Genre: Historical Mystery
POV: 1st Person (heroine)
Sensuality: Subtle
Violence: Mild
Format: Digital
My Grade: C+
And Only to Deceive tells the story of Lady Emily Ashton, a young widow in Victorian London.
When Emily accepted the wealthy and titled Philip Ashton’s marriage proposal, her main motivation was escaping her domineering mother. Emily liked Philip well enough, but felt no deeper affection for him. Upon his death in Africa just a few short months after their wedding, Emily is left a wealthy widow. Once her obligatory period of mourning is at an end, she will finally be free to live her life with a degree of freedom she has not previously known.
Colin Hargreaves was Philip’s best friend and companion on his fatal trip to Africa. Colin’s acquaintance with Emily is fleeting at best. Nevertheless, he must fulfil a promise to made to his dying friend. Consequently, Colin calls on Emily and informs her that Philip begged him to accompany her to his Greek villa on Santorini. Emily is embarrassed by her late husband’s apparent devotion to her, especially in the light of her indifference to him. Nonetheless, the prospect of visiting Greece delights her. She decides to increase her knowledge of Greece and its history in anticipation of the trip.
Emily’s growing knowledge of antiquities – one of Philip’s passions – leads her to read her late husband’s journals. Through Philip’s words and private thoughts, Emily finds herself falling in love with the man who was her husband. Soon, she stumbles upon a mystery involving forged antiquities and she begins to suspect that the circumstances surrounding Philip’s death warrant investigation.
When news reaches her from Africa that Philip might still be alive, Emily is thrown into confusion. She enlists her new suitor, Andrew Palmer, and her French friend, Cécile, to assist her in tracing Philip, and soon finds herself embroiled in a situation fraught with danger.
The premise of And Only to Deceive was both interesting and original. However, Emily has a lot of growing up to do. Her naivety and tendency to trust the wrong people annoyed me, particularly as the identity of the villain was fairly obvious from early on in the story. I also felt that some of Emily’s actions did not ring true for a widow in the Victorian era.
Despite my frustrations with Emily and the predictable plot, the author’s prose is extremely readable and kept me turning the pages. I loved the character who evolved into the hero of the story, and I’d certainly like to read more books featuring him. I plan to give the next book in this series a go.
Warning for readers: the blurbs of the subsequent books in the series contain significant spoilers for the plot of And Only to Deceive.
