A Gentleman of Fortune: Or, The Suspicions of Miss Dido Kent

At the start of Dean's agreeable sequel to 2010's Bellfield Hall, Miss Dido Kent, who's visiting fashionable Richmond in the spring of 1806, writes to her sister about the death of a neighbor, Mrs. Lansdale, carried off "by a sudden seizure." When it appears to be a case of murder, suspicion points to the deceased's nephew, Henry Lansdale, much to the distress of Henry's friend Flora, who's Miss Dido's cousin. Miss Dido sets out to prove Henry innocent, but her investigation takes some unexpected turns: "She had never supposed that the quiet death of a respectable old lady could lead her into such dark and distressing matters—or uncover so many shocking secrets." The plight of a gentleman raised in luxury yet entirely dependent on the good will of elderly relatives will resonate with fans of Jane Austen's Emma. (Apr.)