The Regent Mysteries book #3
by Cheryl Bolen
GENRE: #Christmas-cozy-mystery-romance #Regency-novella
My rating: ★★★☆☆
Real rating 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars
Short story that combines mystery and romance in the Regency era.
I chose it as a read because I love this mix and the time of year it is set in is Christmas.
__PLOT IN SHORT __ Christmastide. Regency England.
Captain Dryden and his wife Lady Daphne are held in high regard by the Prince Regent, as they helped foil dangerous plans against the country and the crown.
Just as they are preparing to go and spend Christmas with her aristocratic family, they are called by her highness.
A famous statuette given to him by the King of Spain has disappeared and it is important to find it in time for the King's visit, to avoid a political clash.
Meanwhile, a friend of the captain and a young aristocratic girl under the protection of Lady Daphne remain alone and without a chaperone waiting for the Dryden couple. United by concern for their friends, they discover that they are very attracted to each other.
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This Christmas novella is book #3 in a series of mystery-romance novels ( THE REGENT MYSTERIES ), but the good news is that it can be read as a standalone, in fact the author has fully managed to illustrate to the reader the situation regarding the bonds between the various characters, their way of being/their way of think and how they got to where they are in the book.
The bad news however is that being a short story it should have focused more on one of the 2 themes and less on the other.
---> Let me explain better:
In a 230/300 page novel the author has plenty of time to develop a romantic bond between 2 characters and develop an intricate and well thought out mystery that keeps the reader on their toes.
Since the novella is much shorter than the novel, considering that a part of the pages must be dedicated to introducing the characters and situations of the previous books) everything is done more quickly and if the remaining space is divided between the budding love story and a mystery to investigate, each of the two themes will have even less chance of being developed.
The result is that the mystery is stupid and inconsistent, it lacks suspense, the investigative questions are boring and repetitive, the solution is obvious and the reader is left with the feeling of having read thin air.
The love story borders on the absurd. I admit that at that time engagements and marriages were decided much less quickly than in our times, but the fact that the two characters fall madly in love after just 2 days together does not give the reader any emotion.
There is no pathos in this story, neither in the mystery nor in the romance and perhaps it could still be a nice story to read for those who are already fond of the two protagonists of the series (a couple who are consolidated in this book, but who seemed equally unlikely), but I confess that if I were an avid reader of this series, I would still have been disappointed.
However, I'm still curious to read the novels of the series, the general plot is promising.
I will try to give book #1 a chance, to see if starting from the beginning I will have a greater chance of becoming attached to the characters and enjoying reading all the volumes.
This short story that is book #3 might help you to get to know a little about the protagonist couple of the series The Regent Mysteries.
Thanks for reading my opinion and please forgive my English ( not my native language ).
Happy holidays to you all !!
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