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Dangerous to Know (Lady Emily #5)

by Tasha Alexander (Goodreads Author)

3.88 of 5 stars 3.88 · rating details · 1,907 ratings · 218 reviews

Set in the lush countryside of Normandy, France, this new novel of suspense featuring Lady Emily Hargreaves is filled with intrigue, romance, mysterious deaths, and madness.

Returning from her honeymoon with Colin Hargreaves and a near brush with death in Constantinople, Lady Emily convalesces at her mother-in-law's beautiful estate in Normandy. But the calm she so desperat

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Hardcover, 306 pages

Published October 26th 2010 by Minotaur Books (first published October 15th 2010)

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Feb 20, 2011 laninaki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, somebody-s-dead, historical-fiction-victorian

I really liked Lady Emily in And Only to Deceive,the first book of this series. Didn't like her so much in the 4th, Tears of Pearl, because her arrogance and fight for independence and equality were a bit overbearing and quite obnoxious. The Emily of Dangerous to Know is much more like the Emily of And Only to Deceive. For example, I loved her interchange with Laurent after she barged into his rooms and ignored his demands that she leave:

Laurent: Are you simple-minded? Do you not understand the...more

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Mar 09, 2011 kari rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Very few authors are capable of creating a series in which the characters remain the same or, better yet, grow more mature or improve and sadly, this isn't one of them. Each book of this series seems to get farther away from the character of Emily presented in the first book, going from strong and intelligent to childish and incapable of seeing how her actions affect anyone but herself.
Emily weeps in almost every chapter of this book. Every. Chapter. If she were actually broken up about events...more Very few authors are capable of creating a series in which the characters remain the same or, better yet, grow more mature or improve and sadly, this isn't one of them. Each book of this series seems to get farther away from the character of Emily presented in the first book, going from strong and intelligent to childish and incapable of seeing how her actions affect anyone but herself.
Emily weeps in almost every chapter of this book. Every. Chapter. If she were actually broken up about events that happened in the last book (which we're told is the problem), then I'd understand her weepiness, but she is actually weepy because she feels guilty because she doesn't really feel sad about what happened. I had trouble understanding why she got overcome every time someone mentioned babies or children or the loss of a child when she doesn't seem to want one, although there was supposedly a moment in the last book when she came to the realization that she did. So imagine my surprise when we're back to her attitude again of not wanting it to happen because it would disrupt her life and freedom. It's as if she completely forgot that at the end of the last book that she decided she really did want a child. How did that happen?
I kept thinking didn't anyone tell her that sex with her husband would lead to children? I kept thinking didn't they discuss this before they were married? Emily makes note that they had discussed her need for independence, that they be equals, before she and Colin married and yet they didn't discuss this? Nonsense.
Emily in this book is shrill and stubborn, all but shouting "My freedom! My indpendence!" whenever her husband tries to discuss his very honest and raw feelings about her safety. She simply doesn't want to hear it. I was all but waiting for her to stick her fingers in her ears and tunelessly sing "la-la-la-la-la-la-la" when her husband tries to reason with her.
By this time, she has been advised by her good friend Margaret who is a strong independent woman, her good friend Cecile who is a strong independent woman, and Colin's mother, a strong woman who we find out is a campaigner for woman's rights, that perhaps she should consider her safety and not keep doing the detective work, to find another outlet for her intelligence and spirit, but Emily doesn't want to listen to anyone. Not one of these women have told her she isn't capable, but that she should consider how hard it is on Colin when she's in danger. Emily can't seem to care how anyone but herself feels.
She keeps saying it is her hard-won freedom. How is that? She married a man whom she barely knew, didn't bother to get to know and who conveniently died shortly after their wedding. She is left living in his home on his income, but with the knowledge that none of it is really hers. Then she marries Colin. I'm confused about how she was ever independent. Did she go out and earn a living? No. Did she buy her own home? No. Did she actually accomplish anything to become independent? No.
Her independence is all in her mind and then she married Colin.
The mystery in this one is okay. Interesting, sort of meanders and lots of running about, going here, going there.
The only thing I really did like in this one was Emily getting to know Colin's mother. The diary entries from his mother were entertaining as she gave some not-so-nice opinions about Emily. Those added to the story. The first book was wonderful, full of snappy dialogue that made me laugh and cry and hope Emily would find happiness. Now I think she should concern herself at least a bit with her husband's happiness.
I'm not sure if this is a series I'd recommend at this point.(less)

