Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A witty, feminist mystery set in the heart of 19th century London, this daring adventure featuring an intrepid woman detective will thrill fans of Deanna Raybourn and Katharine Schellman. London, 1894. Albertine Honeycombe never wanted a husband, and certainly not the one that her cousin, Aubrey, is trying to marry her off to. She creates a persona: Countess Von Dagga, a private detective aiding the upper echelons of women in society. As the Countess, she is a married woman, to a fictitious man, which allows her to move through the ton with more freedom.
When Lord Leech, one of her targets, is murdered, Albertine is suspect number one - having been the last person to see him. And when the Duke of Erleigh comes looking for her utterly fictitious husband, she realizes she has landed herself in hot water, without a tea bag. When Albertine also becomes the prime suspect in her fictional husband's death, things are looking grim.
Unless Albertine can prove who murdered Lord Leetch, and keep the whereabouts of her fictional husband and her real name under wraps, her choices are step-mothering enough small children to start a school or hanging from the end of Her Majesty's rope.