Review: The Duke’s Last Hunt by Rosanne E Lortz (2016)

After the surprise of the first book, this one came somewhat less out of left field, but it was just as enjoyable. The whole series is inspired by real events in English history, but don’t let that put you off, since the writing is firmly rooted in the Regency.

Here’s the premise: shy Elizabeth (Eliza) Malcolm is the unlikely recipient of marital attentions from Rufus, the Duke of Brockenhurst. Her impoverished gentry parents jump at the chance for such an illustrious match, and are delighted to be invited to the family estate, where the duke plans one of his deer hunts in the forest surrounding the house, and will, they suppose, propose. But the duke and his mother are not the only people present. The duke’s brash sister is conducting a fairly public courtship, his older half-brother is looking for more financial help, and then there’s his younger brother, the intriguing Henry Rowland, who is estranged from his brother and delights in making mischief between him and his intended. And so poor Eliza find herself in the house party from hell, with all sorts of undercurrents rippling beneath the surface, a future husband who takes very little notice of her but is uncomfortably proprietorial and his brother, who seems to be the worst kind of scoundrel, but is surprisingly gentle and thoughtful towards her.

And then there’s a sudden death. Knowing something of the historical events on which this story is (loosely) based, I was expecting it, but after that, when eccentric Bow Street Runner turns up to investigate whether this is, as it appears to be, a hunting accident or whether something more sinister is afoot, things become delightfully complex and tangled. I have to confess that the author is a master at unravelling the mystery, clue by careful clue. I loved the way it was revealed, and that everything made perfect sense.

The romance wraps up rather neatly and very plausibly. In book 1, it was the hero who found the strength to push back, but here it’s the heroine who ‘finds her voice’, as the hero puts it, and snatches her own chance of happiness. I love a heroine who displays some gumption. Another wonderful tale. Five stars. And now on to book 3.