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Mar 12, 2013 Sarah Klammer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: stop-killing-my-feels

I LOVE this series. It's one of the first more adult romances I've read,and I must admit I was quite surprised that I loved it. The first book went through several periods of being set aside only to be picked up again when I was bored (The entire first 2/3 of And Only to Deceive are quite tedious...deal with it), but somehow, magically I ended up loving it once Colin got his act together.

So, yeah, Colin is pretty much the only reason I'm in this series. Keep creating great men like him, and your...more I LOVE this series. It's one of the first more adult romances I've read,and I must admit I was quite surprised that I loved it. The first book went through several periods of being set aside only to be picked up again when I was bored (The entire first 2/3 of And Only to Deceive are quite tedious...deal with it), but somehow, magically I ended up loving it once Colin got his act together.

So, yeah, Colin is pretty much the only reason I'm in this series. Keep creating great men like him, and your books will fly off the shelves! It's his mystery that draws you in, his ingenuity, and his honest good-natured character. In Dangerous to Know, I felt like Tasha was trying to make him more a man of his time by pushing Emily in ways I thought slightly out of character. Perhaps this is just a way for Tasha to force Emily back into her original character from book one (If you've read Tears of Pearl you know the deviation I'm talking about), but it's not the route I would go.

The twisting of Colin's character was a direct blow to my feels, but I still love him, don't worry.

The reason this book still gets 3-stars is because it's still a wonderful piece of writing with witty, multi-dimensional characters (Team Sebastian FTW). This would've kept it at 4 stars if not for the rapid deterioration of the plot that left me rather disappointed. What I liked about this series in the beginning (Much like the Pirate of the Caribbean movies), was that you could still sort-of believe it. The plot was a little out there, but not totally mind-blowingly impossible. The whole ghost-girl torture-chamber extravaganza of fun in this installation of the series was waaaaaay out there. All I could think was "Really? If I keep reading maybe Sebastian will turn out to be an evil mage with epic powers. Yeah--let's keep reading."

When I read, there have to be some sort of rules the world of the book follows. Since this book kind of broke those rules, I'm afraid to pick up the next one, though I doubt I'll be able to help myself. Let's go back to the ballroom trysts and affairs that were actually not that uncommon in the day, and I'll devour the next installation like I did the first 3.(less)

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Aug 26, 2012 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery

The Lady Emily Books are well done popcorn books - which is how I tend to describe a fun, quick read. Tasha Alexander takes care with her history. She tweaks what is necessary for the story, of course, but it's obvious she's done her homework. I adore the characters of Lady Emily and Colin and their growing relationship. And, while it occasionally make Emily a frustrating character, I truly appreciate that Alexander has taken pains not to just make Lady Emily a 21st century woman in a Victorian...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Meaghan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

Another clear victory for Tasha Alexander! In previous reviews I've admired her style and character development, and the fifth book in the Lady Emily series does not disappoint. In this book Tasha Alexander pits Lady Emily against her new mother-in-law and, even at times her husband. I enjoyed the way that Emily is again put in a situation where she has to find a balance between what society expects and what she wants with the additional view of taking into consideration what her husband wants a...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Nora Carroll rated it 5 of 5 stars

I recently discovered this series when I found And Only to Deceive on the buy one get one free table at Barnes and Noble.

Most series, I confess, start to go stale on me after several books, but this series was absolutely not like that! After reading the first one, I felt impelled to inhale them one after another, and my only disappointment is that I got through all of them so quick.

