Review by Booklist Review
The independent, intelligent Violet Maxwell, who works as agony aunt Miss Hermione, is bored answering the same old etiquette questions when she receives a letter from a frantic mother whose daughter has joined the cultlike Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed. Violet and her frivolous half-sister Sephora attend a meeting of the group where Violet recognizes one of the novices as Margaret, a friend of Sephora's. Violet travels to the country to join the Children of Aed to persuade Margaret to return home. Once there, Violet sees strange visions, and when a man dies, Margaret confesses to the crime. Not believing Margaret is a killer, Violet investigates, enlisting the help of her housekeeper, Bunty, back in London and Eli Marsh, the intriguing, mysterious American who has captured her heart. Told from multiple points of view, this historical mystery is firmly set in Victorian times and includes several plot twists as Violet realizes she does love Sephora, who has hidden depths beneath her superficiality.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The captivating second installment in Hastings's Dear Miss Hermione historical mystery series (after 2023's Of Manners and Murder) sends half-sisters Violet and Sephora Manville on the trail of a nature-worshipping cult in Victorian England. Strong-minded Violet has made a secret career as Miss Hermione, a London magazine columnist who answers letters from the public about etiquette and matters of the heart. When she receives a message from a frantic mother whose daughter has run off with a "wanton" group called the Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed, she's intrigued, but not enough to act--until she realizes that the daughter in question is Margaret Thuringer, Sephora's best friend. Pretending to be interested in joining the Order, Violet travels to their base, an eerie community in a ruined abbey in which devoted members tend to the whims of their charismatic "Master." Shortly after her arrival, one member is murdered, and Margaret is suspected of the crime. After she's arrested, Violet and Sephora set out to find the real killer. Hastings never loses her footing while toggling between her large cast of characters, and fluidly intersperses comedic moments and game-changing twists. Readers will be ravenous for the next installment in the series. (Jan.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Half sisters come to a better understanding of each other while solving a murder in 1885 London. Violet Manville, the practical older sister with wide-ranging interests, has been asked by her aunt Adelia to keep up her advice column while she's away. Younger sister Sephora is more interested in clothes, men, and penny dreadfuls, especially those of Count Orlando, who's writing a series purporting to expose the outrageous goings-on of a cultlike group he dubs the Children of Ud. Violet, who's bored and missing the company of Eli Marsh, an American who helped her in a previous adventure, is forced to pay attention to the nonfictional group The Hermetic Order of the Children of Aed because a woman whose daughter ran off to join them has written to her for advice. She reluctantly brings Sephora along to a meeting of the group in a London park. The crowd is disappointed by the mild speech of the charismatic Master, but Violet is shocked to see among his acolytes Margaret Thuringer, Sephora's best friend, who's apparently the missing daughter mentioned in the letter. When a man Violet had thought was a pickpocket snatches one of the devotees, she foils his attempt and is thanked by the Master, who invites her to join the cult in the ruins of Alburn Abbey. Eli, whom Violet has recognized as the abductor, meets secretly with her at the abbey. When Margaret is arrested for murdering a man she was unhappily handfasted with, Violet, Eli, and even Sephora realize that nothing is as it seems. Mystery, romance, and an interesting look at the power of cult leaders. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
