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Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: October 01, 2005
Sale Popularity Level: 16208
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Product Description:
From gifted new writer Tasha Alexander comes a stunning novel of historical suspense set in Victorian England, meticulously researched and with a twisty plot that involves stolen antiquities, betrayal, and murder
And Only to Deceive
For Emily, accepting the proposal of Philip, the Viscount Ashton, was an easy way to escape her overbearing mother, who was set on a grand society match. So when Emily's dashing husband died on safari soon after their wedding, she felt little grief. After all, she barely knew him. Now, nearly two years later, she discovers that Philip was a far different man from the one she had married so cavalierly. His journals reveal him to have been a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who, to her surprise, was deeply in love with his wife. Emily becomes fascinated with this new image of her dead husband and she immerses herself in all things ancient and begins to study Greek.
Emily's intellectual pursuits and her desire to learn more about Philip take her to the quiet corridors of the British Museum, one of her husband's favorite places. There, amid priceless ancient statues, she uncovers a dark, dangerous secret involving stolen artifacts from the Greco-Roman galleries. And to complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond the marrying kind. As she sets out to solve the crime, her search leads to more surprises about Philip and causes her to question the role in Victorian society to which she, as a woman, is relegated.
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Rated by buyers 
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This book is a historical mystery set in the later part of Queen Victoria's reign. Though this book and the second book can be understood quite well when read out of order, information given in the second book does somewhat spoil the suspense in the very first book. For maximum reading pleasure, I'd highly recommend reading this book before "A Poisoned Season."
The world-building in this book is excellent. The problems Emily faces flow out of the historical culture (i.e. the story isn't simply a modern mystery occurring in a historical setting). The characters are interesting and change realistically throughout the book. For those who care, there is kissing, but no sex.
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Rated by buyers -
In this charming late Victorian romantic suspense novel, Emily, a young and beautiful widow, regrets her husband's African hunting expedition death less than is proper. The late Philip, Viscount Ashton, had a passion for classical antiquity, and Emily, in an endeavor to get to know her husband postmortem, uses her newfound independence in London to study it.
In the process, she forms a friendship with Cecile du Lac, a Parisian of a certain age, and realizes that there was more to Philip than she realized -- including his genuine passion and love for her. The charming Colin Hargreaves may have been involved with Philip in art forgeries, and Andrew Palmer proposes to Emily and then offers evidence that Philip is still alive.
By this time, Emily and Cecile are a well-practiced team of amateur sleuths: Phillip's secrets begin to emerge, and travel to Greece provides the possibilities of a new life. Alexander makes Emily light but sympathetic, and conveys period flavor without being ponderous. Her knowledge of the ethical dilemmas posed by Victorian etiquette is considerable. The archeological background will lure readers who like to dig for their clues.
Rated by buyers -
I absolutely recommend this book for all light mystery lovers! I am a huge fan of Victoria Thompson and Rhys Bowen, and find myself happily adding Ms. Alexander to that list. The characters are fun and multidimensional and the story keeps moving and kept me well engaged.
Rated by buyers 
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And Only to Deceive is the story of a young, wealth, and recently widowed Victorian woman who investigates her husband's life, interests, and possible criminal past several years after he has died.
I enjoyed the very first third of the novel. The author's voice is different and feels right for the time period. I also enjoyed the character as she interacted with her mother and made choices for herself for the very first time in her life.
However, by the end of the book I was skimming. The story and the character Emily failed to hold my attention. I think that there are two reasons for this.
First... The suspense plot was not very suspenseful. I never felt like Emily herself was in any danger. I also felt like there was so much foreshadowing of the conclusion of the plot that I had everything pretty much figured out early on. The only question that really left me hanging was whether or not Ashton was really dead or not and I ended up being disappointed in how that plot line worked out.
Second... The story opens with Emily being a very unemotional, disconnected character. She marries a man on a whim. She puts no energy into getting to know this person she marries. She doesn't really CARE about anything. And so I never really cared about her. As the story progressed she appears to change. She makes decisions that shows she has interests in life and she cares about other people, but on an emotional level, I never made that transition with her. Her choices always felt like whims and her 'falling in love' fake.
It's a difficult thing to describe. It isn't that I didn't like her, but I never felt (perhaps) that her behavior had emotional integrity. It pretty much ruined the second two thirds of the book to me.
However, I'm still glad I read the story. And I would say it is worth a read, but perhaps to be borrowed from the library rather than purchased.
Rated by buyers -
I loved Tasha Alexander's writing style. It was so smooth and the story was so lovely! I couldn't put the book down. If you like period writing...especially 19th Century, you'll really enjoy this book. I also love Emily, the main character. She's strong, fun, independent, but also flawed and easy to relate to. I love this book and a Poisoned Season. I will be reading A Fatal Waltz and any other Tasha Alexander book.
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