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Fresh from their six-month honeymoon in Venice, Lord and Lady Strang, Richard and Rose, arrive in London so Rose can be presented to London society. Rose was the second Golightly daughter, country born and bred, and as the new Lady Strang needs to learn the complicated ins and outs of the London Quality. Roses’ first visit to her aunt’s house on Harley Street starts out as a pleasant visit with family but quickly turns into a murder investigation. One of her aunt’s maids, Lucy Foder, is found dead with a knife in her chest. Rose and Richard take it upon themselves to investigate the death of Lucy, a woman who not only had secrets but that Richard knew from his past. All they have to go on is a bag of money, a coded journal, and two missing servants.
Richard and Rose own a staffing agency for the Quality called Thompson’s, but it’s also a wide spread spy ring that they use to find out who could have motive to kill Lucy and why. As they dig deeper into Lucy’s past and her many secrets are slowly revealed, they uncover a sickening trend beginning in London society begun by their enemies, Steven and Julia Drury. It was their troubled history with the Drury’s that made them loathe each other. Rose and Steven had been courting before Rose met Richard, while Richard and Julia had begun a marriage contract. The consequential dissolving of both couples resulted in a lot of animosity, when Steven and Julia married each other and made it their quest to seek revenge against Richard and Rose.
HARLEY STREET is the continuing story of Richard and Rose Strang. While set up as a stand-alone book, it did take some time to grasp all the character connections and flow of the book. Once connected, though, the story picks up pace and keeps the “whodunit” question on the forefront. Lynne Connolly has done an exemplary job of researching the background, social landscape, and dress of Georgian London. Even if you’re not a fan of historical romance, HARLEY STREET is an entertaining look into historical London society with a touch of romance and intrigue. HARLEY STREET is an excellent book on its own, but reading the entire series would bring a much greater depth of connection to Lynne Connolly’s wonderful characters.
Reviewed by Tina Burns
for The Road to Romance
May 22, 2004
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