A Crimson Warning (Lady Emily Series #6)

A Crimson Warning - Tasha Alexander 3.5-4 starsI read this book so quickly, I'm going to have to read it again. I say that, because I wasn't particularly impressed with this book, and I can only think that I must have read it too fast. So why did I give it 3.5-4 stars? Because I was pleasantly surprised to see Lady Emily and Colin so settled into their respective roles as a husband-and-wife team. So much of their relationship, since they became engaged, was full of the tension of Colin trying to protect Emily and her fight to be in the thick of everything. And there was a lot of tension and guilt about her miscarriage - the one that followed her getting shot catching the villain in a previous book. The question of whether or not they can have children together didn't enter the picture. And while Lady Emily still forged ahead and did plenty on her own (including overhearing part of a conversation that included her husband, when Colin firmly told her to stay outside and wait for him), for the most part, Emily kept to her strengths and didn't try to fight Colin on every point.Her friend, Ivy, is featured this time, too. We see what I can only assume are journal entries in which Ivy confesses to a horrible, dark secret - some action she took that she's ashamed of and hasn't shared with anyone, not Emily or her husband, Robert. And Shame and Secrets are the Name of the Game in this book....The Crimson Warning is the red paint splashed on the front steps and porches of the beau monde... the cream of Society. Each time red paint is discovered, some dreadful secret is exposed that shames the residents of that house. The 1st victim is burned alive in his own warehouse, and his fiancee is in mortal danger. The culprit believes that the fiancee has been given something by the dead man - something that the culprit desperately needs. As the red paint flies, more and more bodies begin to pile up. Can Colin and Emily discover the culprit in time?---------------------The culprit isn't hard to spot in this book, despite the numerous red herrings the author throws at us. Some of the scenes exposing the deep dark secrets of the ton are actually funny - such as two women, neighbors and long-time friends, discovering they both have the same lover.But the book dragged for me... parts of it seemed downright plodding and irrelevant, such as Emily getting involved in the Women's Liberation Movement to get the vote for women. And Emily's mother's interference. Which is why I'll stop here, re-read the book, and then put my final thoughts into this review.