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    Behind the Shattered Glass: A Lady Emily Mystery
    Behind the Shattered Glass: A Lady Emily Mystery
    Behind the Shattered Glass: A Lady Emily Mystery
    Audiobook10 hours

    Behind the Shattered Glass: A Lady Emily Mystery

    Written by Tasha Alexander

    Narrated by Bianca Amato

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A ruined abbey on a beautiful estate in Derbyshire, a murdered peer, and a most unlikely romance make New York Times bestseller Tasha Alexander's new novel Behind the Shattered Glass absolutely irresistible

    Anglemore Park is the ancestral home of Lady Emily Hargreave's husband Colin. But the stately calm of country life is destroyed when their neighbor, the Marquess of Montagu, bursts through the French doors from the garden and falls down dead in front of the shocked gathering. But who has a motive for murdering the young aristocrat? The lovely cousin who was threatened by his engagement, the Oxford friend he falsely accused of cheating, the scheming vicar's daughter he shamelessly seduced or the relative no one knew existed who appears to claim the Montagu title? Who is the mysterious woman seen walking with him moments before he was brutally attacked?
    The trail takes listeners into the gilded world of a British manor house and below stairs to the servants who know all the secrets. One family's hidden past and a forbidden passion are the clues to a puzzle only Lady Emily can solve.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Audio
    Release dateOct 15, 2013
    ISBN9781427233516
    Behind the Shattered Glass: A Lady Emily Mystery
    Author

    Tasha Alexander

    When not reading, Tasha Alexander can be found hard at work on her next book featuring Emily Ashton.

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    Reviews for Behind the Shattered Glass

    3.5/5

    118 ratings20 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      An intriguing addition to the series — many strong and interesting characters, and very cool to see Emily and Colin at home. In addition, an exploration of upstairs/downstairs dynamics.

      There are several plot points that made me uncomfortable, however. I don’t understand the addition of an indigenous valet — his inclusion felt like an excuse to refer to him repeatedly as a “red indian”, and while he is portrayed as a positive character, he’s also a caricature of the misunderstood and noble savage. What is the point of including him if you can’t do better than that? — I have a suspicion he will reappear in future work, and I’m hoping for an improvement.

      I am also deeply troubled by the simultaneous acknowledgment of deep power inequities between landed gentry men and serving girls and then turning around and encouraging a relationship between 2 such people. E&C are portrayed as forward thinking and open minded, but they also literally send one of the servants off unaccompanied with someone who could harm her with no repercussions.

      It’s a good mystery, and if you are a fan of the series, I think you’ll enjoy this installment. However, I sincerely hope for better in the next one — feels like 21st c morals trying to coincide with Victorian sensibilities and that is an uncomfortable pairing.
    • 4/5
      There are two intertwining stories to this book: Lady Emily & Colin Hargreaves have refused an invitation to the neighboring Estate's festivities, preferring to stay home in the peace & quite of their drawing room.... When all of a sudden the owner of the neighboring estate staggers in through their glass terrace doors with his head bashed in and dies.The neighbor & his cousin (who inherited everything expect the title & the family estate) have long had an understanding that she would live in his country estate and he would live in her London townhouse, that is until now... She is about to be removed as he is/was engaged to an American Heiress, who has/had plans for the estate. As it turns out the dead man had a hidden dubious past of cheating & seduction and was not the "gentleman" his cousin & neighbors believed him to be.The 2nd story is that of a maid, Lily, who has caught the eye of the Hargreaves house guest, an honorable gentleman who encourages her to educate herself in art. However she has a very jealous rival who will stop at almost nothing to destroy Lily's happiness.As Emily & Colin investigate both problems there is intrigue & lies everywhere they turn...Absent are Colin's mother, Ivy, Margaret, & Cecile.... Emily's mother is present, but thankfully not as much as in other books and Colin seems to be handle her in a marvelous manner.It was an interesting story, it not only held my interest, but I liked most of the characters.
    • 4/5
      This was one of the better ones, story wise, in the series. Emily and Colin are back on their home turf, and for some reason, I just prefer the home-ground settings. More of the characters a reader has become used to, I suppose. I deducted 1/2 a star for two reasons: some of the plotting was just weak and loose; characters would lie about their whereabouts and when confronted with reports proving they lied, continue to lie about it and insist upon their story, only to off-handedly admit to lying later on. The second reason was the revelation of the killer - it could have been brilliant (the motivation was well thought out and strong) but the build up to the denouement blatantly manipulated the reader, leaving at least this reader feeling like I'd been tricked and deceived. This is the last book in the series that I own. As far as I know there are at least two more recent ones, and I'll probably pick them up if I find a good deal on them used, but I don't feel compelled to search out the 9th book.
    • 3/5
      Enjoyable, but I wouldn't recommend this unless you've read the series. The genealogical relationship between Rodney and Matilda was not spelled out sufficiently and the romantic relationship between the two was predictable.
    • 4/5

      I enjoyed this historical mystery by Tasha Alexander.  I didn't particularly like Lady Emily at first, but grew to like her throughout the story.  I also enjoyed her banter with her mother over roles in society.  The aspect of the story I liked most though was the alternation between life upstairs and downstairs.  It gave a better picture of what was happening throughout the story.  I will definitely continue the series.

