Tears of Pearl: A Novel of Suspense (Lady Emily Mysteries)
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"TEARS OF PEARL, has a lush setting and beautiful details.... The romance and lovely writing sweep the readers along. Emily is a most independent woman for her time. Her voice and the accurate historical details will keep the reader enthralled." - RT BOOKREVIEWS (4-1/2 STARS)" --RT Book Reviews
Product Description
Looking forward to the joys of connubial bliss, newlyweds Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves set out toward Turkey for an exotic honeymoon. But on their first night in the city, a harem girl is found murdered - strangled in the courtyard of the Sultan's lavish Topkapi Palace. Sir Richard St. Clare, an Englishman who works at the embassy in Constantinople, is present and recognizes the girl as his own daughter who was kidnapped twenty years earlier. Emily and Colin promise the heartbroken father they'll find her killer. As a woman, Emily is given access to the forbidden world of the harem and quickly discovers that its mysterious, sheltered walls offer no protection from a ruthless murderer: soon, the Valide (mother to the Sultan) is found strangled with a silken bowstring and the head Eunuch is brutally slain. When the killer strikes again, kidnapping a concubine and threatening to kill her unless Emily agrees to meet him in secret, she cannot wait for Colin or the authorities to come to her rescue. In a heart-stopping finale, Emily must rely on her own sharp wits if she is to stop a killer bent on taking revenge no matter how many innocent lives he leaves in his wake.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I really loved the first three 'Lady Emily' books in the series and was truly looking forward to this book. To my dissapointment, I thought it was awful.
Lady Emily is no longer charming, vivacious and willing to learn. She is bossy, self absorbed and selfish to the enth degree. I have no idea what Colin sees in her anymore. I found their relationship in this book tedious and dreary. She's actually becoming a bit painful, and I find that I don't really like her very much.
The mystery in this book was disjointed and silly and I think that Tasha Alexander really struggled to capture a sense of place in Istanbul. The hareem and the characters within were not real to me, and it lacked the realism and pace of her previous book 'A Fatal Waltz' set in Vienna. The culprit was blindingly obvious and the whole 'backstory' a little thin.
All in all, after this book I'm not too sure I will continue to pursue my relationship with Lady Emily, and that makes me a little sad as we started out with such promise!
Lady Emily is no longer charming, vivacious and willing to learn. She is bossy, self absorbed and selfish to the enth degree. I have no idea what Colin sees in her anymore. I found their relationship in this book tedious and dreary. She's actually becoming a bit painful, and I find that I don't really like her very much.
The mystery in this book was disjointed and silly and I think that Tasha Alexander really struggled to capture a sense of place in Istanbul. The hareem and the characters within were not real to me, and it lacked the realism and pace of her previous book 'A Fatal Waltz' set in Vienna. The culprit was blindingly obvious and the whole 'backstory' a little thin.
All in all, after this book I'm not too sure I will continue to pursue my relationship with Lady Emily, and that makes me a little sad as we started out with such promise!
5 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I read the first two books in the Lady Emily series and quite enjoyed them, I did not however enjoy this one. The writing is competent but the characters seem to be somewhat less compelling. Did the members of the sultan's harem have the freedoms that appear in this book? I don't know enough to be sure, therefore I feel irritated. I have also lost interest in the further development of Emily, her marriage and her detective skills.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
86 reviews
40 of 46 people found the following review helpful
Lady Emily's latest adventure is her strongest one yet
20 July 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I like the Lady Emily series. I've had a weakness for strong female detectives (including the awesome Veronica Mars tv show). Miss Alexander's writing has grown stronger and more developed with each passing novel, and it's kind of cool to see growth in an author. If you follow a character through multiple books, you want to see them grow and the author develop as well.
One of the highlights of this book was reliving a trip I made to Istanbul (Constantinople) a few years ago and getting to explore it through someone else's eyes. From a historical standpoint, it was an interesting time period before the fall of the Ottoman Empire and before the country became Turkey. I was able to retrace my own steps through the city and felt like I knew the landmarks of where Lady Emily's adventure took her.
The plot itself is interesting enough: On her honeymoon with her new husband (who, hopefully in book #5, won't disappear in Africa while big game hunting) stumbles into a mystery involving a slain harem girl and her diplomat father. The book contains really interesting descriptions of the life inside a harem, which will probably intrigue and yet disgust readers with our modern day virtues. And Emily's ingenuity and talent as a detective are put to the test as she gets deeper into the mystery.
