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    And Only to Deceive: A Mystery Novel
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    And Only to Deceive: A Mystery Novel
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    And Only to Deceive: A Mystery Novel
    Ebook396 pages5 hours

    And Only to Deceive: A Mystery Novel

    By Tasha Alexander

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    From gifted new writer Tasha Alexander comes a stunning novel of historical suspense set in Victorian England, meticulously researched and with a twisty plot that involves stolen antiquities, betrayal, and murder

    And Only to Deceive

    For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly. His journals reveal him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new image of her dead husband and she immerses herself in all things ancient and begins to study Greek.

    Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve the crime, her search leads to more surprises about Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061739231
    Unavailable
    And Only to Deceive: A Mystery Novel
    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 And Only to Deceive

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    • 3/5
      Fun book. . Lady Emily marries an explorer/adventurer mainly to escape from her domineering mother. Adventurer husband dies, leaving a diary for her to explore. Thro contacts with his friends, she begins to fall in love with him. Then she discovers Philip has been acquiring artifacts for himself, and giving copies to the British museum. Untangling this with the help of his friends takes up the majority of the book. This is a fluff book, but one with an interesting approach to history.
    • 2/5
      Two stars.... and so begins my descent into cynicism:Fortunately, I was unable to find this book when I was looking to read it. I had hoped to read it before the two others I finished reviewing, yesterday. Had I read this before the other two, I would have put down the series and returned the other two to the Library unread.Lady Emily Ashton had been left a widow too soon after her wedding. Her husband Philip left her to go on a hunting excursion in Africa soon after their wedding and had the unfortunate experience of becoming ill & dying.This book takes place approximately 1.5 years towards the end of her official period of mourning.As Emily only married Philip to escape her harridan of a mother, she never got to know him, nor did she want to. Once she began spending time in the British Museum learning of his love for antiquities & ancient Greek history, she began to fall in love with him, albeit a tad too late.The intrigue begins in Paris where she meets an art forger and learns that pieces in the museum are not what the are suppose to be & that Philip had been secretly purchasing the originals from the black market & sent them all to his country estate.While learning more about her late husband, drinking port w/ her friends, & studying Greek she meets up w/ Andrew Palmer, who was with Philip on his fatal trip to Africa. She also meets Colin Hargreaves. Andrew pursues Emily in a manner most uncomfortable for her and Colin turns up at odd moments making her suspicious of him... and Emily's interest in the forgery of antiquities takes on a consuming desire to uncover the men behind the fakes.Andrew somehow convinces Emily that Philip is still alive (Dr. Livingstone, I presume) and wandering around Africa in a befuddled state and offers to take her out to find him, which Emily paying for it all.So here we go: Emily, who believes her self to be quite right smart, is in reality quite stupid when it comes to judging the true character of the people surrounding her.Emily's mother is an odious harridan, completely disrespecting the fact that Emily is now a widow & free to live her life as she pleases.Emily's friend, Ivy, is a repressed & tiresome married woman, continually spouting the mores of society & the wonders of being a married woman sitting atop a pedestal w/ no thoughts of her own. Emily has two society friends both looking for a husband; one is nastily rude/cutting to others and the other is a simpering idiot.Fortunately, Emily has two strong female friends; Margaret a scholar from the u.s. and the French Society matron, Cecile who both endeavor to help Emily uncover the mysteries she is investigating.So, although I liked the story, I disliked the characters (thus the 2 Stars) and that usually cuts it for me. In subsequent books of the series, Emily brightens up and becomes likable....One glaring thing: according to the book (this is the Victorian era), Emily as an unmarried woman was allowed to have breakfast in bed but as a married woman had her breakfast downstairs.... Which is the direct opposite of what I have read elsewhere. In fact the point was belabored in Downton Abbey, as the spinster sister was still eating breakfast downstairs, while her mother & married sister had their breakfast in their rooms.
    • 5/5
      I picked up this book years ago in a Walden's Bookstore, just thinking, "Hmm I like this cover, I'll give it a try." And I'm very glad that I did. Tasha Alexander has become one of my Favorite authors. Lady Emily Ashton is recently married in Victorian England, and wedded awkwardness is cut short when her husband has gone missing on a safari trip. It is only after he's missing, does Emily learn of his true amorous feelings for her. With the help of her husband's friend Colin, Emily goes on the hunt for her husband. Can she find him before it's too late? Read and find out. P.S. I love the ancient Greek in the book. As a classics major, I really appreciated the details. Good job!
    • 3/5
      Not enough tension for my taste. It was a great story which held my attention but there wasn't enough danger or stress to keep me anxious to turn the page.
    • 4/5
