And Only To Deceive

AND ONLY TO DECEIVE
By Tasha Alexander

This was my first read by author Tasha Alexander and I am quite sure that it will not be my last.  I just loved everything about this story.  Its a love story and a mystery with a historical flair.  I was quite taken by surprise by this novel.  It is a lovely story about a young lady named Emily Ashton, who finds herself marrying a man she hardly knows just for the sole purpose of being able to get out from under her mothers thumb.  From the onset of the book, you discover that her husband had died shortly after their marriage. (I don't feel badly telling you this fact since it happens early on in the book.) Emily has to pretend to mourn a husband that she truly didn't know anything about, which is a difficult and irritating task for her. As time passes she discovers some of her husbands journals and she finds herself genuinely falling in love with him through the words that he has written in his journals.  Emily is now able to genuinely mourn her dead husband Philip with real tears of sorrow.  But the journals have also provided some insight into Philips life that is quite disturbing and mysterious.  Follow Emily along as she plunges headfirst into unravelling these mysterious secrets in her husbands journals and as she discovers the real truth about Philip and about herself. If you like historical romances and mystery books, you will definitely want to read this book. 

P.S.  I was able to meet Tasha Alexander at Murder by the Book in Houston recently.  She is a lovely, witty woman and quite intelligent.  She does extensive research for all her books and  is quite determined that they be historically correct.  Thank you Tasha for this excellent read! I can't wait to read the next one!