I picked up B.R. Myers' novel The Third Wife of Faraday House (#1,259) because of its jaunty cover. What I found inside was a fun Gothic novel set in Nova Scotia just after the conclusion of the War of 1812.
Emeline Fitzpatrick's only asset is her beauty. Her guardians have raised her to make the most of her looks, because she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. So when she disgraces herself with a dashing Naval officer at a ball in Halifax, she is given a choice: be sent to a convent as a nun,or marry a sea captain with a large estate in need of a third wife. Emeline chooses Captain Faraday.
The problem is, when she arrives at his isolated island, she finds that his second wife is still alive! She's dying, but what is Emeline supposed to do in the meantime? Things go bump in the night, mysterious accidents happen, a handsome reverend is there to administer last rites, and her husband-to-be is hardly the man of her dreams. Apparently the only person she can trust is Georgina, whom she is there to replace...
I did enjoy Third Wife despite its plethora of anachronisms. I found I didn't mind them in a book whose purpose was to entertain not enlighten. In fact, I made a game out of picking out as many as I could find as I read along. It's a fun read, just in time for Halloween.
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