Rating: 
Summary: Regency and Mystery-Excellent Combo
Review: Beau Brummell decided what and who was fashionable in Regency England. Most Regencies describe him as a rather one dimensional character. Ms. Stevens has quite rightly made him the center of a mystery series, much as he was the center of the fashionable world of his time. He is asked by his dear friend, the Duchess of York, to clear a protegee of hers of the murder of her employer. The woman was exceedingly unpleasant, and was even rumored to have beaten her servants. The night before her death, Lady Wrayburn was incensed with Miss Ashton for inadvertantly telling her that her ladies' maid was pregnant. Now all of London thinks that Miss Ashton is the murderer. To save the Duchess' reputation and to assist the young women, the Beau agrees to help. He even loses a painting at auction, having been distracted by the problem. The winner of the auction, a representative of the King of Siam, presents him with the first Siamese cat in England. The famous valet, Robinson, is not happy about cat hairs, but Brummell can not return him. The cat seems to be an ancestor of Lillian Jackson Braun's KoKo, an able assistant in solving a difficult murder.This was an excellent mystery. The characters are familiar ones for those who have read regencies, and very well developed. The mystery was engrossing and difficult to solve. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: I enjoyed this book very much. It has a wonderful array of characters, my favourite (excluding the Beau of course) being Lydia, she wasn't in the book as much as others but I felt that she stole every scene she was in. Best of all it has a great storyline and intriguing mystery along with the fabulous characters.
Rating:
Summary: Regency masterpiece
Review: I finally got some uninterrupted time to enjoy Rosemary Stevens' DEATH ON A SILVER TRAY, although "enjoy" is perhaps too pallid a word. What a wonderful book! Ms. Stevens is certainly to be congratulated on conceiving such a wonderful idea for a mystery. Beau Brummell, as delineated by the author, makes a superb detective and an absolutely compelling character. Ms. Stevens craftsmanship is wonderful to behold. In the beginning of the book, she is faced with the task of introducing the Beau to readers who may not be familiar with this real, historical man. She is thus forced into a great deal of exposition, which she handles brilliantly by having the Beau introduce himself, as to a new friend. He reveals his past, his personality and character, as well as his place in the society of the day with a beguiling lightness of spirit and an affecting insouciance. The story itself is a first-rate mystery and I did not suspect the identity of the murderer until the moment when the author herself decided to reveal it. With plenty of suspense and false leads, and even a romance, I was pinned to the pages until I finished the book-more than somewhat regretfully. In addition, I am in awe of Ms. Stevens' research on the subject of Brummell and Regency England. She has provided us with a fascinating glimpse of Regency England without drowning us in minutiae. I heartily recommend this book to any lover of a) Regency fiction B) mysteries c) romance or d) a rousing good yarn.
Rating: 
Summary: Death on a Silver Tray
Review: I must be honest. The cat made me buy it. And, although they say you cannot judge a book by its cover, this book was one I could not put down until it was finished. The mystery was enjoyable, with just the right number of hints along the way. But what really caught my fancy was the wit and charm displayed by the main characters. I have long been a fan of regency romances and I cut my teeth on mysteries. It was a pleasure to read a book that combined these two genres with sparkling good humor and intelligence.
Rating:
Summary: Go, Beau!
Review: I've discovered a new series of mysteries to enjoy, assuming that Ms. Stevens will indeed continue giving us more adventures of Brummell. Her portrayal of Mr. Brummell is impeccable and at times amusing -- that he values his properly starched crevats more than his own life when hunting down a killer is nothing short of hiliarious. I can actually imagine the real Mr. Brummell evoking the same sentiment. I used to read Regency romances when I was younger, but thanks to Ms. Stevens I can now enjoy Regency mysteries. Death on a Silver Tray is well-written and researched (in terms of portraying George III's England), and Mr. Brummell's narration makes for an easy, fun read.
Rating: 
Summary: Style Without Substance
Review: In the Regency era of Great Britain, there was one arbiter of fashion, and that was Beau Brummell, who lived high, wide and handsome for as long as possible before his debts caught up with him, his aristocratic friends abandoned him, and he died in poverty. But in 1805, he ruled Society, and he was capable of starting a fashion or exiling a social climber from the invitations of the ton.
Rosemary Stevens takes her experience writing four romances set in this period to craft a mystery that's hews strictly to the ruts of the genre. Everything else about the novel delights: the details of Brummell's life, the fastidioius attention paid to his dress and the design around his life, his sudden inspirations and manuverings through the pitfalls of his position. Historical novels like these offer a pleasant immersion into a society and its beliefs, and while one mustn't go too far in praising this book -- there's still plenty of room on the shelf for a Regency novel with the breadth and penetration that, say, "The Alienist" performed on 1880s New York City -- "Death on a Silver Tray" surpasses expectations. Where it falls apart is in the mystery. In short, there is none so much as to be worth noticing, and the reader turns the pages and enjoys the sights and waits for Beau to stumble on the next obvious clue. There are even the usual folderal scenes that most debut mystery novelists have been warned to avoid. A Bow Street Runner (police that is) warns Beau not to Get Involved In The Case. Beau receives threats in the mail. There's even a Siamese cat who could be an ancestor of Lillian Jackson Braun's Koko and Yum-Yum. It may be unseemly to offer such objections to a book with such lightweight intentions, but the late Kate Ross' books about Julian Kestrel show just how good a book set in this era can be.
