Laetitia Rodd and the Case of the Wandering Scholar

By: Kate Saunders

Narrated by: Anna Bentinck

Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

In 1851, private detective Laetitia Rodd is enjoying a well-earned holiday when she gets an urgent request for her services. Mrs. Rodd’s neighbor Jacob Welland is a reclusive rich gentleman dying of consumption, and he wants Mrs. Rodd to find his brother, who has been missing for 15 years. 

Joshua Welland was a scholar at Oxford, brilliant, eccentric, and desperately poor when he disappeared from the university. Friends claim to have seen him since, in gypsy camps and wandering around the countryside. But the last sighting was 10 years before - when Joshua claimed to be learning great secrets from the gypsies that would one day astound the whole world. 

Mrs. Rodd travels to Oxford and begins to search for the wandering scholar. But as she investigates, Mrs. Rodd discovers something dark - and extremely dangerous - lurking in the beautiful English countryside.

©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC

If Jane Austen were Victorian

And a childless widow, and a discreet private detective...her story might look a bit like Laetitia Rodd’s. I enjoyed the first novel and put the second on my watchlist to buy as soon as it arrived in audio. I love ‘cozy’ mysteries and this is a good example of the genre. I can’t help but admit I miss the romantic element a little and wish there might be a little romance between Inspector Blackbeard and Mrs. Rodd, but I think the author has chosen the Miss Silver/Marple/Poirot path and gives us the romances in her cast of characters.
Otherwise, an enjoyable, soothing read.

On My Way To Being A Big Fan of Laetitia Rodd

And of Kate Saunders. These two books - and one hopes, more - are very, very satisfying. They are intelligent and really well written, with very engaging characters who are both believable, and actually develop. I also love that Mrs Rodd is fifty - not a 'spritely ingenue', nor a ' wise old lady'. Although I do think these owe quite a bit to Miss Marple. And, of course, to Mr Holmes, whom I keep expecting to dash past in a handsome cab. They are NOT cute or winsome, though. Mrs Rodd comes across as completely believable, and Kate Saunders does a fantastic job of putting you right into Victorian England while somehow managing to avoid all the cliches about Victorian London, or giving a 'history lesson'. The plots are good, and also believable. But what really makes these two books sing are the characters - the secondary ones as well as the main character of Mrs Rodd herself. They are also beautifully narrated by Anna Bentinck. There is no need to read these in order. There are only two at the moment, and they both 'stand alone'. If you like Holmes, give these a try. The only thing that will make you sorry is that there aren't more of them!

Another engaging Letitia Rodd story

Todd and Blackbeard make the perfect investigative duo - she refined yet aware of the sins of those around her, he bluff and dogged on the hunt for a killer. The narrator us also amazing. I can't wait for the next episode.

More than your money's worth!

Multiple individual stories woven expertly into a single plot line in a way that draws you in without leaving you lost. Characters are not confused because you come to know each one. The narrator not only changes accents and volume, but cadence and emotion with enough consistency that names were not essential to knowing who was in the room. In two cases, the identity of an approaching character was correctly assumed because it would be just like them to show up right now. Add the fact that this story refers back and forth between the past and present, including in the provision of historical context and asides directly to the reader, and the resulting tapestry reflects the work of a master weaver.

Great story

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. The narrator was so good, again (as in the first book). I wish there were mire books, I loved the story and the characters. Highly recommend this book and the first one.

More, more please!

It is so well written and so well performed. It is captivating and it satisfies the mind and soul. It upholds a moral quality yet reveals our humanity. In some way it reminds me of the way Anne Perry concludes her novels. I guessed who the murderer was, but kept hoping that someone else would be found guilty. I hope there will be more of Laetitia Rodd. Thank you.

Long and leisurely

The author introduces so many characters and plot lines that they're hard to keep track of. I think that's kind of the point, but it was hard for me to stay connected to the story, especially in the middle. A good one for when you have a lot of leisure time to fill and can pay attention through a long story with many moving pieces.

Keep your wits about you ....don't get lost!

Second book in the series and I am a devoted fan. This one was very complicated and had both Laetitia and I running all around London and Oxford trying to sort out the many stories of many characters. The narrator is a wizard and no matter what character, gender, class, honorables and blaggards have me convinced without reservation.

Another beguiling Mrs. Rodd case

Kate Saunders writes yet another exceptional Laetitia Rodd mystery. A quarter of the way through, I thought I had the entire sorry figured out, but through twists and turns, Saunders thoroughly convinces me I might be wrong, only to find out I was right all along. I loved being bamboozled and then put to right again.

I am only dismayed at having to wait another couple of YEARS before the next story, if there is one.

As good as the first one!

Much like the first book in this series.....love the main characters, the narration is fabulous, but wow the plot and the huge cast of characters can be a bit much to keep straight in your head. Hoping a third installment is in the works, and that the author pares down the sheer number of characters in the book just a bit.