Review by Booklist Review
Australian January begins her latest historical mystery with Detective Albertine Honeycombe, disguised as a countess wearing a Cleopatra costume, stepping out from a party to swipe sensitive letters from Lord Grendel, who is using them to blackmail her first client. When he walks in on Albertine, she puts on a seductive act to distract him and drops a sleeping potion in his drink, only learning the next day that Lord Grendel was later murdered and that her suspicious behavior makes her the prime suspect. The dashing duke of Erleigh, who prefers working as a Scotland Yard copper, similarly assumes a false identity as he investigates Albertine, and he winds up working for her agency while she revisits the crime scene and accidentally tampers with evidence. The more they work together, the more they find themselves drawn together despite their initial suspicions. This mystery is less of a classic whodunit and more of a Victorian romantic comedy with a murder as the backdrop, making this a fine choice for fans of romantic suspense and cozies looking for intrigue in their next read.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
An unmarried young sleuth gets embroiled in a murder investigation in this fluffy historical from January (The Lady Detective). In 1894, plucky Albertine Honeycomb arrives in London with her best friend, Joan, in tow, fleeing their provincial hometown and sparing Albertine from an arranged marriage to a loutish widower with 15 children. In London, the pair opens a detective agency catering to upper-class society women; to better fit in with their chosen clientele, Albertine rebrands herself as the Countess Von Dagga, with Joan playing the part of her maid. After their first two clients put up a fight when they're asked for payment, Albertine decides she and Joan need a man to front their enterprise, and places an ad in the newspaper. Into their office strides Spencer Sweetman, the recently titled Duke of Erleigh--who also happens to be a Scotland Yard agent tasked with investigating the murder of a lord at the center of Albertine and Joan's first case. The emphasis here is squarely on the blossoming romance between Spencer and Albertine, with few clues to follow as the murder investigation unfolds. Though the love story is sweet and breezy, as a mystery this falls short. (Apr.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Mystery, romance, and quirky characters combine in January's (The Lady Detective) funny historical adventure reminiscent of TV's Remington Steele. After Albertine Honeycombe's father dies, her cousin intends to marry her off to a widower with 15 children. Albertine escapes to London where she assumes the name Countess Von Dagga and opens a detective agency serving upper-class women. The work doesn't earn her much, so she advertises for a man to be the face of her detective agency. Spencer Sweetman, duke of Erleigh and an officer at Scotland Yard, shows up at Albertine's house to question her about the death of Lord Grendel at a ball, and soon he's roped into working for her. He begins to fall in love with her but can't use his connections to save her when she's arrested for killing Lord Grendel and the mysterious "Count Von Dagga" (Albertine's made-up husband). VERDICT Readers who enjoyed the humor of Alison Goodman's The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies will relish the madhouse courtroom scene in this historical mystery.--Lesa Holstine
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In Victorian London, a desperate woman fleeing her home to escape a forced marriage lands in a hectic new life. After the deaths of her beloved brother and father, Albertine Honeycombe is left at the mercy of her cousin, who inherits the family estate and insists she marry a neighboring farmer with 15 children. Escaping with her lifelong friend, Joan, who poses as her maid, she uses every penny she has to rent a house in London and set up as a detective. Pretending to be Countess Von Dagga, she invents a husband away on the continent and soon has a client, Lady Roche, who's being blackmailed with some indiscreet letters she wrote. Albertine goes to a ball at the home of Lord Grendel, the blackmailer, to try to steal the letters, but ends up having to drug the man when he catches her in his study. On her way out of the gala, she briefly meets Spencer Sweetman, Marquess of Reading and Duke of Erleigh, who prefers working for Scotland Yard to lazing around. When Grendel's found dead, Albertine fears that she accidentally overdosed him, and Lady Roche refuses to pay her. The odious Baron Wallop, who was also at the ball, accuses Albertine of stealing his wife's tiara and murdering Grendel. Realizing that she needs to find a man to be "the face of her business" if she's to be taken seriously as a detective, she hires Spencer. As she continues to seek jobs with Joan and Spencer's help, Albertine digs herself into a deeper and deeper hole while attempting to discover what and who killed Grendel. Falling in love with the fake countess, Spencer must prove her innocence when she's arrested for killing Grendel and her nonexistent husband. A rollicking comedy of errors combines mystery and romance. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
