The secret of the lady's maid

Wilde follows up The Secret of the Lost Pearls with another lively, well-researched mystery centered on intrepid amateur sleuth Rosalind Thorne. In 1820 London, Rosalind and her dear friend Alice Littlefield have recently moved in together, and Alice has developed feelings for the pair's maid, Amelia. At Amelia's previous place of employment, she'd fallen in love with her employer's daughter, Cate Levitton. While fetching supplies for Rosalind and Alice at a local market one morning, Amelia stumbles into Cate, who appears to be on death's door, and brings her back to Rosalind and Alice. With the help of police officer Adam Harkness, Rosalind's love interest, the two friends determine Cate has been poisoned. As the group digs into potential foul play, Adam works to uncover a government spy instigating treason in Westminster, only to find out that the poisoning and the treason may be linked. The setting is immersive, with dim coffee shops, cows in Hyde Park, plenty of fog, and thorough explanations of London policing. A few moments of clunky and anachronistic dialogue aside, Wilde maintains steady momentum all the way to a satisfying conclusion. Fans of Andrea Penrose and Anna Lee Huber will be pleased. Agent: Lucienne Diver, Knight Agency. (Jan.)

A complicated web of interlocking relationships spells trouble for a Victorian problem-solver. Rosalind Thorne makes her way in a male-dominated society by helping the ladies of London's haut ton resolve all sorts of domestic dilemmas. Most recently, Marianna Levitton has sought Rosalind's help finding her niece, Cate, who disappeared from her house in Bath after a sojourn there. Marianna doesn't know that Cate's been living upstairs at the house Rosalind shares with writer Alice Littlefield ever since her niece was brought there, obviously sick, by Amelia McGowan, their housemaid. The presence of Cate, Amelia's onetime paramour, upsets the deepening relationship between Amelia and Alice and puts Rosalind in a precarious position with Marianna and Beatrice, Cate's mother. While Rosalind tries to sort out the Levittons' domestic affairs, Bow Street runner Adam Harkness hopes to make her an offer of marriage by earning the reward offered for the capture of the fugitive George Edwards, a key figure in the Cato Street uprising. In between the two quests stand Jack Beachamp and Francesca Finch, a pair of miscreants who see fit to meddle in both family conflicts and matters of national importance. Fitting together all the pieces holds the key not only to solving the intricate puzzle but to finding a path forward in Rosalind and Adam's life together. Wilde moves deftly between the personal and political in a complex tale of love and betrayal. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.