reputation, which she shes repercussions for. I also like how the author managed to portray some really nice UST between Emily and Colin while staying true to the conventions of the times. (Colin decides that he shouldn't kiss her (any more) until she's agreed to be his wife, for example.)

    I would definitely pick up the next volume of the series.

    Also, I want to say how much I LOVE the cover of the book. It fits perfectly, and kept me wanting to pick it up again.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Good novels. Very romantic. Young widow finds out that her husband loved her and starts to try and figure out a forgery of Greek artifacts and her husband's death. Next book is a romance between Lady Emily Ashton and Colin Hargreaves, the dead husband's best friend. Also there's the mystery of who is spreading rumors about Emily, who is the Marie Antoinette cat burglar, who is Charles Berry, and who killed Richard Francis. And finally, Emily's nemisis is killed and her friend's husband arrested for the crime. Emily must go to Vienna to figure out the murderer and also to help stop a war between Britian, Austria, and Germany.Delightful reads. The writing wasn't as scintillating as the Lady Julia Grey series, but the plots were better. I also liked how Colin treats Emily as an equal whereas Nicholas always treated Julia as an idiot. Probably not very realistic, but more satisfying.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It is the Season in London and Lady Emily is once again under pressure from everyone, including the Queen, to marry again. She certainly is not at a loss for admirers, including a mysterious thief who specializes items that once belonged to Marie Antoinette and another person who claims to be the heir to the French throne. When one of victims of the thief is murdered, Emily is drawn into the investigation. I enjoyed this second Lady Emily Ashton mystery. The Victorian age and all it's silly rules comes to life in these novels. Emily and her friends are great fun too. If there was such a thing as a Victorian chicklit mystery, this would be it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Unlike most readers, I didn't like this one (the second adventure of Lady Emily Ashton) as well as I did number one in the series (And Only to Deceive). Much of what the heroine says and does strikes me as a bit unlikely for the period. Anne Perry's focus isn't as much on the haut monde, but I find her forays into it more historically convincing. It's not that I want perfect historical truth with my period mysteries, I just don't want to be jarred out of the illusion of another time and place.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Expanding on the first, we have a women who is walking the line between member of society and bluestocking and trying to craft our modern ideals of what a women is now, onto what a women was in the 1890s. A fine line that I think Ms. Alexander doesn't always hold well to, but fails more than she succeeds.We also have to place in context the leading man, who, in the first book we did not even know existed as a possible worthy suitor for any lady, and someone our heroine, well connected, had no idea of until she married. Now, in this book, the hero is one of the two most eligible men in England. And rumors, since our writer is american, that his family refused a title on two separate occasions, even though they have been in England since before William.Somethings just don't ring true.The mystery this time out is stronger with red herrings and plot twists and though the premise one needs to suspend their disbelief, the journey is fun. The series remains engaging. Some historical tightening and good sense, not pandering to modern day assumptions, would make it better yet.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A great sequel. Emily gets involved in the mysterious theft of objects once belonging to Marie Antoinette, and suddenly her life is in jeopardy. The mystery takes precedence over the romance here, and Colin is a less prominent character, but that is all for the better, as Emily shows she can handle herself on her own. I'd give this to fans of the first Emily Ashton book, everyone else I'd direct tot he first book in the series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lady Emily Ashton is back. It's the beginning of the social season, and she has a mysterious admirer who is sending love notes written in Greek. There's also a burglar who is stealing items which had once belonged to Marie Antoinette. When Mr. Francis turns up dead, his wife asks for Lady Emily's help in clearing her maid of the charges against her. There are lots of plots and subplots in this novel, perhaps a bit too many at times. However, I enjoyed this novel more than the first in the series. There are some elements in the novel that remind me of the story lines in "romantic suspenses" such as those crafter by Phyllis Whitney although I would not characterize this story as one of those.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A Poisoned Season
    4 Stars

    Emily's sleuthing abilities as well as the development of her relationship with Colin Hargreaves are both significantly improved in this installment.

    The mystery revolving around the theft of several artifacts related to Marie Antionette and the subsequent murder of the owner of one of the stolen treasures is very intriguing, especially the inclusion of the Lost Dauphin storyline. Moreover, Emily puts her detecting skills to much better use rather than just stumbling around in the dark, and the ultimate revelation of the culprit provides quite a twist to the story.