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Summary: Hang it all, it's too cute not to LOVE . . .
Review: Look, if I can love this blasted little romp, ANYONE cat, er, can. And I'm not a cat person, but that's beside the point . . . DEATH ON A SILVER TRAY is written in the First Person. You need to appreciate that because it extracts a certain effect which works irritatingly well (or did on me) in spite of the fact that I generally detest the presence of the writer inserting himself into my story, and am even less inspired to become engaged in a murder plot that can't even take itself seriously. But I think the narrative voice chosen (supported in no small measure by an imperiously ambivalent Siamese cat) is, ironically, what makes the book work so well. Chagrined as I am to say this, one sits down to this book examining a plate of chocolate sweets. And discovers only after the fact that they have just consumed an excellent, satisfying meal that will stay with them. The vanity of the narrator is so ubiquitous that the pace of the story rushes behind like an excitable hairstylist with a pair of scissors. Brummel's vanity knows no shame! and the effrontery of his appealing to your sympathies in the First Person is riotously funny. You'll discover yourself bonding with Brummel even as you hate yourself for doing it. Even the cat is lifelike and soft. You'll . . . you'll want one dammit. There is the deceased, of course. Something of an afterthought squeezed between the latest fashionable sedan wood and, er, cat dander. I laughed so hard at choice points throughout this book I found myself turning to the back sleeve incredulously, wondering how the author could have earned my respect in spite of myself. I found myself saying, "This confounded, damnable little book . . . why can't I put it down? It's useless. I can't even take it seriously." And that, dear friends, is precisely the point. Read this book when you've been sad. Let the book make you laugh. And with any luck you'll be laughing at yourself in the end. There's a bit of Brummel in all of us, hang it all. Skye
Rating:
Summary: Debut Historical a Fascinating Read
Review: Rosemary Stevens has done a delightful job of integrating George "Beau" Brummell, the arbiter of Regency fashion, into a historical mystery. The story is told from Brummell's perspective. Tasked to find the murder of the unpleasant Lady Wrayburn by no less a personage than HRH the Duchess of York, he is far out of his element. However Brummell accomplishes this task in a satisfactory fashion, and it is to Ms. Stevens's credit that his methods are entirely believable. She gives Brummell a fastidious personality to match his historical reputation; just as his somewhat overbearing personality begins to annoy, she softens the portrait with a small piece of business and a robust sense of humor (she describes one aspiring dandy as a "walking salad"). Characters in the book, while the ordinary sort that populate most historical mysteries of the time period (butlers, lady's maids, the "ton" of the English court, for instance) are deftly individual. And the cat on the cover, the lovely Chakkri, has his own role to play in the story, too. All in all, an enjoyable book and a worthwhile addition to the sub-genre.
Rating:
Summary: Won Agatha for best first novel
Review: The mystery genre tends to be focused in the present. The sub-group of historical mysteries is growing and its always nice to have another series. The most distict thing about this novel is its setting - London during the early 19th century, a period know as the Regency. Romance readers are probably more than familiar with the decadence of the era but based on the other reviews, it is a breath of fresh air for mystery readers. Having read more than a few romances about the era, it's not so new for me. Also, Stevens' presents a group of people who value things that I have a hard time relating to on a personal basis. So, the setting doesn't do much for me. It also took me a while to warm up to our slueth, George "Beau" Brummel. Based on the real person who was the leader of fashion at the time, Stevens has found an unusual slueth. He spends hours on his wardrobe, worries excessively about what people will think about anything he does or wears or says. Modest he is not. Does he work as a slueth? Maybe. I just didn't like him very much, particularly at first. The actual mystery - who killed the cranky widow - is pretty plain vanilla stuff. The killer makes sense in the end but the clues are few and far between. Many of the clues are dropped by the cat in a manner that is straight out Braun's "The Cat Who..." series. Bottom-line: Thumbs up to Stevens for trying something different in the mystery genre. Readers may or may not take to Beau. Still, the book is certainly a pleasant enough read for readers to see if they like him for themselves.
Rating:
Summary: Mystery and Regency make a winning combination!
Review: This is a wonderfully light yet engaging story about George "Beau" Brummell, the Regency arbiter of fashionable society. This book reads like a personal letter from "Beau" to the reader, including personal asides to the reader. The book is quite witty and a very fast read. There are a multitude of interesting characters, including the detective, Mr. Lavender, and his altruistic daughter (who seems to have her own, personal mystery). The best part of the book is that I did not know who the guilty party really was until the very last pages of the book! This book is a must-read for Regency fans and/or for mystery fans alike!
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