A Suspicious Affair and an Angel for the Earl

* A Suspicious Affair. When this story begins, a duke is murdered in his carriage, where he'd been trysting with his mistress. His very pregnant wife, Marisol, is the prime suspect. The neighbor, Lord Kimbrough, is also a suspect, because he'd been arguing with the victim over a piece of land on their adjoining estates. So to clear his name, Lord Kimbrough decides to get to the bottom of things. He and Marisol initially distrust each other, but as they get to know each other, they fall in love. What really makes this story stand out, though, is that it starts out in the POV of Jeremiah Dimm, the Bow Street Runner investigating the case. Dimm isn't just a plot device, though, he has a distinct personality, and he plays a major role in getting the hero and heroine together. He's also a major source of the humor in the book, as he finds jobs for his large extended family, one by one. _____ * An Angel for the Earl. This is a rather unusual story, in that the heroine spends nearly the entire story in a coma. I think I can see why these two stories are combined, besides being originally released in the same year: they're both unusual Regencies. Lucinda is an overprotected young lady whose father is set to marry her to an old man. She very naturally elopes with a scoundrel, and when he attacks her after she discovers his true nature, she very naturally defends herself, inadvertently killing him. On her way home, she falls off her horse and ends up in a coma. If she dies, she's destined for hell (for self-defense killing? maybe for disrespecting her parents and eloping in the first place?), but if she can reform the rakish Lord Stanford before she dies, she'll go to heaven. Kieran, Earl of Stanford, inherited a pile of debts and a peculiar household. His mother has apparently taken up with a smuggler; his aunt regularly holds conversations with her long-deceased husband; and his one remaining servant has the shakes so badly he's mostly incompetent. Lucinda's attempts at fixing his life are both sweet and funny, and all the more believable because they sometimes work and sometimes don't. As in the previous story, they fall in love slowly, developing an appreciation for each other over time. _____ As always, you really cannot go wrong with Barbara Metzger. Even though these stories are 13 years old, they're still fresh, and fun and definitely worth reading.

I'll start off with the backflap synopsises: A Suspicious Affair: Lord Kimbrough has no trouble believing Marisol, Duchess Denning, posses the wherewithal to murder her odious husband - especially because the late duke's infidelity was no secret. But Kimbrough was seen fighting with the dead man, and he has since found himself drawn into the ensuing scandal - onkly to be enchanted by the widow... An Angel for the Earl: Lucinda's life was tragically cut short in a most scandalous manner, and her only means of entering heaven lies in saving Lord Stanford from hell. Perhaps while guiding the notorious rake onto a virtuous path, she can show him how true love will save his immortal soul... The stories are completely different but typical Ms. Metzger. The heroines are very giving and if not misunderstood, then often maligned. In the case of Marisol, she did her duty and what was expected of her without ever lowering her dignity. She is indeed misunderstood by Lord Kimbrough, as he is by her, and slowly yet in a very natural way, they learn more of each other and fall in love. The Dimm's are a wonderful addition and written in and out of the story with just enough verve to illicit the interest of the reader and yet Ms. Metzger does not allow them to overtake the pages and bore the reader. Lucinda is completely different. The story is very original for a regency and cleverly brought about. The rake, Kerrie Stanford, is dissolute but not foregone. It's a lovely story and not so much a romance until the end. Both stories are excellently written and I struggled to finish them both in one day, so as to be able to soak up every delicious word. Ms. Metzger is a rare commodity in these bleak days of Regency when most authors have steam occuring in the first 14 pages...I only wish other authors would cultivate her style and save the genre....

Both of these are fun, feel good books. An Angel for the Earl is more emotional and different. A Suspicious Affair has witty dialog. I have both of these as a stand alone copy AND also have the double set for thowing in my bag to read on trips. Metzger books are light reading for anytime. --------------------------------------------------- An Angel for the Earl: Unique and Interesting. A very different kind of book! I've never read anything like this one before! The story in short: Not so perfect, not quite dead Lucinda is on a mission to save a soul from Hell -- her own! But to do this she must reform a rake (Kerry), who in the end was not so bad. This book was so interesting, I finished it in a day. And it brought tears to my eyes in the end. Unique way of showing how Kerry's backsliding affects the "angel" Lucinda -- her clothing (or lack of) is the indicator! Well worth reading - and a KEEPER!! P.S. I don't think what Lucinda did was bad enough to put her in Hell ... but then there would be no story!! --------------------------------------------------- A Suspicious Affair: Pretty Good; funny -- As all Metzger's, the animals are always so much fun. Especially the dogs! This one had a little yapper and a three-legged collie. The collie was the best secondary character in the book, I think. The story in short: Duke found shot dead; everybody hated him anyway; the ton suspicious that the wife about to give birth did it; wife thinks neighbor did it; neighbor not sure WHO did it, and a bow street runner is suspicious of all and tracking down the leads. Of course the duchess (Merisol) and neighbor (Kimbrough) are our lead characters. There are other romances to be accomplished by the time the book is done. Kimbrough is rather obnoxious and overbearing and almost hard to warm up to. By the end of the book when he finds jobs for all of the bow street runner's (Dimms) family and takes in assorted animals, you see he is mostly bluster. Although he accuses Merisol of being snobbish (that nose of hers drives him crazy), Kimbrough is snobbish also. In the end he admits to his flaws. Merisol is a long suffering woman, sold to the highest bidder and her rich and rotten duke never came through on most of his promises. I felt rather sorry for her but once she gave birth her ferocious protection of her child was touching. She had more backbone than you realized. Secondary characters were nice - a bit many and hard to remember all of them. Some of the situations were very amusing and the dialog was wonderful. I always know I am in for enjoyment when I read a Metzger! This one is really in between a 3 and a 4 but since I felt so good and light hearted after reading this book, I opted for the 4.