    Emily and Colin's romance, which was sorely lacking in detail in the first book, finally gets sufficient page time. Colin with is quiet sincerity and profound sense of honor is a clear case of still waters running deep, and he provides an excellent companion to Emily's more forthright personality.

    All in all, an enjoyable historical mystery.

    On a side note, it is unfortunate that the 4th and 5th books are not available in audiobook format, which is problematic as audio is the only option for me when it comes to 1st person narration. Hopefully, these books will be recorded soon so that I can continue with the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Like I said in my review of this first book of this series, And Only to Deceive, I absolutely love this series. I have re-read the books several times and always look forward to a new one being published. Tasha Alexander has created wonderful characters, and it is impossible not to fall in love with them. (Especially Colin, who may very well be the perfect man).This is my favorite book of the series so far, and one of my favorite books of all time. I love the way Emily and Colin butt heads as far as the detective side of the story goes. There are a couple of hilarious interactions! Colin does not like the thought of Emily putting herself in danger, and Emily doesn't like being told what do do. I understand her desire for independence, believe me. Her strong head is one of the best things about her...but she really needs to get it through her thick skull that giving up a little control for the sake of being with Colin: worth it. The mystery in this one is just as captivating as in the first novel, if not more so. Who is stealing Marie Antoinette collectibles? Who is sneaking into Emily's bedroom in the dead of night and leaving her creepy notes and flowers? What intelligent-but-reckless thing will Emily do next to try to solve the mystery? Will Colin have a heart attack from worry? And finally...the last page of this book. Possibly my favorite scene from any book. Ever. I want to blab, I really do. I want to tell you what happens because I know you would all swoon with me. Big time. Suffice it to say, it is romantic and involves books.Intrigued? Good. Read this series, you absolutely won't regret it!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another good read from Tasha Alexander. Looking forward with great anticipation to A Fatal Waltz and Tears of Pearl.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I thoroughly enjoyed this second outing of Lady Emily; I was sucked back into her society from the first page. No more guilt-ridden, moony angst! But it was not without its issues and shortcomings. A Poisoned Season picks up where the last book And Only to Deceive leaves off - Emily has returned from Greece in time for the London Season but still chafes against the rules set out for polite society. There's a pretender to the French throne in town, a cat burglar, and a murder - all contributing to the enlivenment of the season. In an attempt to help out her American friend Margaret, she unwittingly makes herself the focus of scandalous rumours concerning an illicit affair between herself and the Duke of Bainbridge. Colin is trying to stop a coup d'etat. Her best friend Ivy is having marital problems, and let's not forget the wager between Lady Emily and Colin... I think the author tried to weave too many threads into the story. Bainbridge is so prominent as to be considered a main character in the first half of the book - then he all but disappears without so much as a line of dialogue between himself and Emily. Perhaps we'll see him again in a future book, but the reader isn't given any indication of that. Also, there's a growing animosity towards Lady Emily on the part of Robert's boss, culminating with a nasty scene at Ivy's ball - but it's never explained. What was up with that?!? Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the story and the mystery(ies). The murder mystery was exceptionally well done. I was totally bamboozled; talk about Machiavellian planning. The secondary mysteries were entertaining, but not overly impressive; the identity of one of the characters was evident from the first clue. If I found Colin less than swoon-worthy in the first book, I was a true convert by the end of this one. He's my idea of a romantic hero: confident enough of his own identity to be completely at ease with a strong, independent female. His gift at the end of the book was inspired for both it's real value and its metaphorical one. If I didn't like Lady Emily, he alone might be reason enough for me to keep reading.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed 'A Poisoned Season' much more than the first in the series. The mystery, subplots, characters all seemed more interesting, better developed, however, sometimes the writing seemed 'flat' though less so in this book than the first.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the second entry I've read in the Lady Emily cozy mystery series which takes place in Victorian England. In the first novel Lady Emily solves her husbands murder and stumbles on to an investigative quality that she never knew she possessed. In this novel her relationship with her husbands friend Colin deepens as she investigates the disappearance of items that belonged to Marie Antoinette that have been disappearing from some of the finest homes in London. Along the way her reputation takes a ding and she acquires the affections of a mysterious admirer. Lady Emily's meeting with the Queen to repair her social standing was one one of my favorite parts of the book. Lady Emily is like a Victorian Nancy Drew. She has her own Bess and George in the form of Ivy and Margaret and Colin Hargreaves is her Ned. She is an extremely likeable character who is a woman ahead of her time. I look forward to her further adventures.