The Secrets of Wishtide

By: Kate Saunders

Narrated by: Anna Bentinck

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's Summary

Mrs. Laetitia Rodd, aged 52, is the widow of an archdeacon who makes her living as a highly discreet private investigator. Her brother, Frederick Tyson, is a criminal barrister living in nearby Highgate with his wife and 10 children. Frederick finds the cases, and Laetitia solves them using her arch intelligence and her immaculate cover as an unsuspecting widow. When a case arises involving the son of the highly connected Sir James Calderstone, Laetitia sets off for Lincolnshire undercover as the family's new governess - quickly making herself indispensable. But the seemingly simple case - looking into young Charles Calderstone's inappropriate love interest - soon takes an unpleasant turn. And as the family's secrets begin to unfold, Laetitia discovers the Calderstones have more to hide than most.

©2016 Kate Saunders (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Historical intrigue-

If you tire of technology and gore, but long for a good mystery, this is an inviting tale. The historical atmosphere is woven artfully and the story moves comfortably along while incorporating the many twists in the plot. Well written & well narrated.

Thoroughly enjoyable

Would you consider the audio edition of The Secrets of Wishtide to be better than the print version?

No idea--only listened

What did you like best about this story?

The characters, probably. And the fact that Letitia tends to see the good in people.

What about Anna Bentinck’s performance did you like?

She was excellent at giving each character a distinct voice, at least within each scene. I will be looking for other things she's narrated.

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

No, but then I don't particularly want an extreme reaction to a book these days

Any additional comments?

This book will be too slow for many and not violent enough for others. Another reviewer objected to the inclusion of religious references and thoughts in the book, calling it "proselytizing", but there is actually no proselytizing at all in the book, merely a handful of entirely appropriate religious references, thoughts, and language, not overdone at all. Any story that purports to take place in that time and place that contains no religious reference at all would be false to the realities of the culture, especially for the widow of a bishop!

But if those things don't put you off, and you are looking for a pleasant listen to while away a few hours, this one will do you nicely.

Great new find

I'm always on the lookout for a new British mystery series...something not too gory, not too cosy, with a little meat on the bone but nothing too serious. This fits the bill. Great length, great main character. The only issue is that the otherwise-great narrator's male character voices are laughably bad (just drop your voice a tiny bit and speak normally! Otherwise, they sound like buffoons!). But I could get past that.

Enjoyable new cozy mystery heroine

Kate Saunders has written about a dozen novels in various genres and themes including romances, magic, and historical novels. In this book she introduces a new detective hero for cozy mystery fans named Laetitia Rodd.

Set in the middle of the 19th century Rodd is a widow with no pension. She has the luck to have a brother who is a criminal lawyer in London and though this is the first book in what may be a series she has apparently helped with ticklish investigations in the past. In this particular story she's hired to investigate the background of a young woman engaged to the son of a wealthy family, Charles Calderstone. The family actually wants to dig up some dirt on the young widow in hopes of discouraging the marriage. Rodd agrees to take on the role of new governess for Charles' younger sisters giving her the chance to investigate and eavesdrop. Along with finding out about the young woman she discovers a troubled family, a buried scandal, and a villain who may well take Rodd's life.

Laetitia Rodd and her landlady/roommate Mrs. Bentley are fun characters and Saunders introduces a range of interesting servants and "posh" characters with a compelling story that flows well with a strong mystery at the core. The blurbs on the book say it's "Dickensian in scope" which was clearly written by someone who heard about Dickens but never read him. There are, however, well-written locales from Victorian England along with a book scattering of characters that have a Dickensian feel to them. I enjoyed the book and hope Saunders decides to stick with the detective in some future books. She's laid a good foundation here with some attractive recurring characters.

A Cozy with Plenty of Starch

A near-perfect Victorian mystery with an engaging clergyman's widow turned professional detective, working in partnership with her brother, a famed criminal barrister. The familiar cliches of this form are reshaped in interesting ways, thanks to Saunders' creation of a stalwart and introspective heroine. The first person voice works perfectly and Bentinck's performance has me looking for other audiobooks by her. Hoping for more from Mrs. Rodd!

Smashing Victorian Cozy

So many of the cozy series I've read lately just devolved into mind-numbing retellings of cliches and commercial hooks (pets, knitting, baking, etc.) that to stumble across a new series that takes itself and the mystery it tells seriously was kind of a shocker--in the best way possible.

I'm on board for this one, can't wait for the next installment!

Well written, well narrated.

What did you love best about The Secrets of Wishtide?

The mystery.

Any additional comments?

Hard to keep up with so many characters, but overall a good clean interesting story. Yes I would recommend to others. Narration was very enjoyable.

More, please

What did you love best about The Secrets of Wishtide?

Beautiful flowing prose about an interesting time for single women.

What did you like best about this story?

I love that the main character is highly intelligent and independent with a brother who is a celebrated criminal barrister who gives her cases to solve. His thoughtless, greedy wife, however, doesn't allow him to support his sister and wants only to use her as an unpaid governess who, instead, chooses to live indepedently with her landlady - how many of us have chosen strangers over family members who have been less than supportive?

Which character – as performed by Anna Bentinck – was your favorite?

I love this reader. She doesn't rush through the book. She makes every character clear and they are all excellent with interesting descriptions and actions to match.

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

I was interested and I hope there is a lot more of this book in a series.

Any additional comments?

Wonderful writer. Wonderful reader. Thank you.

An excellent historical mystery read!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gives a great sense of 1850 England and focuses on a woman detective who uses the fact that no one will expect a female to serve as a detective. The book deals with themes of love, forbidden and allowed, including the double standard that allowed men of the day to have lots of sexual partners but considered any woman who strayed once to be a "whore."

The book had plenty of interesting twists and a creative solution. I highly recommend it as a great read!

Really just perfect for me

This had it all for me...smart, captivating writing narrated by a master-level performer. The story, characters, and narration were just so great; I can't wait to gobble up all the stories to come. Ms. Saunders, please keep writing this series!