The first book in M C Beaton's Edwardian Murder Mystery series - a must for M C Beaton's many fans.

After a brief and ill-advised dalliance with the Suffragette movement, Lady Rose Summers' debut season in London society turns out to be a complete disaster. Rose's father suspects that her fiancé, Sir Geoffrey Blandon, is a first class scoundrel and calls in Captain Harry Cathcart to investigate.

But when a malicious guest is found dead in suspicious circumstances, Rose becomes far more interested in discovering the truth than in landing a more appropriate suitor. As Harry and Rose begin to unravel this web of lies and rumours, a clever murderer sets out to make Rose's disastrous first season her last.

"Fans of the author's Hamish Macbeth and Agatha Raisin mysteries . . . will welcome this new series of historical whodunits." - Booklist

"Fans of the author's Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series should welcome this tale of aristocrats, house parties, servants, and murder." - Publishers Weekly

"A lighthearted romantic romp through Edwardian snobbery, with hints of the cataclysmic changes in store for high society." - Kirkus Reviews