A Lady Compromised is the fourth title in this enjoyable Regency series of mysteries featuring the ever busy Rosalind. Our protagonist, who helps others of her class, is the daughter of a forger and the sister or a courtesan, so unique. This time Rosalind is helping her friend Louisa to prepare for her upcoming wedding. Friend Helen also needs Rosalinda’s help. Regular readers of the series know that all will not go smoothly and that there will be murder, but that all should ultimately turn out well.

This title combines mystery with Rosalind’s personal life and a male character important to her..if only things could go well. This novel is an enjoyable historical mystery and I recommend it for fans of cozies.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I have not read this author before so I am coming in on the fourth book in a series. I think I picked up quickly on the characters and their relationships, and the mystery angle was complete within this book, so no problems.

A Lady Compromised is, as the title suggests, historical fiction, set in the days when society had so many rules that women never stepped outside the house unattended and duels were still the way for men to deal with an insult. A lot of historical issues are included too such as the building of canals. I had never given much thought before to how this massive undertaking was organised and financed.

I was not drawn to Rosalind, the main character. Maybe I would have like her better in the earlier books but in this one she is so self controlled she comes across as unfeeling. On the other hand I was immediately drawn to Adam even though he barely makes an appearance. The author writes well, the story moves at a good pace and the plot is well thought out and interesting. I will probably read more of the series now.

When Baronet’s daughter and amateur sleuth Rosalind Thorne is asked to investigate what appears to be a suicide, she finds nothing is as it seems. Among the upper crust of society she discovers motives for bad deeds fueled by financial greed and social ambition.

A Lady Compromised is book 4 in Rosalind Thorne Mysteries by Darcie Wild, published by Kensington Books. This is the very entertaining and intriguing story about amateur sleuth Rosalind Thorne as she is invited to help solve a mysterious case. The authorities have decided it was suicide, but the victim’s sister thinks he was shot as he was getting ready to duel. Rosalind’s investigation reveals a string of hidden secrets and cover-ups among upper class families. They consider themselves beyond reproach, which the investigation totally contradicts.

Main character is Baronet’s daughter and amateur sleuth Rosalind Thorne. Her family has fallen on hard times following her father’s forger activity. She tries to hide this while assisting friends in need using her investigation skills and connections. She travels to opulent English country estates not unlike Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

Dowager Lady Casselmaine is a well developed and interesting supporting character who seems to have chosen a reclusive life. Her character goes through a development process from rather standoffish into a more amiable person who tries to open herself up to the world and live a better life. For this reason she is my favorite of this story.

The fly-on-the-wall perspective of the upper class lifestyle I found thoroughly amusing. I can’t remember having read anything with similar detailed descriptions of how dinner parties might feel for guests. The characters came alive and felt both relatable and realistic in this setting. My favorite part was descriptions of the Dowager Countess’ journey and development through the story. I also loved following Rosalind’s somewhat complicated and interesting past with her host.

I didn’t know much beforehand about duels, which played an important role in the plot. I very much enjoyed the descriptions of the secrecy surrounding it. Bad attitudes against foreigners and a notion that some people have “superior genes” made the plot stand out, and added drama. I found this a unique, surprising element I have not read about before.

I read this as a standalone, which worked perfectly. The ending left me curious and opens up for the next book. While this is the first cozy mystery I have read by Darcie Wilde, I would very much like to start from the beginning and read the whole series.

Anyone who enjoys the affluent country environments reminiscent of Agatha Christie and Jane Austin would love this. Fans familiar with Darcie Wilde’s works would too.
Similar authors to explore might be Andrea Penrose and Rosemary Simpson.
Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for this opportunity to share my honest review. All opinions are completely my own.

Conclusion: A Lady Compromised is the entertaining and intriguing new installment in Rosalind Thorne Mysteries series. Amateur sleuth Rosalind Thorne solves crimes in Jane Austin-like opulent English country environments. Somebody ends up dead in what appears to be a duel gone horribly wrong. Bad attitude against foreigners was a unique and surprising element adding drama to the story.

Rosalind finds more than she expects when she travels to the country to help her friend Louisa plan her wedding. For one thing, she's come face to face once more with Devon, the Duke of Casselmaine, who was her first and lost love. For another, she agrees to look into something odd about the duel which killed William Corbyn. His sister Helen is worried that she might be marrying the wrong man but Rosalind then discovers a bigger problem. The Duke has a motive! Or does he? No spoilers from me because this is nicely done from both a mystery and a romantic standpoint. I'd not read the earlier books so I appreciated how Wilde caught us ip on the history between Rosalind and Devon (oh scandal!). The characters are well done and the mystery twisty. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Fans of historical mysteries and those who like novels set during the Regency with a little more bite to the love story will enjoy this one.

