{"id":1626,"date":"2015-02-12T12:00:47","date_gmt":"2015-02-12T17:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/?p=1626"},"modified":"2020-08-06T19:38:44","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T23:38:44","slug":"slightly-shady-dont-look-back-and-late-for-the-wedding-by-amanda-quick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hypnosisinmedia.com\/blog\/1626\/slightly-shady-dont-look-back-and-late-for-the-wedding-by-amanda-quick\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSlightly Shady\u201d, \u201cDon\u2019t Look Back\u201d and \u201cLate for the Wedding\u201d by Amanda Quick"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

As if a head for busi\u00adness and a nose for trou\u00adble aren\u2019t enough to dis\u00adtin\u00adguish fierce\u00adly inde\u00adpen\u00addent Lavinia Lake from the oth\u00ader women of Lon\u00addon\u2019s fash\u00adion\u00adable Clare\u00admont Lane, there is one more fea\u00adture to set her apart. Lavinia is also well versed in the prac\u00adtice of mes\u00admerism, an extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary gift that far sur\u00adpass\u00ades mere charm and phys\u00adi\u00adcal appeal. Nobody knows this bet\u00adter than the usu\u00adal\u00adly cool\u00adhead\u00aded Tobias March, who seems to have fall\u00aden hope\u00adless\u00adly under her spell. For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly for all, how\u00adev\u00ader, Lavinia uses her pow\u00aders for good. And ever since a tragedy involv\u00ading one of her sub\u00adjects, she has even retired them in favor of her work with Lake and March, a joint ven\u00adture pro\u00advid\u00ading \u00e2\u20ac\u0153discreet pri\u00advate inquiries for indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals of quality.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Mrs. Lake and Mr. March have a rocky first encounter: he is sys\u00adtem\u00adat\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly ram\u00adpag\u00ading through the tiny shop Mrs. Lake and her niece oper\u00adate, all in an attempt to force them to leave and thus remove them from impend\u00ading dan\u00adger. Nev\u00ader\u00adthe\u00adless, they find rea\u00adsons to con\u00adtin\u00adue their rela\u00adtion\u00adship, despite the fric\u00adtion of their equal\u00adly strong per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties. As these are<\/em> romance nov\u00adels, their rela\u00adtion\u00adship also con\u00adtin\u00adues to be fraught with unre\u00adsolved passion.<\/p>\n

Part of that pas\u00adsion and that fric\u00adtion is due to the fact that Mrs. Lake is a tal\u00adent\u00aded mes\u00admerist, although Mr. March is quite hes\u00adi\u00adtant to allow him\u00adself to be placed under her mag\u00adnet\u00adic influ\u00adence for med\u00adi\u00adc\u00adi\u00adnal pur\u00adpos\u00ades, even though he is quick\u00adly falling under her cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading spell as much as she is falling under his. How\u00adev\u00ader, in her new occu\u00adpa\u00adtion per\u00adform\u00ading pri\u00advate inquiries, Mrs. Lake finds his com\u00adpa\u00adny and her mes\u00admer\u00adic pow\u00aders advan\u00adta\u00adgeous, and not always in the expect\u00aded manner.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cSlightly Shady\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n

Mrs. Lake does not want to return to her mes\u00admerism prac\u00adtice upon return\u00ading to Lon\u00addon after her encounter with Mr. March, after a tragedy involv\u00ading a for\u00admer patient and the reper\u00adcus\u00adsions from the patien\u00adt\u2019s hus\u00adband. Instead, she is drawn into Mr. March\u2019s inquiry into the exis\u00adtence and loca\u00adtion of a diary that relates the doings of one of the prin\u00adci\u00adpal lead\u00aders of an inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal crim\u00adi\u00adnal orga\u00adni\u00adza\u00adtion, a part of the impend\u00ading dan\u00adger that threat\u00adened Mrs. Lake ear\u00adli\u00ader. That leads to a com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00aded inves\u00adti\u00adga\u00adtion also involv\u00ading a death threat against a promi\u00adnent lady of soci\u00adety, miss\u00ading pros\u00adti\u00adtutes and mur\u00adder. Only upon the final con\u00adfronta\u00adtion with the mur\u00adder\u00ader does she resort to her tal\u00adent for mes\u00admerism, using her pen\u00addant as a focus to entrance the mur\u00adder\u00ader to induce them to gloat about their past crimes, as well as dis\u00adtract them from killing Mrs. Lake.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t Look Back\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n