I know that some people will say - wait, this is the Ottoman empire! How can an English woman run around all willy-nilly and solve a mystery? Well, it's fiction, but based on truth: Lady Paget and other important women who actually did mingle with Sultans. So for the most part, I'm inclined to believe that had Lady Emily existed in real life, she would have been able to do these things (Victorian women were more bound by class than being a woman.)
The only real weakpoint for me in this novel - and this is nitpicking - is that the romance between Emily and Colin needs work. I like Colin as a character, but as a couple, they seem like two people who got bored and decided to get married because they ran out of things to talk about.
Overall it's a 4.5/5 star book. This book will both appeal to readers who are already fans of Miss Alexander's works and those who want to get into the world of a very intrepid Victorian woman.
One of the highlights of this book was reliving a trip I made to Istanbul (Constantinople) a few years ago and getting to explore it through someone else's eyes. From a historical standpoint, it was an interesting time period before the fall of the Ottoman Empire and before the country became Turkey. I was able to retrace my own steps through the city and felt like I knew the landmarks of where Lady Emily's adventure took her.
The plot itself is interesting enough: On her honeymoon with her new husband (who, hopefully in book #5, won't disappear in Africa while big game hunting) stumbles into a mystery involving a slain harem girl and her diplomat father. The book contains really interesting descriptions of the life inside a harem, which will probably intrigue and yet disgust readers with our modern day virtues. And Emily's ingenuity and talent as a detective are put to the test as she gets deeper into the mystery.
I know that some people will say - wait, this is the Ottoman empire! How can an English woman run around all willy-nilly and solve a mystery? Well, it's fiction, but based on truth: Lady Paget and other important women who actually did mingle with Sultans. So for the most part, I'm inclined to believe that had Lady Emily existed in real life, she would have been able to do these things (Victorian women were more bound by class than being a woman.)
The only real weakpoint for me in this novel - and this is nitpicking - is that the romance between Emily and Colin needs work. I like Colin as a character, but as a couple, they seem like two people who got bored and decided to get married because they ran out of things to talk about.
Overall it's a 4.5/5 star book. This book will both appeal to readers who are already fans of Miss Alexander's works and those who want to get into the world of a very intrepid Victorian woman.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Sooooo Disappointing!
18 Sep 2009
Format:Hardcover
Wow, was this book awful! I found the first novel in this series wonderful with a great strong, witty, interesting new character. Book two was also excellent. While book 3 was predictable at least it was good. But this book was horrible. Poorly written, predictable, cliche, and so full of sticky sweet romance as to be a complete bore. This character went from independent, intelligent, clever, and revolutionary to a typical simpering, whimpering, swooning female. And the end! Oh please! Like you couldn't see that a mile away. What a ridiculous solution to an obvious problem.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Satisfied
27 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
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It's hard for me to keep perspective on these books because they have been part of a special bond between my mother and myself. My mother doesn't read fiction very often while I read it endlessly in great variety. A few years ago I offered the first Lady Emily book up for her consideration. She read it, or should I say devoured it. She has been a fan through the entire series and as such I have been able to enjoy a series with her, discussing and even attending a few of Tasha Alexander's book signings together. That, in itself, has been a great gift.
Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves are finally married--another plus for this series is that the central relationship has been a key part of the series and has moved along at a fine pace, neither too slow or too fast--prior to the beginning of this fourth novel. (Alexander has a short story of their nuptials available through Amazon and her website if you are a fan and didn't want to miss the event.) Now they are on their honeymoon and of course fall into a mystery of kidnapping, murder and danger. Emily and Colin work together and learn about another culture as they explore Istanbul.
Is this novel the height of excitement? No, but it is intriguing and keeps the reader involved as the mystery takes twists and turns. This is a light historical mystery, well-executed. I'll continue to recommend the series to friends. Best yet, Mom and I will look forward to hopefully a fifth entry in the series.
Lady Emily and Colin Hargreaves are finally married--another plus for this series is that the central relationship has been a key part of the series and has moved along at a fine pace, neither too slow or too fast--prior to the beginning of this fourth novel. (Alexander has a short story of their nuptials available through Amazon and her website if you are a fan and didn't want to miss the event.) Now they are on their honeymoon and of course fall into a mystery of kidnapping, murder and danger. Emily and Colin work together and learn about another culture as they explore Istanbul.
Is this novel the height of excitement? No, but it is intriguing and keeps the reader involved as the mystery takes twists and turns. This is a light historical mystery, well-executed. I'll continue to recommend the series to friends. Best yet, Mom and I will look forward to hopefully a fifth entry in the series.
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