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At the beginning of the London season, young widow Lady Emily Ashton hopes to avoid as many social obligations as she can to allow her more time to pursue her newly found interest in Greek literature and antiquities. It doesn't take long for her to find other distractions from the superficialities of the season: catching a cat burglar who specializes in items once owned by Marie Antoinette, solving the murder of an acquaintance who was also one of the cat burglar's victims, and identifying the mysterious suitor who leaves her gifts and notes written in Greek.I enjoyed the book, but not quite as much as the first book in the series. It took a while for me to become fully absorbed in its pages. I attribute this to the number of plot threads and the setting that needed to be created for each thread. At various points Emily had trouble deciding which investigation was the most pressing, and I shared her puzzlement. There were an awful lot of characters to keep track of, yet surprisingly few suspects among them. Some of the characters disappeared from the action for long periods of time only to reappear again many chapters later, like in a Dickens novel. Emily's sudden passion for scholarly pursuits seemed more out of place in this novel than in the first. It has been quite a while since I read the first book in the series and I would have benefited from a reminder of Emily's motivation for her Greek studies, which the previous book explained.Readers who like the characters in the Victorian Mysteries by Robin Paige will likely enjoy reading about Lady Emily Ashton and her circle.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lady Ashton gets caught up in another murder investigation but this time, she's also managed to find herself the recipient of romantic Greek messages from a secret admirer. Accidents, strange thefts and malicious rumors abound in this novel, keeping the readers on their toes and entertained.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another light read in the Lady Emily series (book #2). A tale involving stolen jewelry, secret identities and murder. Lady Emily is being snubbed by society for the appearance of some improprieties. And yet, there is a mysterious thief with obsessive behaviors who keeps invading her home leaving notes in Greek. Her mother continues to meddle in her affairs and Lady Emily has a bet with her romantic friend, Colin Hargreaves, involving the identity of her secret admirer. Lady Emily's life is never dull.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Highly enjoyable second installment in the Lady Emily series. I wish I'd had access to it on audio, but it was quite a delight to read in any format. Very intrigued to see where this goes next, esp. with Davis and Odette.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Too much romance
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Where I got the book: purchased at an author event. Signed. I know the author.This is the second book in Alexander’s Lady Emily mystery series. I’m very slowly working my way through it, having enjoyed the first book enough that I was willling to give the second a try. I have three or four historical mystery series I dip into from time to time when I need some relaxation reading—I expect plausibility rather than painstaking historical accuracy, perhaps a little bit of a continuing romance story, and enough fun and fluff to keep me turning the page. I also like such books not to insult my intelligence, and they get higher points if they pique my interest in one or more aspect of history.And A Poisoned Season did well on all counts. It continues Lady Emily’s interest in all things Greek and her obsession with getting Greek artifacts out of private possession and into museums, although naturally she’s not progressive enough to insist they actually be returned to Greece. The Greek theme is worked into the plot via the messages (containing classical Greek quotations) that Emily receives from her stalker, but on the whole it’s downplayed as the main mystery plot involves artifacts belonging to Marie Antoinette and a Bourbon claimant who turns up in London. Yes, the Greek and the French do sit a little awkwardly together, which is the problem of giving your heroine a very specific interest early on in a series.The background for the mystery is the London Season, the marriage market for the aristocracy. This was the matter on which Alexander piqued my historical interest, as she has some interesting points to make about the whole love vs. strategy dilemma of Victorian aristocratic matchmaking and also develops Emily’s relationship with her mother. The post-dénouement ending (not spoiling it for you) came a bit too abruptly for me, but I’m hoping this will be one of those series where spanners will be thrown into the emotional works with satisfying regularity.My verdict is that I’m engaged in this series and will continue with it when the urge to relax with a historical mystery arises.