The Bloodied Cravat

Beau Brummell, London's premier arbiter of fashion, has been invited to Oatlands (the country estate of the Duke and Duchess of York) in order to celebrate the duchess's birthday. And while Brummell arrives promptly enough, his baggage, his valet, along with his present for the duchess, seems aggravatingly enough to have gone missing. It is almost too much for Brummell -- first, to have to share the duchess with other lesser toadying individuals instead of having her all to himself, and now for his valet and bags to have gone missing! And if all that was not enough, the guest list would be sure to inspire a severe case of indigestion, for the duchess seems to have invited not a few dirty dishes to her birthday celebrations. And they include the new Lord Kendrick, a rather loutish individual with an exaggerated view of his attractions, and who seems to treat his young cousin, Lady Ariana, rather brutally. Brummell, however, discovers that he has little time to spend thinking about Kendrick and his bad behaviour, for his valet soon arrives with dire news. Robinson had been held up by a highwayman who operates in the neighbourhood, and the thief has made off with some of Brummell's baggage. In particular a valise that held Brummell's scrapbook, which also contained a despairing yet ardent letter from the duchess that could bring social ruin to both Brummell and the duchess.Horrified and worried about the danger that he has placed his beloved duchess in, Brummell resolves to retrieve the letter before some blackmailer can make full use of it. And he has some suspicion that the highwayman may not be a common felon afterall, but may actually be one of the guests at the house party. And then a guest is found murdered, and the weapon of choice appears to be one of the duchess's hair ornaments. Now, Brumell must work not only to retrieve the missing letter, but also discover who murdered the guest before more scandal is heaped on the duchess's head.What I liked most about "The Bloodied Cravat" was not so much the murder-blackmail plot, but rather the care that Rosemary Stevens took to get certain nuances about the Regency period right. I liked that she painted the precariousness of Brummell's social position so accurately -- how a small misstep, however slight, and the loss of the good opinion of the powerful members of the aristocracy, could ruin him. Rosemary Stevens's on the mark depiction on just how much the women of the period were dependent on the whims and good will of the men in their life, was neatly done as well. Women had very few privileges, and Ms Stevens uses this unpalatable truth to colour her mystery novel to great effect. And while the novel unfolded smoothly and effortlessly, the main plot-line (the theft of the duchess's letter, and the murder) was actually rather light weight. It was the fate of a few characters that interested me that had me glued to the pages. So all in all I'd say that of you are a fan of the Regency period this n

She was the daughter of the Prussian King and is married to one of the royal princes of Regency England. Frederica, the duchess of Yorke, prefers to spend her time at her country estate of Oatlands so she doesn't have to see her husband running around London with his mistress. She has many friends, including Beau Brummell, the social arbiter of fashion and manners in Polite Society. Mr. Brummell, who has a crush on the duchess even though she's his best friend, travels to Oatlands for her birthday party. His valet's coach is robbed and not only his clothes are stolen but all the letters that the duchess wrote to Beau. One of the guests is killed and someone tries to blackmail the duchess. To avoid any scandal, Beau must go into detecting mode and find the letters as well as the killer. Regency England at the height of its gaiety is the colorful tapestry upon which Rosemary Stevens creates her droll, witty and lighthearted mystery. THE BLOODIED CRAVAT is a fascinating page turning tale with so many suspects all with viable motives that readers will not be able to put the book down until they are satisfied they have all the answers to this complex puzzle.Harriet Klausner