The Secrets of Wishtide

June 6, 2016
Laetitia Rodd, the narrator of this lively series debut set in 1850 from British author Saunders (Night Shall Overtake Us), was left in reduced circumstances by her clergyman husband’s death. Now living with her working-class friend and landlady, Mary Bentley, in the London village of Hampstead, Laetitia conducts confidential inquiries for her barrister brother, Frederick Tyson, to supplement her income and exercise her quick wits. Influential peer Sir James Calderstone hires the siblings to investigate the background of Helen Orme, the beautiful but mysterious widow whom his son, Charles, wants to marry against James’s wishes. In the guise of a governess, Laetitia travels to Wishtide, the Calderstone Lincolnshire estate, where she discovers that not only Mrs. Orme but the Calderstones themselves are hiding scandalous secrets. When Mrs. Orme is found murdered and Charles is accused, Laetitia strives to save him from the gallows. Saunders explores Victorian sexual mores in a well-evoked historical world marred only by some overly complicated subplots. Agent: Caradoc King, United Agents (U.K.).

June 1, 2016

Meet Laetitia Rodd, the widow of an archdeacon, who is living in reduced circumstances in 1850 Hampstead, England. She supports herself by doing discreet private investigation work for her brother, a successful London criminal barrister. Her sibling introduces Laetitia to Sir James Calderstone, a wealthy industrialist who asks her to investigate an "unsuitable" woman whom his son wants to marry. The goal is to prevent the match. Posing as the new governess for the two Calderstone daughters, she travels to Wishtide, Sir James's Lincolnshire estate. Laetitia's probe grows increasingly complicated as corpses amass and eventually Sir James's son is accused of murder. Rodd is then engaged to find proof of his innocence. Readers will find themselves immersed in 19th-century English society, from grand houses to dockside taverns, in a story that draws heavily from the work of Charles Dickens. Saunders's protagonist sheds a sympathetic light on the plight of women in the rigid moral climate of Victorian England. VERDICT Readers who relish the puzzle of a well-done Victorian-set mystery with a resourceful female detective will take pleasure in this series launch by a prolific British author and journalist (The Marrying Game).--Cheryl Bryan, Orleans, MA

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2016
Poking into a family matter on behalf of the family in question throws a novice investigator into more of an investigation than she bargained for.In the age of polite society, it's impolite for a lady to act like a snoop. So when Laetitia Rodd, widowed in her early 50s by her beloved Matt, decides to become an informal private investigator, she lets her brother, Frederick, do the dirty work of finding her cases. After all, he's a top criminal barrister with a number of clients who could do with some discreet snooping. Fred contacts Letty about a promising case involving Sir James and Lady Calderstone; with names like that, both siblings reason that the case may lead to a big payday. Charles Calderstone has chosen a most inappropriate match, the mysterious widow Helen Orme. His parents are determined to learn the truth about Mrs. Orme, whose rather vague tales about her upbringing have left them skeptical. Letty, taken on as governess to the two younger Miss Calderstones, quickly uses her connections to get the information she needs, all the while keeping up appearances, and unearths the secrets in Mrs. Orme's past--along with the truth about the Calderstones, which the family is unsuccessful in keeping from their perceptive guest. Suddenly, Letty is solving quite a few more mysteries than she signed on for. Let's hope she's paid accordingly. Without hitting readers over the head (as she does with many of her characters), Saunders (The Curse of the Chocolate Phoenix, 2015, etc.) launches a well-written series with all the hallmarks of a classic British cozy.

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Starred review from June 1, 2016
Combining the strengths of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and M. C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin, Laetitia Rodd towers over both of these genteel sleuths in wit, tact, and ingenuity. In this new, not-quite-cozy mystery, Letty assuages her grief at the loss of her beloved husband by keeping busy with the important work of problem solving for others. She lives in reduced circumstances with a dear friend and confidante in Highgate, a suburb of London that in 1850 was a country village, and she's employed by her brother, a prominent barrister, in what she calls the management and prevention of scandal. This first in a new series involves both scandal prevention and the uncovering of new scandal, as well as some very nasty murders, all of which Mrs. Rodd calmly smooths over and resolves. A prominent citizen's heir is about to marry unwisely, while his sisters need a governess to polish them, and when Letty steps in to manage the scandal and govern the girls, the plot thickens rapidly. Readers will forgiveand smile atthe blatant contrasts between the warmth of affection and humor in Letty's immediate circle and the self-centered wickedness and scheming of the dark, depressed villains. The book is a sheer delight, with its deliciously intricate puzzle and well-drawn characters whom readers are sure to continue to enjoy in volumes to come.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)