Review: Another adventure for Daphne and Jack Dryden
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 7, 2013
The holiday novella The Theft Before Christmas is the third adventure in Cheryl Bolen's Regent Mysteries.  Lady Daphne and Captain Jack Dryden (who met in With His Lady's Assistance and married in A Most Discreet Inquiry) are about to leave London for Christmas at Daphne's family's country estate when they receive a summons from the Prince Regent, who has a problem requiring the talents of his favorite pair of investigators.A small but priceless Michelangelo sculpture has disappeared from plain sight in a room filled with the Prince himself and twenty or more of his guests, nearly all of them well known and trusted members of the ton.  And not one of them saw the piece vanish.  The statue was a gift from the King of Spain, who is due to arrive for a visit in a day or two.  If he thinks the Prince, known for his extravagant tastes as well as his cash flow problems, has sold his gift, well, the whole alliance against Napoleon just might fall apart.With her usual deft touch, Bolen mixes real historical figures (the Prince Regent, the notorious courtesan Harriette Wilson) with her own memorable cast of characters.Mix a locked room puzzle, a tour of Regency London, a murder, and a sweet romance between two friends thrown together by Daphne and Jack's investigation, and you have another charming Regent Mystery for the holiday season.