I'm also a fan of Deanna Raybourn, but this series is so much better. For one thing, I'm a stickler for historical...more

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Mar 24, 2011 Jo (Mixed Book Bag) rated it 3 of 5 stars

In Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander I got to visit with another old friend. Lady Emily is in Normandy at her mother-in law’s recovering from her near brush with death in Constantinople. Her husband Colin Hargreaves hopes that the setting will help her recover from the loss of their unborn child. While out riding and trying to find the calm she needs Lady Emily comes on the body of a young woman murdered in the same way that victims of Jack the Ripper were killed. Emily is determined to find...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Jeannie Mancini rated it 4 of 5 stars

Tasha Alexander’s fifth novel in her Lady Emily Ashton mystery novels was for me the best in the series yet. It has been fun to watch the author’s writing and story complexity evolve and improve to becoming one of the best in the genre of Victorian Era murder mysteries.

Dangerous to Know picks up immediately where the previous book left off. Emily and her dashing husband Colin Hargreaves are recuperating from their tragic honeymoon in Istanbul, where Emily was shot and lost their unborn baby in t...more Tasha Alexander’s fifth novel in her Lady Emily Ashton mystery novels was for me the best in the series yet. It has been fun to watch the author’s writing and story complexity evolve and improve to becoming one of the best in the genre of Victorian Era murder mysteries.

Dangerous to Know picks up immediately where the previous book left off. Emily and her dashing husband Colin Hargreaves are recuperating from their tragic honeymoon in Istanbul, where Emily was shot and lost their unborn baby in the midst of investigating a murder. Colin thinking nothing but rest at his mother’s estate would be just the ticket for Emily to mend, soon is proved wrong, when while out riding Emily finds the dead body of a young woman brutally stabbed to death. This event definitely was not what she needed and spins her into feeling emotions of insecurity, doubts of her marriage, and rivalry between herself and her new mother-in-law who seems to have nothing but disdain for Emily and her apparent weaknesses.

Recognizing that the way out of her weakened physical state and depressed mind was to get back full swing into her work of solving crimes, she and Colin band together again to solve the mystery of the slain young girl which of course begins again another tale of adventure, mystery, romance and tragedies. The author dips her pen into the inkwell of combining madness in an insane asylum, jealousy between bitter siblings, a doctor turned mad scientist, and a gothic ghost story quite curious that has Emily seeing little girls with blue ribbons crying in the night.

I thought Dangerous to Know had much more substance than previous plots in the earlier books, and that this installment’s story was a lot more complex with multi-levels of intrigue that all tie together in the end. I continue to enjoy the romance between Emily and Colin, their chapters of interesting criminal detection, along with a host of regular background characters that enhance the pages of each book. Especially our beloved Sebastian Capet, the suave thief with panache. His personality grows with each book and seems to be a growing player that will have more of a part in the future which could become interesting when in the next book he will have a larger part in the lives and exploits of Lady Emily and the Queen’s Spy Colin Hargreaves.

Two thumbs up once again for Tasha Alexander who continues on the path to success with her series that serves up a fabulous concoction of murder and mayhem with romance, adventure and heartwarming characters you come to love!
(less)

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Jan 02, 2011 Jacqie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I don't know if this is a mystery in the strictest sense of the word, since I'm not sure we're given clues that could reasonably lead a reader to the perpetrator of the book's murders. However, I felt that Tasha Alexander got back to what I like best about her in this book: exploring the role of women in Victorian society. Her heroine Emily is young, perhaps a bit callow and overconfident, but her determination to be her own person in a society that won't even allow women to vote is brave and di...more

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Feb 27, 2013 Rusty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-thriller

Normandy is a quiet and lovely place for Lady Emily Hargreaves to relax and recover from the trauma of being shot and losing her child. However, she finds her husband's mother critical of her in many ways making the stay quite uncomfortable. When she finds the body of a young woman as she rides about the estate, she realizes that she is about to be involved in another murder mystery. Colin, her husband, is concerned about her fragile health and emotional state. She hears the cries of a child and...more

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Mar 03, 2011 Deena rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery, bosler