      Loved this book. I wasn't sure how much I would like this series initially, since the Lady Julia Grey books by Diana Raybourne are among my favorite of all time. There are some striking similarities between the two, especially the timely death of the husbands, but I think that is a plot device necessary to create strong, independent women of means in a time when they would otherwise have little autonomy of their own. I am looking forward to the rest of this series as I am looking forward to the progression of the Lady Grey series.
    • 4/5
      This was the first of the Lady Emily Ashton series set in Victorian London. I enjoyed it very much. Lady Emily was recently married when her husband Philip died on a safari in Africa.She didn't know him well, and while sad is not heartbroken at his death. He leaves her with money, social position and the freedom to live her own life. Widows are no longer so tightly chaperoned, and don't need a male relative to make their decisions.She mainly married to escape her harpy of a mother. Marriages in her class are arranged to secure position, fortune, and ensure the continuation of the line. Partners don't have to love each other, and often don't. Its a plus if they are compatible or even like each other.In exploring her freedom, she finds out more about Philip from his friends and journals and finds he was in love with her, and a decent, interesting man. She also takes up his interest in ancient Greek culture. While doing so she finds what seems to be evidence that he might have been involved in stolen antiquities.There are various characters who try to help her in her quest to educate herself, and some males who are trying to court her although she is still in mourning. Her mother is also plotting how to get Emily another marriage - though Emily is not interested.The mystery comes in trying to decide who is doing the stealing, and commissioning the copies that are used to replace the originals. The story of Emily is interspersed with journal entries of Philip from just before their marriage, until the day before his death. The more I read about Philip the sorrier I was that he was dead and a character who would not be part of future stories.The characters are well done, and the setting is interesting. There is a bit of a romance in the story, with hints that it will be part of future stories. The tone of the story is light and fun.Only one big mistake that I can see: Philip writes in his journal while in Africa of the camp being beset with Howler Monkeys. They are new world monkeys, and not in Africa.I have the next 2 in the series and will read them. I found out about the series because I saw book 4 being offered through LT ER.
    • 4/5
      I thought this was very interesting, based in Victorian England in the late 1880's Lady Emily Aston accepted the proposal of Philip, Viscount Aston more to escape her mother than for love. A few months later he's dead on Safari and she's a widow who now has more freedom than she ever had before. While her mother wants to see her remarried she is using her mourning period to find out more about her husband and she's finding interests that they could have had in common, but she will never really know. Strangely she finds that there are secrets and lies and people who don't want certain truths to come out.It was an interesting mystery with a lot of introspection on whether or not you really know people you are close to. I enjoyed the read and want more from these people. I really liked Emily and found her growth to be very enlightening.
    • 4/5
      Not bad for what seems to be a series opener (at least according to the little blurb on the back of the cover. More romance-ish than I normally read, but this aspect was kept mostly in check as the author devoted most of the story to the central mystery of the novel. And here it is: did Emily Ashton's late husband Philip traffic in stolen antiquities? Several clues lead to Emily's discovery that the dead husband she didn't love when she married (but as time went on began to appreciate him more after his death) may not have been all that he seemed to be leads her on a quest for the truth. Another author's blurb noted that "had Jane Austen written the Da Vinci Code, she may have well come up with this elegant novel." Don't even go there. A) the book was not even close to something Jane Austen may have written and B) there's not a hint of the Da Vinci Code in this story. But if you like mysteries, the core conundrum was a good one. I'd recommend it for readers who like a good puzzle to solve (this one kept me reading way into the night), or to readers who like books set within this time period. All in all, not too bad for a series debut.I'd give it a 3.5, really, but for some reason, the new system doesn't allow me to put in the half star.
    • 3/5
      just 3 stars...have read similar books done better...nice period details and an engaging heroine but guess the mystery's not the thing with this series...i could see the 'bad guy' coming a mile away. i'm not ruling out reading another one by ms. alexander, however!
    • 4/5
      Light ,engaging, thoroughly entertaining suspenseful mystery regarding forged art in Victorian London. The female heroine, Lady Emily Ashton, is a young women who marries her husband to escape her mother but becomes a widow and slowly discovers everything about her husband that she didn't know and regrets she didn't make the time for him when he was alive. While she is discovering this she is learning that her husband's death was not an accident and she must learn the truth to fully understand who her husband was.
    • 3/5
      Fairly good historical mystery featuring recently widowed Lady Emily Ashton. Emily was only recently wed to Phillip Ashton when he died of an illness while hunting in Africa. Emily tries to get to know her husband by developing an interest in one of his other hobbies -- Greek antiquities.

