The Secret of the Lady's Maid

Useful Woman Mysteries, Book 2

By: Darcie Wilde

Narrated by: Kitty Kelly

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

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

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.

Loved it.

Best one yet in the series. Thank you! Cannot wait for the next installment. There were fabulous twists and turns!

Great series

Excellent series, mysteries and characters both. It’s in a time period that is not written about as much, and the descriptions of settings and customs are quite good.

Great story!!

I love all the Rosalind Thorne/Useful Woman mysteries! I really enjoy the way Darcy Wilde spins a story and keeps you guessing until the end. The only thing I’d change going back to using Sarah Nichols for the narration because she really understood the characters and differentiated each personality. The others have all been good but Kitty Kelly isn’t my favorite.

An overly complex plot which strained credulity

I have enjoyed the other books in this series more. I found the reader a distraction. She actually was very good for the male voices as well as for the Indian housekeeper/cook. But I found the female voices unpleasant and distracting. There were several plot threads which were not fully developed or resolved. This made for an unsatisfying conclusion. But I enjoyed the mutual support the female characters gave each other. There was a strong feminist theme to the plot and this made it a worthwhile listen for me. And the two main protagonists are moving forward, very slowly, with their relationship. The conclusion leads me to hope the next installment will be off to a very good start.

Least Favorite in the Series

I've enjoyed this series very much, more than I expected. But this latest installment falls short of the previous entries. The mystery just isn't very interesting, and the characters are either bland or cliched. The narrator didn't help in this regard. The daring and imposing woman at the center of the mystery is rendered as stilted and oddly breathless. Adam Harkness reaches a crisis point in his Bow Street career, is threatened with being prosecuted for treason, and then, poof...it all just disappears. I thought I had skipped a chapter, but no. And finally, the ending was just too pat and left me thinking, "Yeah, right..."