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I enjoyed this, but struggled against the sense that it was a rush job, either in writing, publication, or both. In at least 7 places, various characters use the word "beyond" as a descriptive addition - if it were just one character, it might be passed off as a manner of speech - but it is many characters. This might not seem like a big deal, but much of the reason it was so irritating to me is that Ms. Alexander is a better writer than to need to rely on such sloppy crutches. Thus my conclusio...more

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Sep 03, 2012 TeresaFL rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, fall-2012-challenge, read-in-2012

First of all, I love this series so maybe I'm a bit biased. I like that Lady Emily isn't the "normal" romantic character, nor is she really the "normal" mystery solver either. Perhaps she's too real to be either. She's a woman who has faced some major obstacles and yet manages to keep going forward.

Dangerous to Know finds Lady Emily and her lovely husband Colin find themselves at his mother's home in France for Emily to recuperate after being shot, and loosing a baby. Emily is finding it hard t...more

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Jan 15, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

This series for the most part has struck me as a slightly inferior version of the Lady Julia Grey series, although the two are quite similar. So similar that this time around as I read the two most recent books back to back I found myself confusing the characters in my head. As I read Dark Road to Darjeeling, I kept thinking that Julia and Brisbane had just been on their honeymoon in Constantinople, and didn't she just lose a baby.? But, no I remembered, that was Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves....more

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Aug 10, 2011 Christy B (Readin' and Dreamin') rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, mystery, neo-victorian

So, it's very satisfying to have a hunch of who the murderer is in a mystery novel, and it turn out to be right!

I liked this book a lot better than the last. In Dangerous to Know we find Lady Emily and Colin in Normandy, visiting Colin's mother. On the first page of the book, Emily comes across the murdered body of a young woman. No waiting around for the action, here.

I was very pleased to see the return of the delightfully mischievous and charming Sebastian Capet. He and Emily's friend Cecile m...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Elisabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 01, 2011 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-thriller-goodies, romance

Very interesting outing in this series. On the surface, the action is not as exciting and life-threatening as that in the previous book (Tears of Pearl). Indeed, it reads like an old-fashioned gothic--moody, atmospheric; full of truly insane people and, possibly, a ghost child.

It starts with Colin deciding that Emily needs some peace and quiet to recover from her injuries (physical and mental) and that his mother's home in Normandy would be the perfect places. Big Error all around. Emily is will...more

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May 10, 2011 Bree T rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, kindle-version, library-reads, mystery, series

After the traumatic events at the end of the fourth Lady Emily novel, Tears of Pearl, Lady Emily is taken by her husband Colin to Normandy, France to his mother’s place to recuperate. Although not entirely enamoured with the idea of being pregnant in the previous novel, now that she is no longer, Lady Emily finds herself in quite a state of melancholy, one that she cannot seem to shake. She is listless and withdrawn, very unlike herself. Her convalescence isn’t helped by the fact that her mother...more After the traumatic events at the end of the fourth Lady Emily novel, Tears of Pearl, Lady Emily is taken by her husband Colin to Normandy, France to his mother’s place to recuperate. Although not entirely enamoured with the idea of being pregnant in the previous novel, now that she is no longer, Lady Emily finds herself in quite a state of melancholy, one that she cannot seem to shake. She is listless and withdrawn, very unlike herself. Her convalescence isn’t helped by the fact that her mother in law seems to find so much to disapprove of about her and isn’t having much trouble making those feelings known.

Whilst out riding one day, Lady Emily discovers the brutally mutilated body of a young woman who could almost be her twin. With the Jack the Ripper murders of London fresh in people’s mind, Lady Emily feels a need to find the murderer of the woman and bring them to justice. It’s just the sort of distraction she needs that could take her mind off the loss that has plagued her recently, even if it does mean she’s putting herself in danger once again. As she begins an investigation, she learns that the victim was the daughter of a wealthy local family (whose mother happens to be friends with Lady Emily’s French friend Cecile) and that she was an escapee from an institution for the mentally unwell. Lady Emily soon begins hearing voices, that of a small girl, and sees faces in windows where there should not be faces and sees a blue ribbon appear and disappear. This ties in with the local ‘myth’ of a young girl who fell to her death due to maternal neglect and it is said that she roams the countryside searching for a better mother than the one she was born to. Lady Emily begins to fear for her own sanity, especially as what she is hearing and seeing is the same thing the murdered woman reported hearing and seeing before her family decided to commit her to the mental facility.

