A Most Peculiar Circumstance

Starred review from May 15, 2013
Wherever fearless suffragist Arabella Beckett goes, trouble follows, because in 1880 proper ladies are not supposed to fight for the vote or carry a pistol. Arabella would rather protect herself than rely on a man, thank you very much. But when she ends up in a small-town jail with Miss James, a young woman she's saved from kidnapping and prostitution, she has no choice but to allow herself and her new friend to be sprung by Theodore Wilder, a famous private eye sent by her family. Wilder is tall, strong, handsome, intelligent, and the most pig-headed chauvinist Arabella has ever met. In all of his travels, Theodore has never come across a woman like Arabella. He's both annoyed and fascinated by her self-sufficient manner. In fact, if she were a man, he'd admire her quick wit and heroic endeavors. But she's most definitely a woman, and she doesn't know her place, something he intends to remedy. This madcap battle of the sexes is the sequel to Turano's hilarious A Change of Fortune (2012), and it is perfect for any reader who enjoys stories bubbling with humor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)