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Book Review of And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily, Bk 1)

And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily, Bk 1)
jscrappy avatar reviewed on + 59 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 17


This story started out so promisingly--a young widow becomes increasingly obsessed with her dead husband, whom she never loved or really knew. The background and the era are well described, and the main character seems like an Austen heroine, with unsuspected depths. But the story seemed to founder halfway through, bogged down with two dull men vying for the widow's trust as she tries to solve the mystery of her husband's death. I wanted to like the book, but it really lost me partway through, and I ended up flipping to the end just to see how it all came out. Too bad.