Colin is also having second thoughts about his wife investigating crimes after the horrible way things turned out during the last investigation and he is warring internally with himself about just how much he will let her take part in. The relationship between the two becomes strained as Lady Emily is devastated at his new frame of mind and admits to herself that if he forbids her any involvement, she will acquiesce to his wishes simply because she loves him. That does not prevent her from becoming depressed over this new turn of events, and given that the dashing jewel thief Sebastian is back from A Poisoned Season to provide her with some much needed intrigue and assistance, Colin might just have to rethink his stance.

Wow. This book was just a major step back in character development for both Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves. Lady Emily, although a bit irritating at times, has always been admirable from a reader point for not caring much about the ways of Victorian society and doing precisely what she wants to do – learn Ancient Greek, remain a widow and refuse the hands of eligible men, travel to France and Greece, solve murders. And Colin has always been equally admirable in the way that he has not sought to confine her free spirit or thirst for knowledge, nor her lack of regard for society. In this book – they both reverse their characters.

After being shot at the end of Tears of Pearl, losing her baby and being informed of possibly not being able to conceive another one, Lady Emily becomes a pale shadow of her former self, listless and lifeless, lazing around. She has abandoned her Greek studies and doesn’t really show much of an interest in anything until discovering the gruesome body and deciding that she must attempt to put right what happened to the poor murdered girl. Colin also takes a massive step back in this novel, not only expressing doubts about the involvement Lady Emily has in the investigation but pondering whether or not to flat out ban her from any such involvements in the future. He puts restrictions on her involvement in this case, forbidding her to do a couple of things and Lady Emily can only nod weakly and agree while she sobs and agonizes on the inside.

I always liked Colin before this novel, I thought he was funny and very progressive and actually, quite a good match for Lady Emily, often too good a match. He was quite prepared for her to live her life the way she wanted to and not impose any 19th Century Victorian-husband type rules upon her. Yes she ended up in danger in the last book but she had the sense to get herself out of it and actually figured out the murderer before he did. It was extremely disappointing to see him to revert to this sort of “you’re my wife and if I say you won’t be involved, then you won’t be, I forbid it! Understand me?” sort of character and it was almost as disappointing to see Lady Emily agree to this because she loves him so much and will have to abide by his orders if he chooses to enforce them. I felt like reaching into the pages of this novel and shaking her. Where was the woman who refused to marry him at first because she didn’t want to be tied down in such a conventional way? Where was the woman who learned Ancient Greek just because she wanted to? Where was the woman who traveled to foreign countries and enjoyed life? She might’ve been irritating at times but she was a heck of a lot more interesting than the shadow of a person who haunted this book!

I’ve questioned why I keep reading these when really I’ve only actually enjoyed 1 out of 4. The rest have been sort of okay or just the other side of okay, not quite bad, but not quite good either. I think it’s because I’m craving books of this type - Victorian mysteries with a tiny bit of romance where characters are breaking out of the traditions of the time. I’ve been looking for these sort of books lately and latching on to anything that I find, such as these and even though they’re not great, I keep reading them. I still have #3 in this series to read and because I can get them from the library I will read it but now that I’m caught up, I am guessing I’ll have forgotten all about this series by the time the next one is released.

This book could really have been about entirely different people than the others in the series.(less)

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Jul 09, 2012 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: from-library

The dreaded mother in law! Emily Hargreaves comes to the Normandy countryside with her husband, Collin to recuperate from a nearly deadly and ultimately tragic encounter in Constantinople. While Emily heals in body her spirit and mind lag behind.

