Where She Solves Several Mysteries

The Secret of the Lost Pearls by Darcie Wilde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the sixth book in the series, and it's another winner. 4 stars.

(4.5 if I were allowed.)

Like all the series, we have an excellent protagonist, an engrossing mystery, some intrigue, some romance, some excellent sleuthing, and a satisfying conclusion. The author may (or may not--I'm no expert) take some liberties with the Regency setting, but it seems to me that she's done a good job.

Rosalind Thorne is surviving as a useful woman, moving from drawing room to drawing room helping other women with tricky domestic details, earning her living without seeming to be earning a living, which was key. She threads the needle (the author does, in her writing, and so does her protagonist within the story) by being active in solving the mystery without being too active, too much like a modern heroine. She is, in fact, a lot like a modern heroine, though she fits in fine with this setting by making sure she appears proper. She sneaks around, but apologizes for being caught in the wrong place; she passes tasks off to others who can move around more freely; she uses contacts via correspondence to track down details. It all works to make her a detective without her looking like one.

My quibble with the novel is the rather unnecessary complexity, especially at the end. It's such a tangle with so many young women the same age and so many uncles and cousins who've gotten involved that it takes a lot of concentration to sort them out. Murder mystery, jewel theft, art scam, revenge, hidden families--it's a lot. She makes it work, but it was a little extra.

Still--great series. Lots of fun. Love the main characters. Recommended, along with the whole series.

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Where Rosalind Has Too Many Choices

A Lady Compromised by Darcie Wilde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a good book in a very good series. I think I've given mostly 5s, and maybe I liked this one just a touch less, but I still enjoyed it and recommend it.

Rosalind, who's been hanging on the edges of society since her father, a forger, deserted the family, has a chance here to connect again with the young gentleman she was once engaged to. He's the new Duke of Casselmaine after the death of a brother, and despite the distance between them shows he still wants her before anyone else. Interfering in that plan are two things, not in order: 1, Rosalind isn't sure how she feels about the Bow Street Runner who she has also fallen for; and 2, there's a mysterious death, possibly murder, possibly suicide, that she is increasingly pressured into investigating, though it involves everyone in the duke's circle.

It's an interesting plot with nicely arranged revelations, though the sheer number of relevant people who are connected by engagements and family history makes it very hard to keep clear who has what motivation. (I sometimes have this concern with mysteries--maybe it's only my issue.) After awhile I give up on keeping straight which of the Vaughns or Mirabeaus was with which of the Corbyns and at what time and had the right motivation to do the thing--and instead just let the story go.

Anyway, there are a lot of characters to like and cheer for here, which I enjoy, and the story advances the overall arc of the series, which is how I like my stories to go, so this is a win. I don't know who I want Rosalind to end up with, but I do know I want her to continue investigating.

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Where Rosalind Can't Please Everyone

And Dangerous to Know by Darcie Wilde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third Rosalind Thorne mystery, and I think it's excellent.

I like Rosalind as a character--bright, decent, lots of gumption, but not a superhero. She has limits. So, believable. Her one-time betrothed is interesting and likable; the Bow Street runner she's bumped into a lot in her adventures is also very cool. She's got friends who write and friends in fancy houses, and not everybody's nice or sympathetic, but lots of them are. It's a great mix, and an excellent setup for mysteries.

This mystery is about an unnamed woman who died outside Lord Melbourne's house, and it's Rosalind's job to figure out what happened even while she's helping Lady Melbourne with missing letters that might be used to blackmail her. (Her husband is in parliament, and her son is destined to be Queen Victoria's prime minister. Her son's wife is Caroline Lamb, who had an affair with Lord Byron and wrote a book kinda about it. All that stuff is true and most of it is relevant to the story.)

Some historical mysteries (in my experience, which is slight to moderate) do a good job with the setting and historical details, and some do a good job telling an engaging mystery story, but relatively few get both right. Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen mysteries are amazing and succeed in both, and C. S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries are another, every title of which I recommend. The Rosalind Thorne series (as always, IMO) is the third that I know of that has great stories in a well-conceived historical setting.

(And all three write under pseudonyms. I wonder if that means something.)

Anyway, this is lots of fun, and I definitely recommend it. I mean, read them in order and all, but when you get a chance read this one...

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Where Rosalind Solves Another One

A Purely Private Matter by Darcie Wilde
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Second in the series. I really liked it.

This series has a great main character in Rosalind Thorne--round, complex, interesting, capable but not unbelievable--and the author has a very clear, confident voice. The Regency setting is nicely realized and the mystery plot is well managed.

Jane Austen's name is evoked here and there when people talk about this series, and I can absolutely see that and appreciate it, but this is a more worldly world than you find on most of the pages of her novels. That's not a criticism of either--there's a lot to admire and enjoy in both. But Rosalind is herself a lot more worldly than any Austen heroines, which she'd need to be to investigate murder and blackmail and adultery. It might be fun to see Emma or Elinor or Lizzie investigate in that way (though Fanny would be hopeless, I fear), and I'd read that book, but Rosalind has had a lot more practice facing the seamier side of life without freaking out or losing her composure. The series still has a dignified and proper tone, but it's much more aware and accepting of the broader society.

The point is that I'd label this series more Austen-adjacent than Austen-like.

Anyway, it's a fun mystery with excellent characters that I'm eager to see again in book 3. Recommended for readers of historical mystery. And Austen folks, for sure.

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