      Although the character of Emily was fairly well developed, I thought the author modernized her a bit too much to be believable. The character of Colin Hargreaves however, was extremely appealing. Unfortunately he didn't appear nearly enough in this book to make me happy. Three and a half stars
    • 4/5
      This Victorian mystery-thriller, the first in a series of (so far) three, is an above average tale. Lady Emily Ashton's husband has recently died, and she is compelled to deal with the fact that she has little to mourn for--she barely knew her husband, and accepted his proposal more as a matter of form (and to escape her overbearing mother) than love. This must have been a common occurrence in England of the time, though given the excess emotionalism of the day (smelling salts and lots of fainting were common) I doubt it was much noticed. Emily, however, begins to notice some unusual things about her husband's death. She begins to investigate, and finds that contrary to her own feelings, her husband was actually deeply in love with her. This situation alone raises the book above the average historical mystery. However, Lady Ashton has the misfortune to be one proto-feminist mystery solver among many: Deanna Raybourn's Silence in the Grave has many similarities with this book, and of course, it is tempting to compare this series, with a lead character fascinated with ancient Greece, to Elizabeth Peters' series about proto-feminist Amelia Peabody. Lady Ashton is much more believable than Amelia Peabody, though--Lady Ashton, at least, never spontaneously decides she is going to wear pants rather than skirts. ...Though she does decide that she will drink port with the gentlemen after dinner, rather than flit off to gossip with the women...
    • 2/5
      I've been meaning to read Tasha Alexander's much-touted novel of suspense, And Only to Deceive, for some time now. Set in Victorian England, this is the story of newly widowed Lady Emily Ashton, who is sorting through her emotions over the death of a husband she barely knew and didn't love. As she learns more about the late Philip Ashton, she discovers his deep love for her and begins to reciprocate, alas, too late. At the same time, she becomes involved in the complicated underworld of black-market antiquities, art forgeries, and scandal reaching up to the highest ranks of the aristocracy. Was her husband involved in these unethical dealings before his death? The use of Greek poetry and tidbits of various other classic writings lends the novel an air of elegance, which unfortunately is dispelled by the rather stilted dialogue and plodding plot. Nothing much seems to happen besides a succession of conversations and the occasional passionate kiss. The "mystery" is not terribly compelling, and I didn't find Lady Emily the memorable heroine that so many other readers have. Despite the author's laudable desire to make her characters true to the period (no 21st-century people dressed up in 19th-century clothes), I'm not sure she succeeded. In particular, I found Lady Bromley an unconvincing caricature of a marriage-mad mother, so ridiculous and over the top that she quickly becomes boring. This novel reminded me of Deanna Raybourn's Silent in the Grave and its successors. Fairly enjoyable for an afternoon, but not something to which I'll return.
    • 4/5
      A fun historical mystery with a few twists. Lady Emily, a young widow who barely knew her quickly deceased husband, discovers a passion for his antiquities hobby and uncovers an illegal scheme he was involved in. Lady Emily is an interesting character and she is surrounded a multitude of society characters, some of whom are villains and some simply amusing. I found this novel to be a fun read and a good historical mystery (although not my favorite), and I intend to continue reading this series.
    • 5/5
      THIS IS THE FIRST BOOK I HAVE READ FROM THIS AUTHOR AND LOOK FORWARD TO FINDING MORE.
    • 3/5
      I've known about Tasha Alexander's mysteries for quite some time now, and I finally made the time to read the first one in her Lady Emily series. It added a great deal of poignancy to the story to have Emily slowly fall in love with her husband after his death, but what I enjoyed even more was how Emily fought for what was best for her despite the machinations of her mother and of Victorian society. Emily was not the first wealthy woman to realize that-- in that day and age-- it's often better to be a widow than a wife. The mystery about stolen artifacts was an interesting one even though I did find the villain easy to identify. (But then, I've had more experience in deduction than young Lady Emily.) All in all, And Only to Deceive reminded me of the books of romantic suspense I read when I was in my teens-- books written by authors like Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and Dorothy Eden. However, even though this book is well-written and has an admirable main character, the story as a whole lacked any spark that would induce me to continue reading. Since the series now contains ten books, it's obvious that there are many readers who've had a much more positive reaction. Ah well. It happens sometimes!
    • 4/5
      This particular type of heroine is usually too oblivious for my comfort, but the end of this book gives me great hope for the sequels.
    • 2/5