The two most important women in Collin's life take a long time to warm up to each other before discovering more in common than their love for Collin. Part of it revolves around solving the mystery of a grisly body discovered by Emily on a solitary ride....more

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Jan 19, 2011 Kendra rated it 4 of 5 stars

After being somewhat disappointed with Tears of Pearl, I was more than pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. The mystery was back in top form, and though the culprit was no surprise, their motivation certainly was, which made this book all the more interesting.

I forget sometimes while reading historical novels like this that things were so much different for women back then. Though I understood where Colin was coming from in wanting to forbid Emily from participating in certain as...more

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Nov 06, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, historical

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 15, 2011 George rated it 5 of 5 stars

#5 in the Lady Emily mystery series. It is set in Normandy, France in July, 1892. Newly remarried Lady Emily, her first husband was murdered, is recovering, more mental than physical, from being shot and losing her unborn child, during an earlier case, staying at her mother-in-law's home. Emily's new husband is a highly valuable agent for the British government and Emily has been working with him to solve cases when she was shot. The main plot line is discovering who murdered a young woman whose...more

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Mar 28, 2011 Leslie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Not Alexander's finest, Dangerous to Know is the latest book in the Lady Emily series. The plot is meandering and rather transparent, and quite frankly, Lady Emily becomes a bit of a bore. Alexander's attempt to stick to her timeline by having the reader grieve with Emily for the miscarriage suffered at the end of Tears of Pearl was misguided, to say the least. While it provides the impetus for much of her sleuthing in this outing, the reader's sympathies tend to lie with Mrs. Hargreaves, Lady E...more

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Feb 25, 2011 LeiAnn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

After suffering a terrible loss on her honeymoon in Constantinople, Lady Emily is whisked off for R&R at her mother-in-law's house in Normandy. Does anyone spot the obvious plot yet? Of course, things are not smooth sailing with Colin's mother, and of course, there's a dead body or two to deal with. And Sebastian (yeah!!!) is back, with all refined tastes and selective burglaring.

I really disliked Colin's treatment of Emily in the book. I realize that it may be typical of the era, but I didn...more

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Jan 30, 2011 Donna rated it 5 of 5 stars

Fair read. "Set in 1892, Alexander's less than memorable fifth novel of suspense featuring Lady Emily Hargreaves finds Emily recovering from the emotional and physical scars suffered in her previous outing, Tears of Pearl. Emily's well-intentioned husband, Colin, persuades her to recuperate at his family's estate in Normandy, where she's under the disapproving eye of her fearsome mother-in-law. While out riding, Emily happens on the butchered corpse of a woman, later identified as an escaped inm...more

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Jun 05, 2012 Sandy Cox rated it 5 of 5 stars

After barely surviving her honeymoon, Lady Emily hoped that her recovery in Normandy, France would be quiet and restful; instead she was faced with a disapproving mother-in-law…and a dead woman.

Determined to seek justice for her death, Emily and her husband, Colin, begin to investigate, but as they delve deeper into the mystery, they find connections to a ghost girl, an asylum and even Jack the Ripper.

Who did it? I’m not telling! You’ll just have to read the book to find out and believe me it’...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

If you want the plot read the other reviews. I love the Lady Emily books. The historical information is fascinating, the characters feel true, and the plots are fun.

I don't quite understand the dislike some reviewers expressed for Emily in this story. It seems reasonable to me that a woman would be a bit weepy who lost her baby and feels unreasonable guilt that her fear and hesitancy at being a mother led to that loss. And Colin's over reaction also seems like a reasonable response. Then again,...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Teniya rated it 3 of 5 stars

I like this genre of Harlequin romance-historical fiction, I can't help it and I'm NOT ashamed Rachel!!!HA!HA! Come on don't we all secretly want to be sneaking around in a dark drawing room with a dagger hidden between our large bosom? ;)

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Jan 12, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-mystery

This is the fifth installment in the Lady Emily series. Emily and Colin are staying in Normandy with his mother to allow Emily to rest and recover from her trauma in Constantinople. However, things are not as restful for Emily as Colin had hoped; she struggles with her relationship with her mother-in-law and while out riding, she is shocked to find a young woman who has been brutally murdered, in the style of Jack the Ripper. Colin is deeply worried about Emily and wants to shield her, and Emily...more

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Nov 13, 2011 Lori McD rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: british-lit, cozy-mystery, drama, favorite-author, mystery, romance, series, 2011_read

I can't get enough of the Lady Emily series! And I only have 1 book to go to be caught up and breathlessly waiting the next book... oh, how I hate that!