    • 4/5
      More substantive than her previous books.
    • 4/5
      Busy and lively look at the very wealthy as crime solvers and societal reformists in the Victorian Era. Need to go to London; order a private train, why not? Dislike a girl's school, buy it and start anew, why not? Almost a Gates Foundation outlook for public problem solving. Interesting characters sustain a plausible plot .
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this mystery which is number eight in a series. This is the first that I've read, but I will read the others. I enjoyed the Upstairs/Downstairs aspect of this book. It pushed credibility a bit, but was still a good read.
    • 4/5
      Lady Emily is just settling into married life and enjoying being a new mom, when the peace of country estate life is shattered by a murder. On a warm autumn evening the new Marquess of Montagu, Archibald Scolfield, staggered through the French doors and died on the library floor. The family is stunned, and Lady Emily is thrown into a new mystery to solve. Having just arrived the day before, the dead Marquess didn't have time to make enemies or did he? His cousin, Matilda, stood to gain the most from his death, but when Archibald's engagement to an American heiress comes to light, so do other family secrets.With a zeal for finding clues, Lady Emily wastes no time in getting involved. It seems that Archibald was popular with women from all stations in life, and left a trail of broken hearts behind where ever he went. When an unknown relative arrives to claim the Montagu title, the plot thickens. Meanwhile, Colin's friend, Lord Flyte, has taken a fancy to one of the maids causing jealousy and strife amongst the servants. Lady Emily must not only solve the mystery and help her friend Matilda, but she must continue to oversee managing the busy country estate as well.The Bottom Line: This installment is Book 8 in the series; however, it is the first book in the series that I have read. While it has received mixed reviews elsewhere, I found the story to be fun and fanciful. It's a quick and entertaining read that's perfect for the weekend. I enjoyed the period details and descriptions of country estate life. Lady Emily is spunky and forward thinking. Each chapter includes an upstairs part and a downstairs part, which I enjoyed as well. Fans of historical mysteries and Downton Abbey will enjoy this novel. There was also quite a bit of romance in this book.
    • 4/5
      I love this series of books, but the best thing I can say about this book is that it passed the time quickly. While I don't expect books like this to reflect reality, the sub-plot of the Marquis and the maid stretched the credibility of the plot, which broke with the ludicrous solution to the murder.
    • 5/5
      Excellent recent offering in a series I already enjoy. I like the descriptions of the manor houses, locales, and interiors. Lady Emily is my kind of spunky heroine. I especially liked the alternating chapters between upstairs and downstairs. This selection showed a good view of the life of the servants, very popular take on things with Downton Abbey in the offing. Definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy mysteries with lots of period details. Now I need to go back and re-read the earlier books in this series.
    • 4/5
      Opening with a dead man literally collapsing on their carpet, Colin and Emily once again find themselves embroiled in a murder. However, Emily's mother, visiting to help with the children, is not happy with the developments.. . .
    • 2/5
      Received an ARC copy for LT Early Reviewers .I have read all the books in this series found this one flat,boring . The author has not added depth to the main characters development ,all in this seemed to be going through the motions.Sad to say what the villain in the piece tried to do was more realistic than the outcome the' victim' got. Did look forward to this series but lately the story and characters seem cardboard cutouts,think I will just wait for this series to come to the library to check out.
    • 2/5
      I've sort of been something of an on-again, off-again fan of Tasha Alexander. The first book I read from her popular Lady Emily series was actually the fourth book: Tears of Pearls. I had actually never heard of her until I was this book offered in Amazon Vine, and I decided to give it a try. After, I didn't really keep up with her. It wasn't until a few years later that I stumbled across the first book in the series on the clearance rack at Half Price Books. Since it was only $3, I decided to give it a try. And, well, it certainly answered a lot of questions. Soon after, I grabbed every other Lady Emily book at my local library and started devouring them.To date, my favorite book has been Death in the Floating City, with fascinating plot and unique storytelling, switching between the mystery in the present, and an account of a tragic pair of star-crossed lovers whose story is essential to the overall plot. In Behind the Shattered Glass, Alexander takes a somewhat similar approach with an "Upstairs, Downstairs" dichotomy, where the stories of the servants downstairs intersect with the nobles upstairs.So, basically, we can call Shattered Glass the Downton Abbey one, because I couldn't shake that vibe the entire time I read this book. That in mind, it really made me wish that this book stood on its own more and wasn't trying to connect with some trend. Lady Emily is better than that. And, sadly, I felt like Lady Emily deserves better than this book. It felt somewhat rushed and much more underdeveloped than previous novels. The characters, for one, felt flat and, in some ways, didn't seem to be acting like themselves. The mystery also seemed like it didn't fit together to me -like there was pieces missing.As much as I wanted to enjoy this book, it just was a letdown. It didn't feel like the same Lady Emily or even the same Tasha Alexander. Some fans online are even speculating that Shattered Glass was written by a ghost writer. Who knows, but it's just not on the same level.