A Lady Compromised is the fourth book in the Rosalind Thorne series by Darcie Wilde. I am a big fan of this series, and I'm always excited for the next book. In A Lady Compromised, Rosalind leaves London society and travels to the country to help her friend Louisa to plan her wedding. In the country, she will also be spending time with Louisa's cousin and Rosalind's first love and current suitor, Duke Casselmaine. Devon and Rosalind were almost engaged when they were young, but circumstances and a family scandal prevented them from getting married. Years later, they have a chance to be together, but Rosalind must decide if she wants up to give her independence to become a Duchess. Spending time in the country with Devon will help her see things more clearly.

But instead of spending time with Devon, Rosalind finds herself embroiled in another murder investigation, which also threatens her relationship with him. Country society appears to be even more troublesome than the London society. There is a lot of animosity between families. Dark secrets are boiling over and are threatening the peace and even the lives of the residents. It's up to Rosalind to solve the murder before more people die.

I enjoyed this latest murder mystery and read it one day. The one thing I didn't love is the direction Rosalind's and Devon's relationship took! I am getting tired of love triangles. I've read a few books lately that left me disappointed because the heroine didn't choose my preferred love interest, or the romance just fizzled out. Give me all the romance but please, authors, no more love triangles!

*** 3.5 Stars ***

Historical Mysteries are my favorite sub-genre and I am always looking for new-to-me authors and series to love. I found this series and wanted to give it a try even though I was coming into the series on the 4th book rather than starting at the beginning. This book can easily be read as a standalone and I don’t feel I missed much by not reading the first three books. I can also say that this book didn’t entice me to go back and read the first three books.

Rosalind Thorne, daughter of Baronet Sir Reginald Thorne, who is/was a forger, has lived in very reduced circumstances for the last several years. She has survived and supported herself by becoming ‘A Useful Woman’ in society. Basically, she helps ladies out of tangled situations. As she prepares to leave London for a two-fold mission – to help her friend Louisa Winterbourne prepare for her wedding – and to see if her former relationship with Devon, Duke of Casselmaine is still as warm as it once was. She wonders if she can leave all she has created for herself in London for the quiet country life of a duchess. Of course, decisions can never be simple, so a letter from Helen Corbyn arrives, asking Rosalind to help unravel the mystery of her brother’s death while she is visiting Louisa and Devon.

There are a great many secrets held within several families as well as family animosities and feuds. With suspects galore, Rosalind may not escape before a murder ends her life as well. Twisted and tangled relationships nestled within political issues of the time make Rosalind’s inquiries particularly perilous.

I am not a fan of love triangles and this series seems to have had one during the previous three books. It doesn’t appear that any of the relationships were secret and each of the men knew about the other, so I guess that is good. I believe this book was to ‘settle’ the triangle – and I suppose it did in that Rosalind made a choice to decline one of them for anything beyond friendship. However, it didn’t appear to me that she actually chose the other. Frankly, I like more romance in my mysteries that this one had – it was lukewarm at best.

Overall, it was a good mystery, but it was slower paced than I usually like, and without an active romance to shore it up, it fell flat for me. The author threw a lot of historical ‘facts’ at us about life during the period, but I’m not sure how much of it was totally accurate. For instance, Adam Harkness, Principal Investigator at Bow Street would not have been wearing a red vest. The Bow Street Horse Patrol was the only one who wore the red vests. Others at Bow Street wore regular clothing. I am happy to have read the story and to have met Rosalind, Devon, and Adam, but I wouldn’t re-read the book – nor am I sure that it enticed me to try the next book when it comes out.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me a copy of this book to review. I was thrilled to see another Rosalind Thorne mystery available, as I really enjoyed the previous two books in the series. Rosalind is a “useful woman” in Regency England. Although a daughter of an aristocrat, she is in genteel poverty and is forced to essentially act as an assistant to other noble women for her living, due to the actions of her father. One thing I liked about Ms. Wilde’s writing is that even though the novels include some of Rosalind’s interior thoughts, you never get the whole story, so Rosalind’s actions can sometimes surprise you when you thought you had her figured out. This especially worked in previous books concerning her feelings for the two potential romances in her life - Devon Winterbourne and Adam Harkness. However, Rosalind’s flip flopping between the two of them has gotten old by the third book. If I was either of these men, I would be fed up with her indecision. I don’t know why, but it really grates on me! Both guys are great and so accepting and patient, and Rosalind essentially acts like she is very interested in them both then leaves them hanging. It really distracts from the book, as this is the third one where she is indecisive through the entire novel. Just move on or pick one!! As for the mystery itself, I had narrowed down the suspects to two about halfway through, and then decided on one about 60% through, which turned out to be the correct one. There wasn’t really enough information to guess the motivation until the end, when there is a massive dump of narrative that somewhat messily ties things together, but leaves random unanswered questions on things that just don’t make sense. Rosalind manages to completely offend and isolate herself from the person who cares for her most, and she doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it, even if it leaves the other character in a really bad position. Two of the secondary female characters keep repeating that men dismiss them as hysterical women, but in truth, they act irrationally, dramatically, and carelessly, so I didn’t have a lot of sympathy for them. Meanwhile Rosalind could use more emotion; her character is supposed to play her cards close to her chest, but she acts really uncaringly sometimes to the people who love her the most. I was pretty disappointed in this novel, and I’m sad to say I’m not sure if I’ll read the next entry. The writing is excellent, but the heroine is tiring.

