Why Lords Lose Their Hearts by Manda Collins

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I'm not sure why I liked this book so much better than the first two. Perhaps it is because we got to meet Perdita and Archer in previous books. Or maybe it's because I'm such a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope. Either way, I quite enjoyed this book and was glad it went out with a bang. At least for me. There is at least one part of this story that I think other readers will take issue with and I'm looking forward to reading other reviews.
Perdita, the widowed Duchess of Ormand (never called the dowager, perhaps because her husband's grandmother is still alive?), became the duchess one night when her husband was trying to kill her and he was killed instead.
Her husband's secretary, Lord Archer Lisle (fifth son of a duke), wasn't in the room when death occurred but he learned of the circumstances soon after. He is ashamed that he didn't realize sooner what the duke was doing to Perdita, especially because he loves her. But, as the fifth son of a duke, he has hopes that he can marry Perdita but is realistic about how society will view the marriage. Plus, there's the inconvenient fact that Perdita will not marry for love (look where that got her the first time!)
Of course, the two are forced together, working to discover who blames Perdita for the duke's death and why they're trying to thoroughly discredit her before they kill her.

I really don't know what to think about the kidnapping. I mean, Perdita's friends conspired with the man who was wanting to "rescue" her so that they could get her out of town. Collins did a good job of running through Perdita's thoughts on the matter so I guess I could sort of buy that part of the story but... it still didn't sit quite right. And having the killer be a deranged woman who just so happened to be the daughter of the duke's grandfather as well as the lover of the present duke...? I just don't know. If this were a mystery story, I'd be disappointed that the killer was so clearly pointed at but this is a romance so that didn't factor into my rating.
Previous books: Why Dukes say I Do, Why Earls Fall in Love