    • 2/5
      I can not say I enjoyed this book. It was diverting enough to finish, but was really rather boring.Life in for those Titled in England during this period had to be very boring. And shallow. The investigation seemed all over the place and confusing (I still don't understand how we got to the conclusion we did), and the relationships between people seemed underdeveloped and hard to imagine. And it seems hard to believe that any investigation got off the ground, with all the changing for meals, visiting the kids, arguing over who-does-what, petty squabbling, and romantic encounters. Just dealing with the help seemed to be an all-day affair, at times.
    • 3/5
      I won this book in exchange for an honest review.#8 in the Lady Emily series of historical cozy murder mysteries. I have only read two other books in this series and of the three I found this one to be rather flat and rushed.I felt Ms. Alexander is trying to jump on the Downton Abbey bandwagon and wrote a novel with an upstairs and downstairs point of view. It could have worked but there just wasn't enough substance to the two plots. Cons:-Lady Emily's investigation into the murder of the Marquess of Montagu was confusing and I'm still not quite sure how she figured out who was the murderer. -Colin makes an appearance here and there but it seems all he wants to do is have sex.-The secondary plot of Lily the maid and Sir Flyte pushes the boundaries of belief to a breaking point. These two characters were totally devoid of any depth although I do see how the author was using the proper Sir --Flyte as a comparison to the beastly Marquess.-Rodney & Matilde were another couple that had not been fully developed.Pros:-A fast read.-Lady Bromley.-Love the cover.Not my favorite Lady Emily novel.
    • 3/5
      I love a good historical mystery, especially the kind that you can curl up with and dash through over a long afternoon, and this definitely fits the bill. As an addition to the series, this one felt a bit lighter than the previous installments, but the ending did take me by surprise which is always a good thing in a mystery. The main romance storyline was a little too cheesy for my taste, but overall an enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      This is another entertaining entry in the Lady Emily series, but it can also be read as a stand-alone book. There are some references to prior events, but nothing which requires knowledge beyond that which is provided in the book.At the beginning, a neighbor staggers in through Lady Emily's door and falls dead on her drawing room carpet. Whodunit? Why? Possible suspects abound, ranging from his cousin, to a heretofore-unknown relative who appears just in time to claim the family's heritage, to the vicar's daughter, to the servants of both houses. Lady Emily and Colin rush back and forth to London investigating the crime. By the end of the book, "whodunit" is revealed and two engagements are in the works!I do agree with kaulsu, however--it would be nice to know the meaning of the title, as I, too, could not discern any connection between the title and the contents of the book. Disclaimer: I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.
    • 4/5
      Finally! An author to compete with [Georgette Heyer]! No, the period is not the same...Alexander has moved beyond the Regency to the end of the Victorian period, but the humor with which she writes is very much reminiscent.This book, evidently not the first in the series dealing with Lady Emily Hargreaves and her husband Colin, begins with a murder and ends with a couple of marriage proposals. Along the way, the entire aristocracy of the British Peerage is in danger of falling. Who done it? I will provide no spoiler alerts. You will have to read to the end, I'm afraid. One thing I would be beholden to discover is the meaning of the title. The closest I can come to figuring is that the glass separating the classes is on the verge of being shattered? But I'm not sure I'm not stretching to come up with that.
    • 4/5
      I could not put this book down! Suspenseful, intriguing and a well thought-out glimpse into the lives of the haves and have-nots of Victorian England. It's an upstairs/downstairs world at English country estate, Anglemore Park. Just as another day is coming to an end so too the life of Archibald Scolfield, Marquess of Montagu has come to an early and bitter end on the doorstep of Anglemore Park. Yet again, Lady Emily Hargreave and her Adonis-like husband, Colin are draw into the details and called to upon to carefully and discreetly seek out the clues to identify and locate the murderer. Will truth and fairness prevail? The story draws you in and won't let go until the very end when all is revealed.