Book Review: "A Crimson Warning"

"A Crimson Warning" by Tasha Alexander
First published in 2011
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

There are a few book series of which I am a devoted fan, anxiously awaiting the newest release and then happily devouring it. There's just something about a favorite series -- reading the newest addition is like coming home to familiar environs, reuniting with a cast of characters you've grown to know and love. Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Victorian mystery series is like that for me.

"A Crimson Warning" is the sixth installment in the Lady Emily books, which take place in the late 1800s, mostly in London (although Emily's adventures take her to Paris, Vienna and Constantinople). Lady Emily has developed throughout the series into progressive woman who drinks port, smokes an occasional cigar, supports women's suffrage, studies Greek, sometimes rolls her eyes at the inane, vapid and double-standard-filled high society of which she is a part, and solves murder mysteries. But, even with her intelligence, cleverness and confidence to push the boundaries set forth for women in Victorian society, Emily is still feminine, romantic and can perfectly play the part of genteel society lady when needed -- a wonderful combination.

In "A Crimson Warning," Emily and her husband, who deals with criminal matters on behalf of the Crown (their romance takes place in the earlier novels) become embroiled in a mystery at the same time an anonymous crusader has taken to splashing the houses of prominent high society families with red paint, then leaking their darkest secrets. Of course, chaos ensues. The novel will keep you guessing at the identities of the murderer and the painter until the end -- or are they the same person?

All of Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily books are delightful reads that paint a fascinating picture of Victorian society through the eyes of an increasingly modern woman, and any fan of historial fiction or mysteries should enjoy them. Happy reading!

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