A Useful Woman
Darcie Wilde
4/5
I love a good regency era murder mystery, especially with a female detective. Rosalind Thorne is the daughter of a fallen baronet and as such, she has had to use her unique skills to carve a place for herself in society. She does so through planning and social manipulation, if a noblewoman wants someone at her party, Rosalind finesses that person into attending. She gets rid of difficult situations and she does so flawlessly.
But now, she has accidentally discovered a murder. She knows that everyone is lying, that it couldn't have been just a tragic accident, but she has no way of knowing. When the victim's sister asks for her help, she begins putting the skills which she has established through years of social navigation in order to solve the case.
I think it's a fairly realistic portrayal of the limitations which a female detective might have in the period. The limitations that a woman whose father has engaged in criminal acts might face. I didn't like the weird love triangle thing that is beginning to form, her relationship with Devon felt like a relic of her past even though he was saying some deep things. Her relationship with Mr. Harkness felt very underdeveloped, they talked like twice and then he was all the sudden swearing to protect her and all. Didn't appreciate that when Rosalind felt like such a strong woman in every other respect.
Overall though, I'd recommend this one. I love female detectives and Rosalind's character has a lot of potential. If you like Lady Darby or Veronica Speedwell as much as I do then this is a super comparable match.
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