In “All’s Fair in Love and Treachery,” author Celeste Connally follows up with a sequel to her first Regency era mystery “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord.” There’s a lot to like in this clever novel filled with real historical facts, more than one murder to solve, a seductive romance, and plenty of royalty and intrigue. Lady Petra Forsyth is the daughter of a wealthy earl who allows her to run his estate and live her life on her own terms. Thus Lady Petra, while unmarried, is unencumbered by the usual restrictions placed on young single women.

And as we quickly learn, she takes advantage of such freedom to indulge in amorous relations with her fiancée, Viscount Ingersoll, and after his untimely death, with his good friend Duncan Shawcross. Petra and Duncan have been friends since childhood, and Duncan has been in love with her forever. Lady Petra’s many friends feature importantly in this novel as they did in the first novel, and because of the plethora of names and characters, it does help to have read the first one.

This novel begins right where the first one left off, after Lady Petra finds a note that implicates her current lover, Duncan Shawcross, in the murder of her first lover, Emerson, Lord Ingersoll. I was a bit disappointed that she was so quick to believe the contents of the note, which was written by someone who, in the first book we found was a horrible person. After that opening, the setting moves to Buckingham House, where Lady Petra meets for breakfast with Queen Charlotte and Petra’s godmother, the Duchess of Hillmorton, who is also Duncan’s grandmother. It is there that Petra is informed of the murder, which the Queen wishes her to investigate; this is the murder that becomes the central mystery in the story. The murder and its connection to the other events that take place is truly confounding.

Mrs. Huxton, the matron at the Asylum for Female Orphans was found dead with a wound to her head. They believe she was killed, but need the matter quietly investigated. Because Lady Petra was to attend the opening of the new dining hall there later that day, it would be natural for her to be in a position to ask some questions while she is there. The queen explains that time is of the essence.

The whole novel takes place over the course of just a few days. Each date, time, and location is clearly labeled at the beginning of the chapters, so we are aware of the passage of time and that we are watching as the events occur almost minute by minute. There’s a lot going on and there are many people who are involved in Lady Petra’s circle of activities. The Queen and her own investigator are worried that with the news of Napoleon’s defeat and the three days of celebration that will be announced, some agitators who want to get rid of the monarchy will take advantage of the melee and use the distraction to kill some members of royalty to start their own overthrow of the status quo.

We become reacquainted with Lady Petra’s friends, including Frances Bardwell, the apothecary who has a shop where she sells ointments and balms; Lottie, who trains dogs to perform incredible feats; Lady Vera; who is an old friend; Annie, Lady Petra’s maid and confidante; Teddy, a street urchin who is loyal and intelligent and brave; and many others.

The narrative is both gripping and at times utterly bawdy as both Lady Petra and her good friend Lady Caroline enjoy “pleasures of the flesh” with their lovers. Connally does an admirable job using flashbacks to give us the history that we need to understand what is happening in the “present” of the story. And through some clever surprises and unexpected connections, we understand how all the seemingly loose ends in the story come together in an intricate pattern of intrigue and nefarious design.

Unlike the first novel, this one does not end with a teaser for a new story. I hope that there is, indeed, a new Lady Petra mystery planned, as over the course of two books, we’ve come to like her and enjoy her blunt attitude, her composure, and her determination to live her life as she wishes to, without bowing to the strictures of societal expectations. She’s plucky, she’s intelligent, she’s kind, and she treats everyone—commoner and royalty alike—with courtesy. And she loves dogs. My kind of heroine.

This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.