      This felt so very much like … well, several books I've read before, but especially Silent in the Grave: Both were in the first person. In both, a Victorian lady is widowed, doesn't mind very much, finds out much later poor old hubby, Philip, Viscount Ashton, was murdered, and conducts investigation alongside husband's friend (with whom there are sparks) while stressing constantly about what to wear and when can I get out of mourning for heaven's sake it's not like I loved him. In both, I wound up with a deep impatience for, if not outright dislike of, the heroine.Emily's first reaction to news of her husband's death is relief. He wasn't a bad fellow, but she only married him to get away from her mother's constant nagging, and hey – a couple of years wearing ugly mourning colours, and now she's free and clear and can do what she wants. Yay. Unfortunately, as time goes by, Emily succumbs to her husband's friends' opinions of him, and begins to fall morbidly in love with his memory, the ideal image of the man she never bothered to get to know. He genuinely loved her; that's enough to start her falling. Too late.In her fervor of self-flagellation for being unable to face Philip's friends and family, she begins to throw herself into his passions. Well, two of them; she still can't abide his beloved hunting (which would have been quite a can of worms if he had lived), but she plunges into the study of ancient Greek and the appreciation of ancient Greek art. In about five minutes she begins to uncover what must be a forgery ring, and, fearing her husband might have been involved, investigates.She is shaken, trying very hard to reconcile this criminal activity with her green worship of him. Then the book catches up to my prediction (based on the classic soap opera warning "did you see the body?") and she is told Ashton might still be alive, despite his best friend's insistence that he was there and watched the man die. She is thrilled, determined to move heaven and earth to find him and nurse him lovingly back to health. A little ways into that process, I had an intuition that he couldn't be alive after all – and I was right. I've said it before: if I can predict how your book is going to turn out, you've done something wrong. And so he is revealed to yes, be dead, and in fact, have been murdered, and she basically shrugs her shoulders and swans off to revel some more in her romantic ideal of the widow who, see? Really did love her husband after all (if too late).Excerpts from Ashton's journal never really pull their own weight; they are mostly inconsequential, unrelated to the chapters they proceed, and never echo what Emily thinks about them. Though I suppose I should be happy the author spared me the long and boring passages about hunting, still, on the flip side there was remarkably little about the wedding night. Which isn't said out of prurience, but just because Emily was sort of looking forward to what he wrote.And the ending … the wrapup of the story was satisfying enough, but once everything was explained away there were still far too many pages left. And it just kept going. All through the book Ashton's friend (whatsit) had been encouraging Emily to go to Greece, to the villa in Santorini Ashton had prepared for her. I had rather expected that to be the next book – it would be perfect, I thought, to build it up, maybe have her planning the trip as this book ended, and then set the second book in the series on the island.Nope.The book was quite readable, which is why I did read it through. But it was disjointed. As a friend pointed out in her review, there was a great deal attempted, and not really succeeded at. And one major thing keeping this book from a higher rating was the completely incomprehensible handling of the forger. He is stunningly gifted, and has no problem selling copies of ancient work: he makes no pretense that they are the real thing, after all, and what his buyer does with the work once it's his isn't the artist's problem. Which … is a nice way to look at it, if you can manage it, but isn't very realistic. Up to that point it reminded me very strongly of the case of the artist Alceo Dossena and his buyer, his dealer, Alfredo Fasoli. Dossena claimed ignorance of the ultimate dispositions of his work, too, but he wasn't quite so cheerful about the fact that while he got a pittance for the art his dealer would sell it on, as original, for thousands. He sued. This guy? He has absolutely no problem with the fact that his name is still unknown, that the scores of hours of work and talent invested in every piece is being attributed to others, and – least likely – has no problem with living on the edge of poverty while his dealer is raking it in. Worst, though, is the fact that this one forger handles several different media, no problem. Sculpture? Got it. Black figure urn? No problem. And so on. I went to art school; I’ve always been interested in art forgery and I’ve read a bit about it. I know full well that artists are more than capable of great things in more than one medium – but the likelihood that a man would be so very, very good at pottery AND sculpture as to have his work pass for the best of the best among the ancients, including Praxiteles, is incredibly small. For him to be so gifted and still not be able to make a living for himself without being completely unscrupulous… maybe it's not unrealistic, but it seemed so.Suddenly, about three quarters of the way through the book, Emily develops a very lawyerly turn of mind, knowing instinctively finer points of what is and is not strictly legal and what will and will not convict a man. The reformation of a female main character from fluffy-headed clotheshorse at the beginning to strong and capable independent woman by the end is no new thing in fiction, but (or maybe "and so") it has to be handled well to be really believable. I'm not so sure about Emily.
    • 5/5
      This book was the first I have read by Tasha Alexander, and I am impressed. I will be promptly seeing to adding more of her works to my TBR pile. She weaves an amazing story of a widow who is coming to terms with the loss of a husband she barely knew, with intrigue of what he possibly could have done. Lady Emily Ashton is a carefree character who was ever happy in a typical woman’s role. Agreeing to marry her husband purely to get away from her Mother, when he dies only months into their marriage away in Africa she finds herself able to be more as she wishes to be. This does not agree with society.We meet a loveable bunch of characters in this novel, from Margaret the brash American socialite to Cecile, the eccentric French widow. The story unfolds in a plethora of twists and turns, and in the background there is just a hit of romance from the many suitors Emily finds at her door. Some are earnest and don’t fully appear so, and some are not earnest at all. You will find yourself surprised at just how things all unfold and turn out to be sure. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, and some mystery. And if you’re a woman who likes to see ladies going against society’s rules, well pull up a glass of port and enjoy some time with Lady Ashton.
    • 4/5
      And Only to Deceive
      4 Stars

