The Lady Travelers Guide to Scoundrels and Other Gentlemen

Starred review from May 1, 2017
Prolific historical romance author Alexander (The Daring Exploits of a Runaway Heiress) spins pure fun in the first full-length installment of her Victorian-era Lady Travelers Guide series. Stuffy, demanding spinster India Prendergast wants to stay at her secretarial position in England, but her beloved cousin Lady Heloise Snuggs has vanished in Paris, and India is determined to find her. The fraudulent Lady Travelers Society—run by the widow Lady Guinevere Blodgett and two of her friends—arranged Heloise’s trip, and they respond to her disappearance by sending Lady Blodgett’s grandnephew Derek Saunders, heir to the Earl of Danby, to help India search. Naturally, sparks fly between Derek and India as they solve the mystery. Alexander’s protagonists remain sharp while changing for the better by beginning to trust each other and admit their own fallibility. Her secondary characters, including the city of Paris at the turn of the 20th century, provide support and delightful eccentricity. Alexander celebrates the spirit of adventure, elevates dubious scheming with good intentions, and advocates for the yielding of judgment and practicality to hedonism and happiness. Readers will savor every page.