Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Lady Montfort has been planning her annual summer costume ball for months, and with scrupulous care. Pulling together the food, flowers and a thousand other details for one of the most significant social occasions of the year is her happily accepted responsibility. But when her husband's degenerate nephew is found murdered, it's more than the ball that is ruined. In fact, Lady Montfort fears that the official police enquiry, driven by petty snobbery and class prejudice, is pointing towards her son as a potential suspect.

Taking matters into her own hands, the rather over-imaginative countess enlists the help of her pragmatic housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, to investigate the case, track down the women that vanished the night of the murder, and clear her son's name. As the two women search for a runaway housemaid and a headstrong young woman, they unearth the hidden lives of Lady Montfort's close friends, servants and family and discover the identity of a murderer hiding in plain sight.

In this enchanting debut sure to appeal to fans of Downton Abbey , Tessa Arlen draws readers into a world exclusively enjoyed by the rich, privileged classes and suffered by the men and women who serve them. Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman is an elegant mystery filled with intriguing characters and fascinating descriptions of Edwardian life--a superb treat for those who love British novels.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Readers of this debut set in Edwardian England will feel as though they've stepped into an episode of Downton Abbey, complete with murder and intrigue upstairs and downstairs. Lady Montfort's annual summer costume ball is the social event of the season. Planned in minute detail by Lady Montfort and dependable housekeeper Mrs. Jackson, the party is proclaimed a huge success until the next morning when Lord Montfort's troublesome nephew, Teddy, is murdered. A new servant girl and a headstrong young female guest have gone missing, too. Fearing her son may become a suspect after observing him fighting with Teddy the day before, Lady Montfort does some sleuthing with the help of Mrs. Jackson, and their investigation reveals dark secrets. VERDICT Incorporating exquisite period detail into her well-mannered mystery, Arlen offers readers an engaging peek into the lives of upper and lower classes of early 1900s England combined with a little history interspersed. Historical mystery fans who want to know more about the period may wish to check out the author's Redoubtable Edwardians blog (tessaarlen.com/redoubtable-edwardian), which features articles about some of the colorful eccentrics of the era. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Set in 1912, Arlen's lively if flawed debut centers on the murder of Teddy Mallory, found hanging from a gameskeeper's gibbet on the grounds of Iyntwood, Lord Montfort's country estate, the day after the annual summer ball. Teddy was Lord Montfort's wastrel nephew. Lady Montfort, the mistress of Iyntwood, teams with Edith Jackson, her housekeeper, to do some amateur sleuthing. The subsequent disappearances of a housemaid and a guest complicate the case, though how they are related to the murder-if at all-is unclear. Frequent reminders of the unusualness of the two women's cross-class alliance may annoy some readers. And the introduction of a boorish Scotland Yard detective who enjoys being rude to the gentry seems like overkill. He stands in marked contrast to the local chief constable and his respectful investigation. Mystery fans eager for yet another look at the quasi-feudal system that prevailed in England before WWI will be most rewarded. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.