Miss Dido Kent's punishment for refusing to marry a stuffy
clergyman with six children in need of motherly love is to
play companion to her even more quarrelsome and exacting
Aunt Manners. Aunt Manners drags Dido along for a trip to
her childhood home, Charcombe Manor. Dido can't help but
notice that there are some strange going-ons at Charcombe.
Miss Letitia Verney has disappeared and no one seems all
that inclined to search for her. Even stranger are the
mysterious lights that appear in an abandoned wing of the
house, a crying ghost that keeps guests awake at night, and
a little room that locks from the outside with initials
etched into the stone. When a man with information about the
young Miss Verney is murdered, Dido must piece together
these unusual clues quickly to find the missing girl and
save the life of an innocent man who will hang for a murder
he didn't commit.
A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT by Anna Dean delivers an engaging
mystery with Austen-like prose in this delightful historical
mystery. From the very first words, Dean draws them into the
world and mind of a spinster in 1807. This is the first Dido
Kent mystery I've read, but Dean's prose style feels so
familiar and comforting to me that I slipped effortlessly
into this world and into the fantastic mind of her main
character. I love how Dean manages to blend the historical
concerns of the day with a lead female character who shows
remarkably modern sensibilities. Dido doesn't feel like
she's a modern character transplanted into a historical
setting. She's truly a product of her time while she doesn't
quite fit the mold of that time.
In the best traditions of the female amateur detective, Miss
Dido Kent's curiosity and intelligence allow her to see the
world as others don't. She understands the importance of
personal relationships and the at times illogical actions
triggered by strong emotion.
A PLACE OF CONFINEMENT is a fantastic addition to the
historical mystery genre. Dean's confident and lyrical prose
coupled with the richly detailed setting make her an author
I will continue to follow.
The inquisitive Miss Dido Kent returns in A Place of
Confinement to elucidate the mysterious disappearance of a
young woman in the fourth installment of Anna Dean’s
charming Regency era series
The dependably sharp Miss Dido Kent is suffering her sister-
in-law’s attempts to marry her off to the ghastly clergyman
Doctor Prowdlee. Dido, however, is determined to refuse him,
as well as his abominable side whiskers. As punishment she
is sent to accompany her hypochondriac—and quite wealthy—
Aunt Manners on a trip to Charcombe Manor. The family hopes
that revisiting her childhood home will keep Aunt Manners in
good spirits, and Dido in her good graces.
However, upon their arrival it’s clear to Dido that there is
much more at stake than her aunt’s favor. The rich heiress
Letitia Verney has disappeared while visiting Charcombe, and
Mr. Tom Lomax is suspected of abducting her. Dido is
inclined to believe in his innocence, but how is she to
explain by what method a young lady could enter through the
front door and not appear on the other side? And this isn’t
the only enigma that the Elizabethan manor holds: there is a
deserted wing in which lights mysteriously appear at night,
a crying ghost which keeps visitors awake, and memories of
old family quarrels.
When the senior Mr. Lomax comes to town to defend his son,
the mystery intensifies—and so does Dido’s romantic life.
With lives and reputations on the line, it’s up to Dido to
put the pieces together to save the Lomaxes and find the
vanished young Miss Verney. In this captivating fourth
installment of the Dido Kent series, readers will find more
of the rich characters, meticulous historical detail, and
masterful suspense they’ve come to expect from Anna Dean.
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