Review: A good mystery
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 7, 2013
I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.An ill woman is found outside the walls of the manse in Lexie Conyngham's AN ABANDONED WOMAN.  It is later discovered that the cause of her death was bleeding out from a stab wound.  Who is the lady?  Where did she come from?  When later a cook's assistant is missing from the Fairlie home, can there be a serial killer in Letho?  One of the maids in Charles Murray's employ has been assaulted while walking home one evening.  Was it the killer?Lexie Conyngham has captured the period of the early 1800's very well.  Her characters are true to the period in actions, thoughts, words, and deeds.  I can say that she could have written in during that time period because her style is similar to Jane Austen's style.  I liked how she gave us a list of characters at the beginning so if I forgot who someone was I could check the list and remind myself.  AN ABANDONED WOMAN can be read as a standalone novel but it is the fourth book in her MURRAY OF LETHO series.AN ABANDONED WOMAN is a good mystery.  There is romance but much of it is bittersweet.  A good picture of life in the pre-Regency years is given here.  People help one another but there is a definite class system which only when troubles come do they look beyond that system and work together.  I did not figure out who the murderer was.  I picked several characters out but I was wrong about them all.  When it is all solved I was surprised and why the woman was murdered was shocking.  I did like that no excuses were made for the murderer, that justice was to be served.  There was a rigid moral code that was followed.I want to read the first three books in the series and look forward to any more to come.  Beautifully done.