A Most Intriguing Lady

A Novel

By: Sarah Ferguson

Narrated by: Sarah Ferguson, Ell Potter

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

From Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, a sweeping, romantic compulsively enjoyable historical saga about a Duke’s daughter—the perfect Victorian lady—who secretly moonlights as an amateur sleuth for high society’s inner circle.

Victorian London was notorious for its pickpockets. But in the country houses of the elite, gentleman burglars, art thieves and con men preyed on the rich and titled. Wealthy victims—with their pride and reputation at stake—would never go to the police. What they needed was a society insider, one of their own, a person of discretion and finely tuned powers of observation, adept at navigating intrigue.

That person was Lady Mary Montagu Douglas Scott, the youngest child of Queen Victoria’s close friends the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch. Bookish, fiercely intelligent, and a keen observer, Mary has deliberately cultivated a mousey persona that allows her to remain overlooked and significantly underestimated by all. It’s the perfect cover for a sleuth, a role she stumbles into when trying to assist a close friend during a house party hosted by her parents at their stately Scottish home, Drumlanrig Castle.

It is at this party where Lady Mary also meets Colonel Walter Trefusis, a distinguished and extremely handsome war veteran. Tortured by memories of combat, Walter, like Mary, lives a double life, with a desk job in Whitehall providing a front for his role in the British Intelligence Service. The two form an unlikely alliance to solve a series of audacious crimes—and indulge in a highly charged on-off romance.

Pacy, romantic, and fun, A Most Intriguing Lady documents one remarkable woman’s ability to be both the perfect lady, and a perfectly talented detective...and, of course, to find love too.

©2022 Sarah Ferguson (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

I enjoyed this book

the person reading the book did a remarkable job. I always love an English accent!.

Historical romance

One thing off the top of my head. The authors note/self interview at the end of the audio version was much too much and definitely too long. Unfortunately, I was vacuuming at the time I was listening so I couldn’t stop and turn it off or change to another book, so I kept listening. I’m not sure how, but it somehow it took away from what I had just read/listened to. It made my feelings about the book somehow…..less. I know, I know, that doesn’t make sense. But, I’m just writing it like I felt it.

About the book. This was another "new to me" author and I did not realize until I started the book that it was written by THE Sarah Ferguson. That was an interesting side note. She was also the narrator. In my experience, that is either a really good thing or a really bad thing.....

Anyway, this was a classic Victorian romance novel about a young woman in her 20's who was not particularly happy with her life. Apparently, this is the second book from this family. I didn't read book 1, but apparently, the FMC was pretty adamant about her thoughts on marriage. She did not want to get married and give up herself or who she wanted to be to become a wife or a mother. She seemed to get these opinions based on the relationships that she was familiar with- her parents, her sisters (particularly the sister from book 1 which I didn't read so have no idea what happened).

She meets a gentleman- a Colonel - who happens to be visiting her home and they strike up a friendship. He has issues as well and they become friends then have a falling out.

Basically, the story follows this couple over several years as they run into each other at various times. The FMC does a lot of growing up during the various time periods. We also get to see the MMC achieves some professional success which impacts his world views. They then partner up to work on an investigation together.

All in all this was a quick and easy read/listen. The MC's were likeable and there was not any angst. At the end, I realized that was the FMC was based on an actual real person (I think that was mentioned at the beginning but it escaped me at the time). That always adds a bit of intrigue knowing that the character you are reading about actually existed.

Ms. Ferguson did a nice job with the narration.

Great Book!

I absolutely loved Sarah Ferguson’s first book on lady Margaret!! When I heard another story was coming out soon 8 couldn’t wait to read it. This second book on Margaret’s sister Mary’s young adult life is just as wonderful. I so appreciate too the history behind the story as relayed by Sarah Ferguson and her team’s research on the family and other characters set in the story at that time. Read Sarah’s books! I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Interesting

An interesting historical romance where the authors was more concerned with the historical aspects of the story (getting them right) then the romance itself.

Love love loved this!!

I loved this wonderful story and couldn’t help think about Miss Scarlet and The Duke TV series and how even 30 years later, trying to have a role as a lady detective was still as hard as it was for Lady Mary! This story is a delight and I am now going to listen to Sarah’s first novel. Please keep that promise to churn out one novel a year Sarah!! Well done!

So fun!

I enjoyed this book. The research of the times must have been great. The book was very comfortable to read and brought that Victorian era to life. Intrigue abounded.

Not that intriguing

I wanted to really like this. The synopsis is intriguing. The story is not.

The characters are all one-dimensional. She doesn't want to get married; she wants to have a 'purpose' but not a career that would--heaven help us--involve being paid like a common tradeswoman. He has a "condition" but don't ask me exactly what it is. It comes and goes and involves headaches and fainting spells, but that's all I could discern after hours of listening.

The dialog is somewhat stilted, the narrative is even more stilted. The reader/performer does all right with the dialog, but when reading the narration her phrasing is odd and a bit off-putting. I got this book on sale, so I suppose it may be worth what I paid for it, but next time I see a book by this author/reader, I'll pass.

Loved it!

Really good book. Loved the characters, loved the narration. I'm all in Sarah....give us some more books!

We’ll researched

This was a very well researched book. I enjoyed the story even though there were a few convenient twists. I loved the female characters and found them to be both endearing and interesting. After recently visiting the UK, I recognized several locales discussed. Overall, I would recommend this book!

True to it’s title!!!

A most intriguing lady was “Exceptional and captivating!” The Duchess of York, did an amazing job portraying the characters. The story came to life in my imagination! Well done!! The inclusion of questions at the end of the book being answered by The Duchess adds an interactive element to the reading experience. I look forward to reading more of her novels. Her imagination, creativity, curiosity and passion is truly evident in her writing. I highly recommend this book!