#1 NYT-bestselling author Stephanie Laurens is back with a challenging case in which, from the first, the Adairs and Inspector Stokes are under significant pressure to identify the murderer of a powerful nobleman. When the Earl of Moran is found bludgeoned to death in his study, the finger is pointed at his mother’s companion, Mary Alder, who the earl had dismissed and who was found standing over his body. Mary is the mother of Julian, one of Barnaby Adair’s Lads Network’s brightest stars, and in desperation, Julian and his employer, Curtis, appeal to the Adairs and Stokes for help in saving Mary from the hangman. While the investigators quickly establish that Mary couldn’t have been the murderer, pressure builds to quickly declare the murderer’s identity, yet who actually accomplished the deed is difficult to imagine, let alone prove. After being dismissed—for no apparent reason—from her position as companion to the Dowager Countess of Moran, Mary Alder believes she is fulfilling her last duty to the earl before leaving his employ the following morning, only to discover, on entering his study, that the earl has been struck down and is very dead. Then she’s discovered standing, horror-struck, over the body, and is accused of committing the crime. On learning of his mother’s predicament, Julian seeks help from his employer, Curtis, who immediately enlists the assistance of the Adairs and Stokes on Mary and Julian’s behalf. As the investigators have already been directed to solve the politically and socially sensitive case without delay, they are swiftly on the scene—only to find that all their prime suspects were in the drawing room at the time of the murder, under each other’s eyes. Indeed, despite a plethora of potential suspects, there’s a dearth of evidence that places any of them anywhere near the earl’s study at the fateful time. In solving this case, the investigators are forced to look past the obvious and confront their own prejudices before—fact by fact and motive by motive—they finally answer the question of who killed the Earl of Moran. A historical novel of 78,000 words interweaving mystery, crime, and a touch of romance.
