Edwardian Murder Mystery

When a marriage proposal appears imminent for the beautiful-if rebellious-Lady Rose Summer, her father wants to know if her suitor's intentions are honorable. He calls on Captain Harry Cathcart, the impoverished younger son of a baron, to do some intelligence work on the would-be fiancé Sir Geoffrey Blandon. But when Harry is caught between his client's desire for discretion and his suspicion that murder may have been committed, he enlists the help of Superintendent Kerridge of the Scotland Yard and Lady Rose herself.

Lady Rose Summer refuses to abide by her parents' insistence that she marry. Even more distressing, she wants to work. On advice from Captain Harry Cathcart-a noble-born private investigator who knows Rose all too well-her parents agree to let Rose work as a typist and live in a women's hostel. But life as a working woman isn't quite what Rose imagined: When a playboy is murdered, Rose will return to high society to follow a trail of deception, rumors, and devious plots-even as a singularly calculating killer prepares to end rebellious Rose's sleuthing for good.

Captain Harry Cathcart and Lady Rose Summer have entered into an engagement of convenience so Rose can avoid being sent to India with all the other failed debutantes. Her sharp intellect and radical ideas have served to repel her would-be suitors. Rose's parents are hardly thrilled that their only child is marrying a man in trade, but Harry comes from a good family, and at the very least, they hope he will keep their troublesome daughter out of mischief. Unfortunately, even a pretend engagement cannot save Rose from trouble. Bored with endless parties, teas, and balls, she befriends Dolly Tremaine, a beautiful young girl newly arrived from the country and overwhelmed by the demands of the Season. Rose is delighted to have a protégée, but their friendship is cut tragically short when Dolly is found floating in a river. Harry must solve the mystery of Dolly's death-and keep Rose from being the murderer's next victim.

Lady Rose Summer, the wayward Edwardian debutante who keeps getting mixed up in disreputable adventures, would swear she is not a jealous woman. After all, she knows her engagement to private detective Captain Harry Cathcart is only a ploy to keep her parents from shipping her off to India. But then Harry's latest client, Dolores Duval-a vision of curves with a seductive French accent-starts appearing everywhere at his side. In a fit of rage, Rose threatens Dolores, only to be found the very next day, standing over her dead body. The newspapers rush to convict her, but can Harry and Detective Superintendent Kerridge clear her name?