Death and the Courtesan

April 15, 2013
Historical mystery readers fond of arch and ribald takes on the genre will best appreciate Christie’s debut, the first in a Regency series. Early on, Arabella Beaumont and her sister and fellow courtesan, Belinda, commiserate about oral sex. (One chapter is titled “Reader, I F****d Him.”) But even those who applaud such asterisk-laden explicitness may lose patience with a silly plot and an off-putting heroine. Arabella, the preeminent courtesan in England, finds her life in jeopardy after she’s framed for murder. One of her monogrammed knives was stolen and used to kill Euphemia Ramsey, a former friend. Fans of Restoration comedy will appreciate such farcical names as Lady Ribbonhat, though it’s difficult to engage with the characters or feel much concern about the story’s predictable outcome (reader, Arabella survives the book). Agent: Brianne Johnson, Writers House.

June 1, 2013

Euphemia, an aging courtesan who has threatened to publish a tell-all memoir, is knifed to death with the letter opener of the lovely Arabella Beaumont ("England's most famous courtesan"). Our prime suspect has temporary protection (and a top-notch lawyer) provided by her number-one client, the Duke of Glendeen, but the onus of proving her innocence falls on her in this Regency England romp. Assembling a team of amateurs including her younger sister Belinda, her incredibly loyal hired staff, and assorted male allies, the charming and smart Arabella sets out to discover whom Euphemia scared so much. VERDICT Channel your inner Jane Austen and mix with a dash of the Happy Hooker (wink, wink) for a pleasingly witty and light debut. It's leisurely paced, laced with narrator asides, and plot-assisted by diary entries. All in all, very PG and what romance readers might call "sweet."

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