A Lady Arianna Regency Mystery, by Andrea Penrose, Obsidian Mystery, April 2011
SWEET REVENGE is a cozy mystery set in Regency England involving chocolate, illicit drugs and an old aristocratic scandal. Lady Arianna Hadley will do anything to find her father's murderer and see him punished for his crime. So she forms an uneasy alliance with Alessandro De Quincy, the Earl of Saybrook, and transforms herself from a chef and a street urchin to a wealthy widow in search of sensual diversions...all to ensnare her prey and avenge her father's death. Lord Saybrook searches for the same criminal to uncover a treasonal money-making scheme that could ultimately impact England's position against Napoleon.
Each chapter begins with a segment of an old journal that highlights an historical fact about chocolate followed by a modern recipe using chocolate. Both intrude on the flow of the story, and after the first chapter, I waited to read the rest until I'd finished the whole book. The journal entries, set in the 1700s, might have blended okay with the book's historical setting. However, the recipes specify oven temperatures and the use of electric mixers and wax paper, quickly lifting me from early 19th century England into the 21st century USA.
Without the interruption of the journal entries and recipes, the story moves along nicely. Lady Arianna is an appealing protaganist, who has been on her own since she was 15, doing whatever needed to survive. She enjoys delving into complex mathematical puzzles and changes roles quickly and easily. Her wary partner, Lord Saybrook, is a former army intelligence officer with a wounded leg and an addiction to opium. They mistrust each other but know it's crucial they work together to achieve their goals.
In spite of the intrusive journal entries and chocolate recipes, Sweet Revenge is fairly well-paced with intriquing storylines, intelligent characters and interesting dialogue. If you like to learn more than "whodunit" in your mysteries, then make sure to save space in your library for this cozy, the first in a new series.
* The next book in the series, The Cocoa Conspiracy, comes out in December 2011.
PROTAGONIST: Independent, 20-something, good at disguises
ACTION: Story never bogs down, medium-paced
LOVE INTEREST: The earl
ROMANCE: She's no virgin, but gets no action either
QUIRKINESS: Men "lever up" from their chairs, Spanish and French phrases, fondness for mentioning "cajones"
INTERESTING TIDBITS: The history of chocolate, recipes for chocolate food and drink
FUN FACTOR: A few amusing characters
IF YOU LIKE THIS, YOU MAY LIKE: Molly McQuire Mysteries by Rhys Bowen, Being Jane Austen Mysteries by Stephanie Barron, Lady Emily Mysteries by Tasha Alexander