Although I must say that I found myself peeved at Lady Emily several times in this book -- yes, peeved. She's been through a lot in a short time, no doubt. And having Sebastian show up again, plus the body she found so horridly murdered, plus the mystery of the ghost-girl (or is she real?) who seems to be haunting Emily... Yes, I can see why Emil...more I can't get enough of the Lady Emily series! And I only have 1 book to go to be caught up and breathlessly waiting the next book... oh, how I hate that!

Although I must say that I found myself peeved at Lady Emily several times in this book -- yes, peeved. She's been through a lot in a short time, no doubt. And having Sebastian show up again, plus the body she found so horridly murdered, plus the mystery of the ghost-girl (or is she real?) who seems to be haunting Emily... Yes, I can see why Emily is emotional. Oh yes, she's recovering at her mother-in-law's, who doesn't seem to like Lady Emily in the least.

But Emily seemed to revert to her petulant, spoiled self too many times. I think she actually stamped her foot a time or two! And the battle between Colin and Emily about her part in investigations, et al, is wearing thin. Too overdone in too many books with similar storylines, such as the Lady Julia Grey books.

Colin showed himself to no longer be the perfect knight-in-shining armor. I was a bit disappointed in him, too, although I suppose it's high time that we learn he's not perfect, as Emily did. I fully understand his concerns for Emily's safety and his guilt for feeling as if he's responsible for her injury and miscarriage in Tears of Pearl. I understand he's walking a fine line between giving Emily her freedom and independence and keeping her protected. So what's my beef?

My biggest beef was his flirtation with Toinette. Colin is a handsome man, and he's not dead. And yes, we've witnessed him flirting before. But never with an eligible girl/woman who is obviously taken with him. Toinette is 16 years old, and devious and selfish enough to gladly cause a scandal. Colin knew better, but he was "diverted" by Toinette and thought her harmless. Yeah, sure. In a way, I felt like Colin was trying to get back at Emily for Sebastian's attentions; except that Emily clearly and publicly spurns Sebastian over and over again, making it clear she's not interested.

Perhaps all that's happened is supposed to be taking a toll on Colin, too, because he missed some devastatingly large clues from the beginning -- especially the skill necessary to emulate the Ripper. Yes, Emily missed it, too, but we expect her to not pick up on that until near the end.

In a way, this villain and the actions he took were muddled and buried in the hideous story of the Prier family. *shudder* Too much time lost with them. The whole family made my skin crawl. It was almost as if Ms. Alexander couldn't make up her mind whom the villain should be, or got lost in the red herring trail she usually puts down so delightfully.

No, this was a dark book... an emotional book... and while I did enjoy the story and I do think that much of the journey for Emily (and Colin) was necessary, there was too much noise and not enough story. Which is why I have to give the book a 3-rating and not my usual 4-star rating.(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Jannie rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have been a big fan of this series from the beginning. I love the relationship between Emily and Colin. They seem to have hit a rough patch here as they grieve the loss of their unborn child while on their honeymoon, but it feels like their love for each other will help them get through it.
I also enjoy the sense of place and history in these novels, and this one is no exception. A large part of the story line involves treatment of and attitudes toward the mentally ill during this time period....more

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About Tasha Alexander

Tasha Alexander is the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Emily series and the novel ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE. She attended the University of Notre Dame, where she studied English and Medieval History. Her work has been nominated for numerous awards and has been translated into more than a dozen languages. She and her husband, novelist Andrew Grant, divide their time between Chicago an...more

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Dangerous to Know (Lady Emily #5)

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