To Murder a Marquis: A Regency Time Slip Mystery (Book One) by Arabella Sheraton is an awesomely riveting blend of mystery, time travel fantasy, and clean romance in an enchanting Regency setting. It is 2015, and Jane Amelia Carstairs, a twenty-four-year-old history research assistant, is helping her father with research in the Chelston Hall library. Suddenly, she finds herself in the woods under a tree, wearing Regency-period clothing and faced with a barking retriever. The dog leads her to a wounded man. Jane discovers that she has been astonishingly transported back to the year 1815 and the injured man is the 19th-century ancestor of her employer, the Marquis of Coleston. Jane sets off on a mission to find out who attempted to murder the Marquis. But can she do it before returning to her own era, if indeed returning is even possible…?

Arabella Sheraton’s To Murder a Marquis enchanted me from the first page with Jane’s time slip into the vivid, atmospheric scenery of the 19th century. The storyline exceeded my expectations once I discovered retriever Russett, a true show stealer, and Jane, whose bravery and kindness were on a par with my favorite Lewis Carroll’s Alice. I marveled at Jane’s awesome erudition and knowledge of English history, the witty intrigue, the suspense, and the rigid Regency etiquette Jane had to endure. But most of all, I liked Jane’s brilliant, thought-provoking humor as she viewed life in the Regency period through her 21st-century lens. As I look forward to the sequel, I highly recommend this remarkable novel to Regency romance, time travel, and mystery fans.

Arabella Sheraton’s To Murder a Marquis immerses readers in a fascinating time-travel adventure where Regency-era elegance meets modern-day mystery. The narrative kicks off with Jane Carstairs, a historian who, amidst a chaotic moment of a barking dog and period costumes, finds herself inexplicably transported from a library in contemporary England to the lush grounds of 19th-century Chelston Hall. There, Jane discovers that the Marquis of Coleston has been critically injured in what appears to be a gruesome assassination attempt. As she grapples with the jarring transition from modernity to the Regency era, Jane must navigate the intricate social norms of the time while unraveling a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the Marquis's life.

What will captivate readers in Arabella Sheraton's novel is its seamless blend of historical romance and time-travel mystery, enriched by vibrant character development and an engaging plot. The story’s opening scene, with Jane’s bewildered awakening in period attire, sets a tone of both humor and intrigue, drawing readers into her plight. As Jane delves deeper into the mystery, her modern sensibilities clash with Regency society's constraints, creating tension and charm. The evolving dynamic between Jane and the Marquis, coupled with the suspense of a potential murder, ensures that readers are not only engaged by the whodunit but also by the evolving romance. Arabella Sheraton’s detailed portrayal of the period and her clever plot twists make To Murder a Marquis a compelling start to a series that promises to delight fans of historical fiction and time-travel adventures alike.

Jane Carstairs is supposed to be doing research for her father in the library in Chelston Hall. Instead, she’s sound asleep, in the middle of an intense dream. She suddenly awakens to find herself lying under a tree in the woods. But things are not as she thinks they should be. She’s wearing some sort of period costume, not the jeans and t-shirt she’s used to wearing, and a dog is barking furiously. Confused, she follows the dog and finds a man lying on the ground with an arrow through his shoulder. Things become even more bizarre when others arrive and start addressing her as Amelia. She discovers she is now two hundred years in the past! In Arabella Sheraton’s To Murder a Marquis, Jane, now Amelia, finds herself tossed into a mystery where the marquis is the victim of several attempts on his life. Can she save him each time and preserve the lineage that leads up to her present-day era? And what if she falls in love with the man she frequently saves? Can she stay in the past?

Arabella Sheraton’s novel, To Murder a Marquis: Regency Time Slip Mystery, is the first book in a new series that combines mystery with the elusive web of time. The plot begins in the past, with Jane/Amelia facing a dilemma with great confusion. The use of descriptive narrative and effective dialogue leads the reader along as the main character unravels her confusion. The author has a solid understanding of history, particularly the Regency period, the main setting of this story. Her fascination with time travel is obvious as she weaves this effectively into the plot. The element of romance adds a bit of flavor as the story develops. This is a powerful tale of courage and believing, not just in oneself, but also in the simple fact that anything is possible, both past and future, as well as the present which quickly becomes the past as we live it. Breathtakingly spellbinding – I loved it!

To Murder a Marquis: Regency Time Slip Mystery, Book One by Arabella Sheraton is a fascinating combination of time travel and Regency period elegance all wrapped up in an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery. Jane Carstairs is a historical researcher who has agreed to assist her father with his latest project; a genealogical record of the aristocratic Hadley family at their family seat in Chelston Hall. Her father had mentioned the distant connection to the family, through marriage, in the early nineteenth century and this added interest to her research. However, one minute Jane was safely ensconced in the library at Chelston Hall and the next she was waking up under a tree, back in 1815, next to a badly wounded man, with an arrow protruding from his shoulder. Once Jane had embraced the reality of her position and his identity, she realized that his marriage to her ancestor, Amelia Jane Carstairs, must happen, otherwise, Jane and her father would never exist in the future. She had to discover who was trying to kill the Marquis and stop it from happening. 

I have always been a fan of Regency romances with their inherent elegance, manners, and pomposity, so this was a logical choice for me to read. What makes To Murder a Marquis stand out from the genre is the innovative concept of a time slip to propel Jane into the nineteenth century. Author Arabella Sheraton has created a masterfully crafted situation where Regency elegance and feminine propriety meet twenty-first-century permissiveness and feminine power. All the characters in this Regency melodrama are beautifully designed and explored, with typically overdrawn peculiarities. From the foppish and seemingly inconsequential cousin Sidney to the charming, yet wickedly cunning Dowager Duchess, the characters leap off the pages. This author’s attention to detail and descriptive writing place you firmly in the time and fully invested in Jane’s dilemma, especially once she realizes her true feelings for her historical, distant relation. The romance is delightful and typically Regency period without being cloying or sickly saccharine. I particularly enjoyed the way that Jane’s thoughts about her predicament and her innermost feelings were constantly conveyed to the reader, almost like a narrator's aside to the camera in a movie. As I finished reading this satisfying story, I couldn’t help but think it wasn’t really over and certain issues could be further explored, so I was delighted to see that the author has already begun work on Book Two in this series. I look forward with bated breath to reading more exciting adventures in time with Jane Carstairs and more mystery from this talented author. Given that this story encompasses two of the genres I enjoy immensely, I cannot recommend this read highly enough. I loved it.