The storyline was strong enough to keep me engaged to the end but i did struggle with the romantic relationship between Rosalind and Devon. It just didn't seem to gel for me. Similarly, the discontent that suddenly seemed to rear its head in Rosalind's loyal and longstanding maid. Hmmm!

There are some interesting characters and some great insights into the mores and prejudices evident in these times. The repercussions for family members being quite shocking.

I hadn't read any of the others in the series, but the ending of this one was intriguing enough that I think I may consider signing up for the next one in the series.

My thanks to the author, Kensington Books and #Netgalley for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I have to admit that the triangle Adam, Rosalind, Devon has me a bit bored, especially because the author takes the story in one direction and then abruptly change it again, so from a certain point of view I felt cheated. The mystery of William's death, however, I liked it a lot and I had not even remotely imagined the solution.

Devo ammettere che il triangolo Adam, Rosalind, Devon mi ha un po' stufato, soprattutto perché l'autrice porta la storia in una direzione e poi bruscamente ci ripensa, quindi da un certo punto di vista mi sono sentita imbrogliata. Il mistero della morte di William invece, mi é piaciuto parecchio e non avevo nemmeno lontanamente immaginato la soluzione.

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

In the fourth book of the Rosalind Thorne series, we find Rosalind heading to the countryside. Theoretically, she’s on her way to help her friend Louisa plan her wedding. In reality, she hopes that this sojourn will allow her and Devon Winterbourne discover if their previous preference for each other can withstand what life has thrown at them in the intervening years.

Rosalind discovers that the countryside isn’t nearly as private as she hoped, with prying eyes and shifting alliances among the families in the area, discontent in building new drainage works, and the spectral presence of Devon’s mother hovering over the affairs. Most pressing, however, is Louisa’s friend Helen, who approaches Rosalind to beg her to look into the untimely death of her brother. Rosalind finds herself pulled in many different directions, by the demands of society on her and her own, shifting, idea of what she wants for her life.

As always, I enjoyed the mystery of the series, with a sense of claustrophobia and dread building up to the denouement. I didn’t think however, that this book was as strong as some previous entries in the series. It felt like a reset to me in some ways, with the author wanting to be able to commit to a particular direction for the series, but wanting to close out some previous chapters. I really like Rosalind as a character and the supporting cast around her, and watching her come into her own and acknowledge her own blind spots and failings was a highlight of the book for me.

While I didn’t love this entry, I was relieved with the direction it ended on and hope that the next book will be much more about development of the characters and relationships, rather than wrapping up some storylines.

3.75 stars

This thoughtful historical series is always interesting. Set in Regency England, each novel hammers home the rigid social and class structures and how constricting and cruel they were for basically anyone other than male aristocrats.

Rosalind Thorne is the daughter of a disgraced baronet. So she exists in between the world of accepted personages, and unacceptable people. She has proven to be useful as a sort of fixer of sticky problems for titled and upper class ladies. Her love life mirrors that: she is caught between her feeling for her first love, a duke, and a decidedly less socially acceptable Bow Street Runner. Will she opt for a life of ease and privilege, but be bound by the strictures of that world? Where does her heart lie, with which of these two good men?

At the beginning of the story, she is headed to the country estate of the duke, partly as a sort of dress rehearsal to see if they can resume the romance they abandoned long ago and if Rosalind can find acceptance from the local gentry. But she is also on a mission. She is ostensibly there to help the duke's cousin with wedding preparations, but receives a mysterious plea from the bride's best friend to help her uncover the mystery of her brother's death.

Old secrets must be aired, and in helping uncover them, Rosalind gets a clear picture of her personal choices and finds the way to move forward. These are nuanced and quite readable glimpses of the Regency world. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to Kensington Books for the opportunity to review an ARC of thr latest Useful Woman mystery. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. I have enjoyed the series thus far, but felt that elements of the previous books have been overly complicated or too vague (many issues are danced around, rather than stated directly - such dialogue may be authentic for the time period but having to read between the lines of many conversations can become tedious for the reader). The mystery in this book was complicated, but not overly so. The plot moved at a consistent pace and held my interest throughout. The main character was more lively and relatable than in the last book as well. I enjoyed the clear development of her character and look forward to the next installment!