Mrs. Lake encoun\u00adters Doc\u00adtor Howard Hud\u00adson, an old friend of her par\u00adents, both of whom were expe\u00adri\u00adenced mes\u00admerists, him\u00adself a pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal mes\u00admerist as well. He is in Lon\u00addon to fur\u00adther his research into mes\u00admerism, specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly, in search of the fabled Blue Medusa, an amulet leg\u00aden\u00addar\u00adi\u00adly reput\u00aded to give the wear\u00ader pow\u00ader\u00adful mes\u00admer\u00adic abil\u00adi\u00adties. With him is his new wife Celeste, who has her own inter\u00adests and her own plans involv\u00ading the Blue Medusa. How\u00adev\u00ader, when Celeste is found mur\u00addered and the Blue Medusa is dis\u00adcov\u00adered miss\u00ading, Mrs. Lake and Mr. March are charged with inves\u00adti\u00adgat\u00ading both crimes, only to find a web of mur\u00adder and mes\u00admerism behind the theft and the crimes that fol\u00adlow. Com\u00adpli\u00adcat\u00ading mat\u00adters is the pres\u00adence of Lord Pelling, the man whose wife com\u00admit\u00adted sui\u00adcide under Mrs. Lake\u2019s care, in Lon\u00addon unexpectedly.<\/p>\n

Mes\u00admerism is a cen\u00adtral ele\u00adment of the nov\u00adel here. With\u00adout giv\u00ading too much away, it appears through\u00adout the nov\u00adel in a mul\u00adti\u00adtude of cir\u00adcum\u00adstances and by a num\u00adber of indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals includ\u00ading Mrs Hud\u00adson, includ\u00ading, as it does in all of these nov\u00adels, with Mrs. Lake using her mes\u00admer\u00adic tal\u00adents in con\u00adfronting the murder.<\/p>\n

Notes<\/h3>\n

Mrs. Lake inves\u00adti\u00adgates a mes\u00admerist under\u00adcov\u00ader by com\u00adplain\u00ading of \u201cfem\u00adi\u00adnine dis\u00adcom\u00adforts\u201d. The device the mes\u00admerist tries to employ in relief while she is osten\u00adsi\u00adbly mes\u00admer\u00adized is essen\u00adtial\u00adly a mechan\u00adi\u00adcal dil\u00addo: whether this device as described was authen\u00adtic is not known but it cer\u00adtain\u00adly would be typ\u00adi\u00adcal of the period.<\/p>\n

\u201cLate for the Wedding\u201d<\/em><\/a><\/h2>\n

Mrs. Lake and Mr. March are by now well known by cer\u00adtain very promi\u00adnent indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals and are sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant\u00adly an item such that they are invit\u00aded to a week\u00adend out\u00ading at a noble\u2019s estate. How\u00adev\u00ader, the appear\u00adance of the wife of an old friend turned ene\u00admy seek\u00ading the aid of Mr. March and an \u201cacci\u00addent\u201d at the out\u00ading involve them both in a mur\u00adder mys\u00adtery involv\u00ading the infa\u00admous Memen\u00adto-Mori Man, a famous killer for hire thought retired long ago, or, pos\u00adsi\u00adbly, some\u00adone emu\u00adlat\u00ading his work. As in the first nov\u00adel of the series, the sto\u00adry under\u00adplays Mrs. Lake\u2019s mes\u00admer\u00adic tal\u00adents until the very end where she employs them to dis\u00adtract the mur\u00adder until aid arrives.<\/p>\n

\n

Notes<\/h2>\n