The Mystery Woman

Ladies of Lantern Street Series, Book 2

By: Amanda Quick

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The new Ladies of Lantern Street novel from Amanda Quick explores the crimes, passions, and paranormal secrets of Victorian London.

Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood’s gown, a pistol waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission - and with a secret past - and she must be prepared to fight for her life at any moment.

Yet she is thrown oddly off guard by the fierce-looking man who joins her in foiling a crime outside a fancy ball - and then disappears into the shadows, leaving only his card. His name is Joshua Gage, and he claims to know Beatrice’s employers. Beyond that, he is an enigma with a hypnotically calm voice and an ebony-and-steel cane....

Joshua, who carries out clandestine investigations for the Crown, is equally intrigued. He has a personal interest in Miss Lockwood, a suspected thief and murderer, not to mention a fraudster who claims to have psychical powers. The quest to discover her whereabouts has pulled him away from his mournful impulses to hurl himself into the sea - and engaged his curiosity about the real Beatrice Lockwood, whose spirit, he suspects, is not as delicate as her face and figure.

He does know one thing, though: This flame-haired beauty was present the night Roland Fleming died at the Academy of the Occult. Guilty or not, she is his guide to a trail of blood and blackmail, mesmerism and madness - a path that will lead both of them into the clutches of a killer who calls himself the Bone Man....

©2013 Amanda Quick (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

No Guns Allowed?

As usual, The Ladies of Lantern Street Series is excellent. The Mystery Woman story is well constructed and follows the standard Jayne Ann Krentz formula. The only problems I ever have with her books is her need to explain every mystery down to the last detail by having her villains confess to each criminal action or her by having her leading characters lay down every single fact. It gets very, very annoying. The other flaw in her otherwise great stories is her aversion to firearms of any kind. You will not find a single story by the author where guns are used to an advantage by any of her leading ladies or gentleman. She just flat won't allow it. Of course, in real life guns are used daily to both save lives and take them. It's an aspect of life that will never go away; except in Jayne Ann Krentz, Amanda Quick, or Jayne Castle stories. If you didn't already know, they are all the same person.

With these exceptions in mind, I highly recommend this paranormal series. They are outstanding stories!

In a hurry to meet a deadline?

Any additional comments?

Good hero. Good storyline. Not near enough romance. I felt like the author was in a hurry to finish writing it so she could get to the next one. I adore Amanda Quick novels. There just wasn't the emotion in this one I have come to expect.

Loved it

One of my favorites. Great storyline. Had all my favorite storylines. Would love a sequel with them!

Fantastic reader

Justine Eyre is the best female reader I have heard. Some parts of romance novels are embarrassing to listen to, and are usually read with a lot of drama and seriousness, but she injects a slight amount of playfulness which makes them seem more fun and a lot less ridiculous.

Did not fail

This one of the trilogy was just as good as the others. Amanda Quick is a superb storyteller no matter what period she sets her tales in. Big time fan and the audio readings only make me fall in love with her more.

Amanda Quick does it again!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I would definitely recommend this to a friend. It was an enjoyable book. I enjoyed the first book of this series and I am looking forward to the next one.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Joshua was my favorite character. I loved his sayings and how he interacted with Bea.

Which character – as performed by Justine Eyre – was your favorite?

That is hard to say I guess I would say Bea.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Bea realized she would never be alone again.

Any additional comments?

Jayne Anne Krentz writes under several different names, several different genres and it is amazing how good she is in all of them. I am always looking for her out of print books and I am glad that she is reissuing some of them.

Mystery Woman

Would you consider the audio edition of The Mystery Woman to be better than the print version?

I didn't enjoy the audio version of this one. I was really dissapointed. Listening to Joshua was almost painful

Who was your favorite character and why?

Beatrice was a good character, typical of the series

Would you listen to another book narrated by Justine Eyre?

I'm not sure. The voice for Beatrice was fine but the voice for Joshua took me out of the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I wanted to like it more than I did.

Any additional comments?

I will read in again next month to see if I like it better than the audio version. I'll read the third one if it comes out. I liked the story but the romance fell flat for me, maybe it was the voice.

Another entertaining mystery

The narrator as always was very good. This hAs an interesting twist and I am beginning to see how she builds her next book by adding new characters that you will likely see as the main character in a successive novel. I know others do this but I have read Ms Quick's books far enough apart that I have not picked up on the multiple connections until now

Better story than reader

Amanda Quick delivers as usual. the story was up to standards. The performance, not so much. Her accent takes away from the book.

Good book

I don't usually listen to romances but I love Amanda Quick's books. they add a bit of spice and mystery.