And Only to Deceive

I love this whole series, but what drew me to the first book was the story of a young widow unraveling the secrets of her late husband.

It’s poignant to see her only fall in love with him after he's gone. But at the same time it's fascinating to see her finding herself even as she learns that the man she was married to was far more complicated than she realized.

I adore Tasha Alexander’s books for their elegance and suspense but most of all for her fabulous heroine, Lady Emily Ashton. I always recommend beginning with And Only to Deceive. Lady Emily isn’t yet twenty when her Viscount husband dies on an African safari in 1887. Having married him only to escape her mother—one of her many questionable decisions—Emily doesn’t grieve. But when she reads his journals, to her surprise, she falls in love with him—after his death, which is a cool twist. With keen intelligence and amazing resolve, she solves the mystery of what really happened on his… show more.

Emily marries Philip, the Viscount Ashton, a man she hardly knows, to escape her mother. After their wedding trip, Philip, an ardent game hunter, leaves for a hunt in Africa. When Emily learns he died of a fever, she hardly grieves. As she enters her year of mourning, Emily reads Philip’s journal, astonished to learn he loved her passionately. He also collected Greek antiquities, many of which he donated to the British Museum. Emily begins to study ancient Greek literature and antiquities. (I loved learning with Emily.) When she discovers that someone—possibly Philip—either gave the British Museum forged Greek antiquities… show more.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Tasha at a writers’ conference some years ago, and we hit it off immediately. Not only was she warm and generous, she has a subtle wit that had me giggling in all sorts of inappropriate situations. Combine that with our mutual love of travel to the great cities of the world, and I knew that I would love her Lady Emily mysteries. To journey with Lady Emily is to vicariously visit 19th century Constantinople and Paris, St. Petersburg, and London—all in the company of a smart, sophisticated lady with a delightfully wry… show more.