The Deception at Lyme

Available From:

Add to your Goodreads To-Read Shelf

In Jane Austen's Persuasion, the Cobb—Lyme's famous seawall—proved dangerous to a careless young woman. Now it proves deadly.

Following their recent intrigue at Highbury, Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth Darcy visit the seaside village of Lyme on holiday. Family business also draws them there, to receive the personal effects of Mr. Darcy's late cousin, a naval lieutenant who died in action.

Their retreat turns tragic when they come upon a body lying at the base of the Cobb. The victim is Mrs. Clay, a woman with a scandalous past that left her with child—a child whose existence threatened the inheritance of one of her paramours and the reputation of another. Did she lose her balance and fall from the slippery breakwater, or was she pushed?

Mrs. Clay's death is not the only one that commands the Darcys' attention. When Mr. Darcy discovers, among his cousin's possessions, evidence that the young lieutenant's death might have been murder, he allies with Captain Frederick Wentworth (hero of Jane Austen's Persuasion) to probe details of a battle that took place across the sea . . . but was influenced by a conspiracy much closer to home.

The Deception at Lyme (Or, The Peril of Persuasion) is the delightful sixth installment in the critically acclaimed and award-winning Mr. and Mrs. Darcy mystery series by Carrie Bebris.

Reviews

“Of the many writers dabbling in the world of Austen’s novels, Bebris is one of the best, and readers will be thoroughly hooked by her latest whodunit.” —Booklist on The Intrigue at Highbury

“Perhaps the most faithful sequel to Austen in this beguiling series.” —Publishers Weekly on The Intrigue at Highbury

“A fantastic addition to Carrie Bebris’s already outstanding series, and in my humble opinion, it is her best novel yet.” —Austenesque Reviews on The Intrigue at Highbury

About the Author

Award-winning author Carrie Bebris is best known for her Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series. Set in Regency England, the novels entangle some of Jane Austen’s most beloved characters in intrigue, with sharp dialogue, romantic interplay, and a dash of gothic atmosphere. Carrie began her career in publishing after previous roles as a newspaper reporter and college English teacher. As an editor for fantasy publisher TSR, Inc., she developed supplements for the Dungeons & Dragons® roleplaying game before striking out on her own as a freelance writer and editor. She wrote two fantasy novels, Pool of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor (2001) and Shadowborn (1998, with William W. Connors), before making her mystery debut in 2004 with Pride and Prescience. The novel made the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestseller list and was named one of the five best mysteries of 2004 by Library Journal. The third book in the series, North by Northanger, won the 2007 Daphne du Maurier Award, which honors excellence in romantic suspense, and a Reviewers Choice Award from Romantic Times BookClub magazine for Best Historical Mystery of 2006. In addition to fiction, Carrie pens remodeling articles for Better Homes and Gardens® Special Interest Publications and writes other nonfiction. She has also edited such books as Tea with Jane Austen (by Kim Wilson) and Walking with William Shakespeare (by Anne-Marie Edwards). She is on the faculty of the 2008 Antioch Writers' Workshop and speaks frequently about writing and publishing. Carrie holds a master’s degree in English literature with an emphasis on 19th-century authors and studied Austen on the graduate level with one of today’s most respected Austen scholars. She is a life member of the Jane Austen Society of North America and travels to England to enhance her understanding of Austen’s life and work. Originally from Wisconsin, Carrie now lives in Ohio. When not writing, she likes to travel, watch costume dramas on A&E that send her husband fleeing the house, and indulge in her love of all things British. She is currently working on the next Mr. & Mrs. Darcy mystery.