Sarah E Ladd is not an inexperienced author; she’s got three trilogies under her belt so it’s not surprising that I enjoyed reading The Letter from Briarton Park. It was romantic, suspenseful, and ended happily, which I always appreciate. I give it four out of five stars.
Cassandra Hale has just discovered a mysterious letter that references her past – she’s never known her parents, and has always wondered who they were. As the letter invites her to Briarton Park, she sets off on the five-day journey to the estate in search of her past. Upon her arrival; however, she finds that the author of the letter is dead and the estate has been purchased by Mr. Warrington and his family. Cassandra thinks him the perfect country gentleman, but expects she won’t see him much as she and the local vicar attempt to discover who she really is. However, Cassandra becomes closer to Mr. Warrington and his family once she takes a position as the household governess. As Cassandra’s past increasingly kicks up conflict, it becomes clear that there are few people she should trust in the village, and turns toward Mr. Warrington for support in her quest. As they start to trust one another, an attraction grows. Will they move beyond their respective roles as employer/employee?
Honestly, my synopsis of The Letter from Briarton Park doesn’t really do the book justice. There are a lot of threads interwoven in this novel and several aspects of the plot that are really appealing. Ladd managed to fit a lot of events, information, and characters into an average-length book – no easy feat! She struck a good balance between necessary information and more fun aspects of the story.
I thought the romance was good, albeit pretty fast-moving, but I don’t think it was any faster than a typical romance novel. The connection between Warrington and Cassandra is also very clean, but the book is so full of other events that I’m not sure there would have been room for any dirty romance. I only missed it slightly because I was caught up in Cassandra’s search for her family and the problems that arose from it. I liked as well that Warrington’s children were included in the book, but not in an obnoxious way where Cassandra immediately charmed them. Other secondary characters in The Letter from Briarton Park were well-written and interesting. Not only were the characters important and relevant to Cassandra, but they also turned out to be important to the plot.
The plot was very well done; I was a bit surprised about halfway through when we discovered who Cassandra’s father was! I didn’t know how Ladd was going to fill the other half, and was pleased when she threw in a murder to solve. Cassandra’s attorney (really, her father’s estate’s attorney) has been killed on Briarton Park land. Pleased for the mystery, obviously, not that someone had died.
In summary, this book had the trifecta of romance, mystery, and excellent plot. The Letter from Briarton Park was engaging, amusing, and had a satisfying conclusion. I’d be willing to try other novels from Sarah E. Ladd in the future if I ever want to read some standalone novels rather than a series.