The fourth in the entertaining series of Regency Period mysteries, featuring Miss Dido Kent, an intelligent, inquisitive and independent-minded gentlewoman of a certain age and limited means. Kirkus Reviews has observed, "If Jane Austen had written Miss Marple, she would have been Dido Kent."
In this the fourth volume in the series, Dido has been banished by her sister-in-law Margaret to act as an unpaid companion to their hypochondriac (and childless and wealthy) Aunt Manners on a visit to her relations at Charcombe Manor. It is Margaret's hope that time spent at her aunt's beck and call will make Dido reconsider her refusal of a marriage proposal from the sanctimonious Doctor Prowdlee. Of course Margaret is unaware that Dido harbors a secret attachment to Mr. William Lomax. But although Mr. Lomax reciprocates Dido's affection, he is not in a financial position to take on a wife, as he is burdened with the gambling debts of his ne-er-do-well son Tom.
Upon arrival at Charcombe Manor, Dido makes the acquaintance of her aunt's nephews, also her rivals for Aunt Manner's favor, and their families and friends. Mr. Lancelot Fenstanton's house party at Charcombe has been unsettled by the disappearance of Miss Letitia Verney, an heiress on the brink of contracting an engagement with Mr. Fenstanton. Much to her consternation, Dido discovers that Tom Lomax is being blamed for persuading Miss Verney to elope with him to Gretna Green. Yet Letitia's bosom friend, Miss Gibbs, says that Letitia would never have agreed to an elopement, and Tom Lomax himself, discovered at an inn nearby, avows that he had nothing to do with her disappearance. Indeed he insists he watched Miss Verney walk through the front door of Charcombe at 5 o'clock in the afternoon --- but all the people assembled in the hall that afternoon avow that Miss Verney never entered the house.
Then a Mr. Brodie arrives from the West Indies and writes to Mr. Fenstanton, saying he has information about the whereabouts of Miss Verney. But before Mr. Brodie can make his information known he is discovered murdered; and the last people to see him alive testify that he was engaged in a game of cards with Tom Lomax that led to a furious argument. When Tom is arrested and charged with murder, Dido knows she has only a limited time to find the truth, discover Miss Verney's whereabouts, exonerate Tom and save his father from a disgrace that would make it impossible for them to ever marry.
The Dido Kent series is designed for fans of Jane Austen and Regency Period romances. Dido herself is closely modeled upon Jane Austen. Stephanie Barron's Being Jane Austen Series with a fictionalized Jane herself serving as sleuth will also appeal to fans of Dido Kent.
Those who enjoy Jane Austen and Regency Period romances might also want to check out AustenProse, a Jane Austen fan blog.
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