Defend and Betray — Anne Perry

After a brilliant military career, esteemed General Thaddeus Carlyon finally meets his death, not in the frenzy of battle, but at an elegant London dinner party. His demise appears to be the result of a freak accident. But the General's beautiful wife, Alexandra, readily confesses that she killed him--a story she clings to even under the shadow of the gallows.

Investigator William Monk, nurse Hester Latterly, and brilliant Oliver Rathhone, counsel for the defense, work feverishly to break down the wall of silence raised by the accused and her husband's proud family. With the trial only days away, they inch toward the dark and appalling heart of the mystery.