The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander

It soothes my soul to read a favorite author writing a beloved character. For a few moths now I have been slogging through a couple of tedious books, promising myself that as soon as I finished one I could start the new Lady Emily mystery. As I finally read the first line, I could feel something in me relax. It was as if I was suddenly curled up in a soft blanket in a comfy chair by a crackling fireside with a mug of hot chocolate in one hand and a purring kitten in my lap. I felt like I was home again.

This is the ninth Lady Emily novel and it's still as fresh as the first. In this one she and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, investigate the murder of a young woman who was impersonating an eccentric Frenchwoman who was known for traveling the world. All the novels have a delightful wit about them. The barbs Emily reserves for her mother, a very traditional Victorian woman, are excellent. The novels take place in lovely locales, which seem painstakingly researched by the author. This one has an extended segment in the Pere-Lachaise cemetery - one of my top five bucket list travel destinations. My only problem is that the novels just don't come quickly enough. However, that would probably just diminish them, and I wouldn't want that for anything.

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