A Double Deception

I love the early Regencies that Wolf wrote before moving to her longer, more "successful" novels set in the same era...this novel involves some of the same characters like David and Catherine from A London Season which adds to the enjoyment. I found her usual irony in the set up of what each expected from the marriage and a well-plotted (although I thought predictable) mystery...just a good read...

The story begins with the hero Mark Cheney marrying a beautiful young debutante then moves to the heroine Laura Dalwood marrying a handsome landowner. Both marriages are abyssmal failures until Mark and Laura are mercifully widowed. In steps Mark's aunt and Laura's godmother Lady Maria who first manages to make Laura the surrogate mother for Mark's orphaned son, then later suggests that for the boy's sake it would be best if Mark simply married Laura. Needless to say--given their pasts--neither Mark or Laura are eager for marriage, but once they agree they find themselves surprisingly well suited.Despite their happiness, rumors abound that Mark was responsible for his first wife's death and so when soon after their marriage Laura begins having suspicious accidents, society begins to gossip that he is trying to rid himself of his second wife as well.It's a fairly normal Regency/Gothic plot to have a heroine marry a hero with a bad reputation and then find herself wandering through the second half of the novel attempting to decide if her husband is trying to kill her. Thankfully, Wolf avoided that plot and instead took the delightful turn of the heroine wising up to the fact that someone is setting her husband up to look like a killer thereby allowing Laura and Mark to stand together. The couple then sets out to solve the mystery of who is the true villian and why he wants her dead and Mark blamed for it. Some nice non-standard twists in the plot and a likable and intelligent hero and heroine make this an enjoyable romance. A good read.