Guilty Knowledge

Stakerly #1

by Clare Curzon

When policemen arrive at the Earl of Sedgwick's estate to enquire after a missing Italian gentleman, the Earl's daughter-in-law, Eugenie, realises that buried secrets may not remain concealed much longer. Secrets that have bound her to her dangerously unstable sister-in-law - the Honourable Isabelle Delmayne - ever since a trip abroad years before. Then, as the newly graduated daughter of a fashionable dressmaker, Eugenie had thrilled at the chance to accompany the young and beautiful, recently widowed Isabelle through Europe and Africa. But once embarked, the gloss of expectation had rapidly been tarnished by the bitter reality of Isabelle's capricious temper and her taste for subterfuge and unsuitable men. Torn between the demands of duty and station, and an increasing desire to be free of Isabelle, Eugenie had unexpectedly fallen secretly and deeply in love. Isabelle however, had been keeping a secret of her own - one that she intended Eugenie to keep too. Now, with the Italian's body dredged up from a river on the Earl's estate, Eugenie finds the only way to clear her name is to break from Isabelle's tyranny and the duplicity of the past.

Genres: Mystery

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Eileen-Marie Duell Buchanan (1922-2010) was a British author who specialized in writing literature belonging to the mystery, suspense, or detective genre. She wrote under a number of pseudonyms, including Marie Buchanan, Marie Duell, Clare Curzon and Rhona Petrie. She studied French and psychology at King's College in London.

Reviews

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

GUILTY KNOWLEDGE (Hist. Mystery-Europe-Edwardian) – G+
Curzon, Clare – Standalone
Thomas Dunne Books, 2000, US Hardcover – ISBN: 031226`691
First Sentence: We had planned a quiet evening, a small family gathering for dinner after a day of lazing in punts with lunch al fresco in the shade of old willows.
*** The relationship between Eugenie, Viscountess Crowthorne, and her sister-in-law, Lady Isabelle Delmayne began seven years ago when Isabelle employed Eugenie as her companion. Eugenie believes this a trip to help Isabelle, a widow at 20. Instead, it becomes an exercise in duplicity, emotional blackmail and murder inexorably binding the two women together.
*** It is difficult to read this book with a 21st Century sensibility. Once I let go of that, it became a fascinating story. The author really gives a sense of the social structure and limitations of woman for whom social position is everything. Curzon is so good I found myself become incredibly annoyed with Eugenie, but appreciating how the character of Isabelle is so clever and diabolical I understood why things happened as they did. This was a very interesting, psychological, period suspense.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I enjoy Curzon's Thames Valley police procedurals, but I couldn't read past the first few chapters of this book. It was much too melodramatic for my tastes.