      Lady Emily Ashton is quite relieved when she learns of her husband's death in Africa for their marriage was one of convenience. However, after reading Phillip's journals, Emily realizes that he was a man of great depths with a passion for antiquities and for his wife. Emily's need to know more soon leads her to the British Museum and into a dark and dangerous mystery revolving around stolen artifacts.

      It would seem that historical mysteries with "Lady" in the series title are a big hit for me. Similar to the Lady Darby (Anna Lee Huber) and Lady Julia (Deanna Raybourn), Lady Emily is an aristocrat who finds herself embroiled in mystery and murder as a result of her late husband's lifestyle.

      While not as vulnerable as Keira Darby or as self-assured as Julia Grey, Emily is an engaging heroine unafraid of challenging the social norms and mores of Victorian society. It is entertaining to follow along as she discovers the truth about her husband and about her self. The minor romance is an added bonus although its rapid progression at the end is not all that believable.

      The mystery revolving around the stolen artifacts is compelling mainly due to the allusions to Greek mythology (particularly the Trojan War). That said, Emily is not the best of amateur sleuths. She has a particularly irritating tendency toward making the evidence fit her theory rather than vice versa and there are moments when one has a strong desire to smack her upside to head due to her obtuseness.

      The villain is also rather predictable and it is possible to guess his identity almost immediately.

