In Langley-Hawthorne’s absorbing second historical to feature heiress Ursula Marlow (after Consequences of Sin
), Ursula is struggling to maintain control of her late father’s textile empire. A business trip to Egypt is complicated by the strange death of a new friend, the mysterious wife of a wealthy Russian. Next comes word of a fire in one of her factories and the discovery of the body of a young woman killed before the fire started. Struggling to make sense of these two deaths, Ursula also faces possible financial ruin because someone appears determined to put her out of business. Meanwhile, her romance with Lord Oliver Wrotham, a lawyer, is stalled because of her unwillingness to accept the subservient role of wife that Edwardian society demands. Showing an admirable grasp of social and political history, Langley-Hawthorne closes her tightly knit tale with an unexpected twist that will leave readers impatient for the next book. (Oct.)
