Unnatural Fire: A Countess Ashby de la Zouche Mystery (Countess Ashby de La Zouche Mysteries)
A boisterous, bawdy romp through Restoration England,Unnatural  Fireintroduces a pair of unlikely heroines and sets them on a merry chase  through London just before the dawn of the 18th century. The Countess Ashby de  la Zouche has lost her place in society with the death of Charles II, her former  paramour, and the subsequent disappearance of her husband, a swindler who's gone  to America to seek his fortune. Languishing in debtor's prison, she's soon  rediscovered by her erstwhile maid Alpiew, whose circumstances aren't much  better than her former employer's. But the two women swiftly discover how to  turn their shared fondness for gossip into a tidy livelihood as stringers for an  infamous scandal sheet. Hired by a wealthy matron to get the goods on her  philandering husband, they stumble on a murder that sets this fast-paced, funny  story in motion. The mystery mixes royal intrigue, theatrical shenanigans,  cross-dressing strangers, and secret formulas into a delicious potion brewed by  an actor and playwright who specializes in Restoration comedy. Author Fidelis  Morgan's thorough familiarity with the period informs every paragraph of this  delightful historical romp.--Jane Adams--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.