      All in all, a solid beginning to the series and I look forward to reading more about Lady Emily and her adventures in sleuthing.
    • 4/5
      I was quite surprised by this book. It was lent to me by a friend, and I started reading without expectations. I could not put the book down. I stayed up late each night just to read more and find out what would happen next. Full of mystery, love, and suspense this book is a hit. A real page turner.
    • 3/5
      And Only to Deceive is the first Lady Emily Ashton novel; there are three out right now and a fourth, I believe, coming out in the fall. Emily, also known as “Kallista,” has been widowed for over a year, when she decides to study what her late husband was passionate about: Greek antiquities. She inadvertently stumbles into an investigation into what may have been murder.I admit I’ve been spoiled by Deanna Raybourn’s novels. Raybourn really knows how to create a great historical setting, intriguing characters, and a believable mystery. And Only to Deceive, I think, is a lighter version of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries. I noticed, though, that in several places, especially the proposal scenes, the author lifts lines directly from Jane Austen! I enjoyed the story—it’s fast-paced and fun—but I think the author sometimes sacrificed historical accuracy for the mystery. Would a single woman, even a widow, have addressed a member of the opposite by his first name (even if he really was courting her)? Would a woman, even one as forward-thinking as Emily, have walked around at night, in public, in her nightgown? And that leads me to another point—Emily’s sensibilities were a little too modern at times.But as I said, the story moves at a brisk pace, and the mystery is an interesting one. A bit predictable, at the end, but good nonetheless. This is a good novel if you’re in the mood for something not too brain-taxing. Still, I’d recommend Deanna Raybourn’s books over this one.
    • 4/5
      Here is a book with a great many reviews. I might not have a lot to add. It is set in the very late 1880s. With some flashbacks that take us a few years prior to when Emily, our heroine, came out and her mother pushed her to marry. The mystery involves the sleuthing around copies placed in museums of antiquities so that the very rich could purchase the really thing for themselves. So on this front we have a good, though imperfect mystery. Our sleuth is talked out of direct action with those she is investigating and persuaded to let agents act in her place so we have such encounters second hand. Then we have a dual romance which is much more effective as the indifferent bride and widow learns enough of her husband to fall in love with the man once he is gone. There Ms. Alexander does great service and creates a touching romantic chord.That is enough to decide that the 2nd book in the series might be a worthwhile read as well. There is enough detail and description to give one a feel for the later half of the 19th century, but perhaps more historical setting and detail would be even more appreciated.
    • 5/5
      Love the series! Look forward to reading book 2
    • 3/5
      And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander, a Victorian mystery is neither the best nor the worst such that I’ve read. I thought the mystery obvious and the tendency of the author to directly address the reader annoying. Unfortunately because I found the mystery obvious, reading how Lady Emily finally discovers the truth in the last one-third of the book was tedious. Despite the drawbacks, I did read the book with enough enjoyment to consider the second book in the series, particularly since the good review of the second book was the basis for reading the first.
    • 3/5