I had been eagerly awaiting this latest installment of the Rosalind Thorne mysteries, and my goodness, it was so completely satisfying. The mystery was so well plotted and though I had guessed the villain, I was kept guessing about the details. As far as the series goes, this felt like the ending of a chapter, and the next book will be a new beginning of sorts for Rosalind. And I cannot wait!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Rosalind Thorne returns in this the 4th book in the Rosalind Thorne Mystery series. In this novel, Rosalind is summoned to Cassel House to help her cousin, Louisa, prepare for her wedding. While there a family friend, Helen asks Louisa to ask Roaslind to look into her brothers death. This opens a whole mess of events and leads Rosalind down some harrowing streets.

This book was enjoyable. I loved seeing Rosalind and Devon interact and see where that relationship is going. My only complaint about the novel is that there are so many characters I simply lost track of who was engaged to whom, which characters were siblings, which were cousins, etc. I had to make a little cheat sheet so I could keep track.

The novel seemed well thought out, not predictable. I love how the author summarizes everything up nicely in the last few chapters. I was reminded of a few things I forgot happened. Overall a good, entertaining read.

"A Lady Compromised" is a mystery set in 1817 in England. Though, this book was as much about deciding on her future and the focus of her romantic interest as it was on solving the mystery. This is the fourth book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the previous mysteries.

This was a clue-based puzzle mystery. Rosalind (and those helping her) asked good questions and collected information. Rosalind was clever, but it took a bit to get those who knew important information to disclose it. Whodunit was guessable but not obvious. The characters were interesting and reacted realistically to events. The historical details were usually woven into the story. The author clearly researched the manners and etiquette of the time, and she gave an info dump about table manners at one point (which was interesting to me but wasn't really necessary to the story).

There was no sex. There was occasional use of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.

I really loved the first book. This one is meh. Okay but hard to keep attention. The middle was a struggle

Oh, how I enjoyed this book! It was such a pleasure to read, from the fantastically-written Regency period language and beautiful descriptions and absurdly strict yet accepted mores of the time to the numerous twists and turns to the romances. Though times have changed, learning about different eras is important and utterly fascinating. I've read hundreds of Nonfiction and Fiction books of the era and was happy to learn more from this. Not that it would have been fun to live under such conditions but I absolutely loved absorbing information.

Rosalind Thorne, a lady investigator, has been enlisted to help plan her friend Louisa's wedding. While at the country manor, Louisa implores her to help her friend Helen with a terrible problem which would seriously affect her betrothal to the man he loves. Her brother died but the how and why is not known with certainty. The issues are NOT straightforward.

Rosalind encounters the man she had a past with and realizes he continues to cause her heart to race. What course will their relationship take?

Not only this but another death occurs. It may sound like a lot going on but seriously...it's not too much. And the ending! I really liked it! The next book has brilliant possibilities.

This is the fourth book in the series but for some inexplicable reason my first. It was a great standalone but to better understand relationships I will read the first three.

Need a charming yet not fluffy historical fiction book with mysteries? Savour this literary treat. Enjoy the apt quotes below each chapter heading, too.

My sincere thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this delightful book in exchange for an honest review.

This book ends a love triangle as Rosalind as she sees the life she would lead as Lady of Casselmaine while trying to solve a murder.

This book is as well written and crafted as the other books. We had to go down the path so that Rosalind can make a choice over what she wants out of her life. This had to be done. However, I missed the London setting. I missed the characters.The brief glimpse we saw of them was like seeing old friends.

The identity of the murderer was too obvious.

Looking forward to the next book.

This review is based on an advanced reading copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

Rosalind Thorne is a "useful woman," an impoverished gentlewoman who survives at the edges of society by assisting the wealthy and solving their problems. She finds herself at a country house to help with her friend Louisa's wedding but receives a plea for help from Louisa's friend that draws her into mystery and murder.

Louisa's cousin, a newly minted Duke, is Rosalind's other reason for visiting the country house. This is a test to see if their youthful attraction has survived her family's disgrace and his inheritance but the mystery and intrigue derail the courtship.

The mystery unravels at a leisurely pace in the first half of the book but an unlikely and contrived plot twist propels it to an unbelievable solution. Additionally an apparently loyal, lifelong servant suddenly turns against Rosalind and leaves and her budding romance ends abruptly. I felt like these developments were rushed in order to set up the next book and move the series in a new direction. A disappointing entry in a powerbuilding enjoyable and intriguing series.

Delightful mystery with enjoyable characters and a well written mystery. Even if you are not a cozy mystery fan but are a Jane Austen fan, you will truly enjoy this mystery. The writing is great and the familiar and wonderful feeling of the characters and story draw you in and make you smile.