Jane Austen goes to a masquerade party attended by the Ton in Bath. However, her enjoyment of the moment is quickly destroyed when the manager of the Bath Theatre Royal, Richard Portal, is killed. After having obtained a rush on her two previous investigations (JANE AND THE UNPLEASANTNESS AT SCARGRAVE MANOR and JANE AND THE MAN OF THE CLOTH), the intrepid writer cannot resist looking into the murder of Richard.

Helping Jane in her inquiries is Lord Harold Trowbridge, whose nephew is arrested for the crime. Jane feels the lad has been set up by a brilliant criminal who understands that looks can be deceiving. With her one solid clue being an ôeye portraitö, Jane seeks the identity of the real culprit even though she has probably placed her own life on the line.

The third novel in the Jane Austen mysteries is, like the previous two, an absolutely wonderful historical who-done-it. Jane is great and the support cast adds incredible amounts of authenticity that move the novel forward. The readers know early on that the nephew is innocent, but do not know who did it, why they did it, or why they set up the young man to take the fall. Stephanie Barron takes readers through a reading exploration that will leave the audience elated and demanding book four.