The Secret of the Lady's Maid

Useful Woman Mysteries, Book 2

By: Darcie Wilde

Narrated by: Kitty Kelly

Rosalind Thorne's quick wits and discretion have proved invaluable to London's haut ton. Success has at last brought her financial stability and a new home, which she shares with her best friend, Alice Littlefield. But now trouble has infiltrated Rosalind's sanctuary, and the reputations in danger include her own.

Alice has formed a tender attachment to Amelia, the maid in their employ, and her affection is returned. But before meeting Alice, Amelia was involved with Cate Levitton, daughter of a well-respected family. The scandalous liaison caused the Levittons to banish Cate to the house of her widowed cousin. Amelia has no expectation of seeing Cate again—until she stumbles upon her in the marketplace, looking deathly ill.

The women bring Cate to their home with the help of Bow Street officer Adam Harkness, who deduces that Cate's sickness may in fact be arsenic poisoning. But who had motive, or means? As Rosalind and Adam work side by side, their suspicions grow—as does the bond between them. Rosalind knows that both her blossoming relationship with Adam and her increasing independence would be frowned upon by society. Poison, politics, jealousy and jewel thieves combine in Rosalind's most complex case yet. But to solve this dangerous puzzle, Rosalind must also decide where her heart and her future lie . . .

©2024 Sarah Zettel (P)2024 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Disappointing

In any series that continues for awhile, eventually one installment will be a disappointment...that was this book for me. The plot seemed contrived and thin; the narration was full of odd inflections and mispronunciations. Nothing about this title was of the caliber I have come to expect from this author or series.

Narrator is ruining the story for me

I have enjoyed the storyline for this series and loved the previous narrator, but the current narrator is making this book difficult to follow. Another reviewer commented on the inflections, and I concur with that, plus the pace of her reading and the odd inflections don’t seem appropriate for the story. I have listened to samples of this narrator on a couple of other books and her cadence is much better than for this series, so I believe she could be better here. Unfortunately, it became so unnerving after an hour, that I quit listening.

Who was the poisoner?

The love of money is again at the root of murder. It took the minds of a lady and a bow street runner to get to the the true murder.

Distracting inflection

I am never picky about the voice performer. In this case, I just couldn’t get past the distracting way the reader inserts up-and down inflections (if that’s the word for it) at seemingly random points in most sentences. Result is that statements sound like questions and there’s just a strange cadence. Voice acting is otherwise good, but the inflections threw me off.

Best Rosaline Thorne to date

Story twists and nuances were intricate and interesting. Rosalind is maturing with complexities and I look forward to the next novel.