The Crime and Passion series of Regency Romance mysteries is probably my favorite Mary Lancaster series so I was excited to see a new addition. Lost Lover is book four in the series. (Start with book one - Mysterious Lover.) It was fun to see Dr. Dragan Tizsa and Lady Grizelda solving murders again.
Elizabeth Barker is a fallen woman. The daughter of a wealthy banker, she ran off with Joshua Jarmon when she was just seventeen and quickly found herself in an abusive relationship with a crime lord. She managed to escape, but has been looking over her shoulder ever since. When Joshua turns up dead in her bedchamber, she runs to the nearby Dr. Tizsa for help.
Lord James Andover is newly released from Newgate Prison where he spent the last three years, convicted of a crime he didn’t commit. The real thief/murderer is Joshua Jarmon. James has been following the widow, hoping to find a way to prove who did commit the crimes. Instead, he finds Jarmon has been murdered.
Although they have little reason to trust one another, Elizabeth and James team up (with Dragan and Grizelda) to uncover a crime ring and solve a number of murders, before the murderer finds them.
This continues to be an engaging series and I hope there will be a book five!