Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander

I always look forward to a new Lady Emily book from Tasha Alexander. I picked up her first book And Only to Deceive on a whim, and totally feel in love with the characters.

In her newest adventure, Lady Emily is off to Constantinople for her honeymoon. She's not there long before theft and murder are all around her. Naturally, Emily decides to throw herself into the middle of it.

With Tears of Pearl, Alexander has written another smart, and funny mystery. When reading her books, you can tell that a lot of thought and care goes into the setting. Constantinople comes to life before the reader's eyes with vivd descriptions and attention to detail. It's obvious that Alexander spends a lot of time researching, but it never comes across as forced. You really get a sense of the city and the culture.

As I mentioned, I love these characters. I think it's a testament to her writing that Ivy is only featured in the book in a couple of letters to Emily, but I was still waiting in suspense to see how things would turn out for her. Before the revealing of the outcome I was afraid to keep reading. That's how much I love them. Emily reminds me (and I mean this as a huge compliment) of Amelia Peabody from the Elizabeth Peters books. The ladies have a lot in common. The biggest difference though, is that Emily is more of a free spirit. She's not as high strung as Amelia. While Emily is still totally devoted to the tasks at hand, you sense that she really enjoys what she's doing.

It's not just the returning characters that are great. In Bezime and Perestu, she has created to strong women that balance each other out. One is the most powerful woman in the empire, the other has fallen from grace and is exiled. Both are unforgettable.

Finally, another thing that I love about the book, and the whole series, is that they read like old sensationalist fiction. Alexander definitely knows her way around the works of Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon. All the classic plot devices are there; possible incest, hidden identities, and palace intrigues are just a few.

If you're new to her books, you can start with Tears of Pearl. It's written so that it can stand alone, but I recommend starting with And Only to Deceive and working your way through all four. If you like well thought out, well written historical mysteries you need to pick this one up.