A Virtuous Death

Name: A Virtuous Death
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Christine Trent
ISBN: 9781666172348

Author: Christine Trent

Series: Lady of Ashes #3

Narrator: Polly Lee

Unabridged: 10 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/30/2021

Categories: Fiction, Gothic, Mystery & Detective, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Queen Victoria, still mourning her long-dead husband Prince Albert, has found solace in John Brown, an enigmatic palace servant who dabbles in the occult and keeps the grieving queen entertained with his tarot card readings. Undertaker Violet Harper is invited to attend one of Mr. Brown's infamous readings, during which he implies that Buckingham Palace will soon be shrouded in death's dark veil. Well acquainted with death, Violet shrugs him off as a charlatan—until his sinister divinations begin to prove true . . .

Violet wonders if something foul is in the cards when the aristocratic young friends of the queen's daughter begin to die under mysterious circumstances. Her suspicions only grow when one of London's "moralists," a group bent on repealing the law that forces prostitutes into hospitals, suffers a similar fate. The deaths merely buttress the queen's enthusiasm for Mr. Brown's ominous talents, and, concerned by the fortuneteller's influence, Violet races against time to unearth the truth before the killer strikes again. But as she closes in on a murderer with an unearthly motive, Violet realizes she may be digging her own grave . . .

By turns heart wrenching and hopeful, A Virtuous Death is a gripping tale of fortitude besieged by vengeance inside the extraordinary world of Queen Victoria's court.

About Christine Trent

In addition to six novels and three short stories in the Lady of Ashes series, Christine Trent has written several historical novels about women in unusual professions, including The Queen's Dollmaker (a dollmaker to Marie Antoinette), A Royal Likeness (an apprentice to the great waxworker, Madame Tussaud), and By the King's Design (a draper to the Prince Regent).

Reviews

Goodreads review by Debra on April 01, 2022

Good mystery with a little history thrown in. Learned more about the funeral practices of the time. Enjoying this series very much.......more

Goodreads review by Nicole on March 15, 2018

Oh dear lord this book. It's written like a terrible romance novel with no romance. I was unsure about the first book in this series, the second gave me hope, and this one? I can't continue on. The main character is an UNDERTAKER. The author has made her into a sometime undertaker, and full time inv......more

Goodreads review by Sallee on January 26, 2016

This book was very detailed with so many twists and turns that I had to keep taking breaks by reading another book. There is a great deal of detail in Victorian funeral customs which was interesting. There are many suspects and you are left wondering which one it could be until almost the very end......more

Goodreads review by Barb reads......it ALL! on June 17, 2015

Although not my favorite in the series, I still enjoyed the character of Violet and the fictionalization of Queen Victoria and their relationship. My favorite parts of this series are the history of the time period and the history of funeral processes/mourning. I felt that this title took way too muc......more

Goodreads review by Carole (in Canada) on July 19, 2019

"How had she just gone from royal undertaker to royal snoop?" (quote from the book) Well, not only have Queen Victoria and John Brown solicited Violet Harper's help in chasing down mysterious happenings at Buckingham Palace, but Princess Louise has asked for her help with the death of a close friend.......more