      i can't say that this book lives up to its title - it certainly wasn't suspenseful. the prose and dialogue were stilted, the characters bland, and the pace plodding, which is a shame because the premise seemed to have a lot of promise and about the first page or so caught my interest - art theft and forgery, ancient greece, and tragic love. the plot was also very transparent, and i'm usually not even good about anticipating a book's twists and turns, especially when the book in question is trying to be tricky and suspenseful. other reviews have expressed admiration for the narrator as an uncoventional heroine determined to achieve self-actualization. she rebells against society's strictures, educating herself, drinking port, traveling, and unmasking criminals, all of which is meant to endear her to me as a modern, independent, strong woman, i suppose. but i couldn't engage in the story on her behalf. i found her cold and boring, (mostly because the book just wasn't that well written,) an impersonal guide in the unfolding of a bland mystery. in short, i could not derive even a modicum of enjoyment from this book. boo.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting first novel in a series I hadn’t heard of until my SantaThing partner selected this book for me and I’m really glad she did.One of the things I really enjoyed was the idea of Emily getting to know her husband only after he’d been dead for 18 months, having married him to escape her mother, together with the growing realisation that the marriage she was creating in her head probably wouldn’t have existed. Emily is a strong, independent character who is resistance to the mores imposed on a woman by society and her mother, which sets up some nice little set pieces.The outcome of the mystery – who is selling fakes to the British Museum – is fairly obvious from about halfway through the book, and the characters do start to conform to generic ideas of hero, villain etc., but this is, I hope a rookie mistake. As always with American writers writing about British characters there are anachronism which grate on this British reader. However these are minor quibbles as all in all this is good debut and I shall look out for other books in the series.
    • 5/5
      And Only to Deceive opens with Lady Emily Ashton receiving word her husband the Viscount Phillip Ashton has died in Africa while on a hunting expedition. The tragic news affects Emily little, for she feels more relief than sorrow for the husband she barely had time to get to know.It isn’t until Emily is informed of her late husband’s avid interest in Greek antiquities along with his hidden love and affection for her does Emily venture down the path of delving into the man Phillip truly was. The more she discovers about Phillip’s character the more intrigued she becomes. Reading the Greek poet Homer, visiting the British Museum to view Greek antiquities and even the odd but touching meeting with Renoir in Paris sets Emily on an adventure of not only discovering who Phillip was, but who she is and not what society wishes her to be.When Emily becomes intimately acquainted with Phillip’s closest friends and learns of some questionable transactions, her newfound affection for her dead husband begins to waver. Mysterious letters, forged Greek antiquities, black market purchases and the sense of being watched, all contrive to sway Emily’s opinion that Phillip isn’t the decent, honourable man she has discovered through his journals. And when some disturbing news surfaces, Emily decides it is time for some answers.For the reader, And Only to Deceive is more than a story of intrigue and mystery set in Victorian England. It is a book which encourages the reader to expand their mind with the pleasures of Greek literature or to explore the beauty of Praxiteles’s sculptures.I thoroughly enjoyed And Only to Deceive. The characterization of Emily along with Madam Cécile du Lac and Margaret Seward were a refreshing delight and I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a well written story with an avid mix of intellect.
    • 4/5
      Lady Ashton is unexpectedly widowed shortly after the wedding when her husband dies on safari. Knowing very little of him, she embraces his interests in antiquities and finds herself caught wondering what really happened.Combining the Victorian period restrictions for a woman with the mystery was thoroughly gripping, leading the reader along an unexpected path.
    • 4/5
      I love historical mysteries. Victorian England is a particular favorite. I enjoyed this book but knew this was the author's first. The background story and characters were developed better than I expected but the "mystery" was lacking. I hope she builds on the Lady Emily British Museum aspects of the series.