'Laetitia Rodd is a warm and engaging heroine' The Times
For readers of The Thursday Murder Club, M.C. Beaton and James Runcie, The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden is the charming third mystery in Kate Saunders’s series about Laetitia Rodd, the indomitable Victorian lady detective.
In the spring of 1853, private detective Laetitia Rodd receives a delicate request from a retired actor, whose days on the stage were ended by a theatre fire ten years before. His great friend, and the man he rescued from the fire, Thomas Transome, has decided to leave his wife, who now needs assistance in securing a worthy settlement. Though Mrs Rodd is reluctant to get involved with the scandalous world of the theatre, she cannot turn away the woman in need. She agrees to take the case.
But what starts out as a simple matter of negotiation becomes complicated when a body is discovered in the burnt husk of the old theatre. Soon Mrs Rodd finds herself embroiled in family politics, rivalries that put the Capulets and Montagues to shame, and betrayals on a Shakespearean scale.
Mrs Rodd will need all her investigative powers, not to mention her famous discretion, to solve the case before tragedy strikes once more.
Praise for the Laetitia Rodd Mystery series:
'A witty, genteel tale of secrets, lies and hidden gold... Enormous fun' The Times 'With a well-crafted plot, an engaging protagonist, and astute nods to the literature and theological squabbles of the period, this is a perfect novel for a summer afternoon' Guardian 'A Dickensian glow pervades this immensely satisfying novel. Hugely enjoyable' James Runcie, author of the 'Grantchester Mysteries' 'Pure delight' Sunday Times
The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden is an appealing and very well written mystery and the third of the Laetitia Rodd mysteries by Kate Saunders. Released 7th Dec 2021 by Bloomsbury, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.
This is an extremely well written period mystery featuring the middle-aged widow of a cleric as the protagonist, an *extremely* discreet private enquiry agent. She's sensible, intelligent, and (luckily) quite aware of the world and its foibles. She assists the official police (to an unusual/anachronistic degree). She's eminently respectable and can talk to people who are otherwise inaccessible to the official police forces.
All of the mysteries in the series are self contained and work perfectly well as standalone reads. There are three books extant at this point which might make them suitable for a mini-binge read. I found some of the plot twists felt unreasonable and challenged my suspension of disbelief, but overall I have really enjoyed the series and look forward to future installments.
This book revolves around the death of a thespian, so many of the characters are from that sphere and the interconnections and personal drama are sometimes a bit over the top.
Four stars. Quite well written and diverting.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
