Two brother, Rufus the Lord of the Manor, and Henry the penniless younger one, set off hunting one day. Someone shoots Rufus dead, and Henry inherits the title.
In 1100, nobody asked awkward questions about Henry’s motivation. Now that he was Henry I of England, no sensible man would question how he ascended the throne. Besides, his elder brother William II Rufus was a scoundrel, and so mayhap things would be better under King Henry.
In the early 1800s, during the time of Jane Austen, things were not quite so easy for younger brother Henry Rowland. His elder brother Rufus Rowland, the Duke of Brockenhurst has been murdered. Two shots were fired. And how come the front of the Duke’s body is mired with soil that is identical to that found outside the Parish Church, when he is found in a forest clearing?
Bow-Street Runner Jacob Pevensey arrives on the scene to ask awkward questions, and Henry is the prime suspect. If he is found guilty, he will hang.
Thus Roseanna E. Lortz’s Second Pevensy Mystery again takes its inspiration from events that occured in the eleventh century, transposing them to the time of Jane Austen. I loved the character transformation of heroine Eliza Malcolm, who finds her voice by the end of this volume. Her strong-minded mother, weak father, and the two brothers Rowland jump off the page and make this tale extremely convinciing. If you love Regency Romance, you should definitely try this one.
