The Secret of the Lost Pearls

Useful Woman Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Darcie Wilde

Narrated by: Kitty Kelly

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In Darcie Wilde's captivating mystery series inspired by the novels of Jane Austen, no one is better equipped to help ladies who find themselves wronged than "useful woman" Rosalind Thorne . . .

Rosalind Thorne may not have a grand fortune of her own, but she possesses virtues almost as prized by the haut ton: discretion, and a web of connections that enable her to discover just about anything about anyone. Known as a "most useful woman," Rosalind helps society ladies in need--for a modest fee, of course--and her client roster is steadily increasing.

Mrs. Gerald Douglas, nee Bethany Hodgeson, presents Rosalind with a particularly delicate predicament. A valuable pearl necklace has gone missing, and Bethany's husband believes the thief is Nora, Bethany's disgraced sister. Nora made a scandalous elopement at age sixteen and returned three years later, telling the family that her husband was dead.

But as Rosalind begins her investigations, under cover of helping the daughters of the house prepare for their first London season, she realizes that the family harbors even more secrets than scandals. The intrigue swirling around the Douglases includes fraud, forgery, blackmail, and soon, murder. And it will fall to Rosalind, aided by charming Bow Street officer Adam Harkness, to untangle the shocking truth and discover who is a thief-and who is a killer.

©2023 Sarah Zettel (P)2022 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Another in the Same Vein...

I have enjoyed all of the books in this series, much to my surprise. I admit that when I saw the first book, I thought "Darcie Wilde" had to be a pseudonym for a romance writer. Oh, and it's Regency England: definitely a pseudonym (and if I am wrong, I apologize, both for the assumption and for the unfortunate name). The cover art also screamed "ROMANCE NOVEL!" And I am really not a fan of that genre. The description of Miss Rosalind Thorne (really? You just had to name her that?" as a "useful woman" intrigued me just enough to take a chance. And I am glad I did. Ms Wilde crafts cleverly convoluted plots, but, more importantly, she explores all the knotty tangles of relationships that are binding (for all sorts of reasons) but also deeply flawed. I dearly wish the romance between Rosalind and Adam Harkness had that same depth of complexity and flaws that all the other relationships in these books have. This installment, #6 in the series, is much the same as all the others. You'll have to wait over half the book for the corpse to appear, but the murder mystery is the least important part of the book. I was a bit disappointed that Ms. Wilde seems to have recycled one of the characters from a previous novel: the outre, I-don't-give-a-damn young girl who takes up with a scoundrel. She's compelling in one novel, not so much in a second. I hope she doesn't turn up again, but I will listen to the next novel to find out. What this series really needs is a captivating, ongoing narrator. There have been 4 narrators in a series of 6 books so far, and I rather hope book #7 has yet another one, as I didn't care for Kitty Kelly. Such a shame Davina Porter has retired.

Good continuation of series :)

I enjoyed this 6th novel in the series. I didn’t know the series would be continued, so was thrilled to see it and couldn’t wait to listen. Darcie Wilde did an excellent job picking up where the main characters left off, and with the introduction of new characters involved in this storyline. It was a well thought out plot, with many twists and turns, that had me guessing who was guilty of what along the way. I like to learn more about the past as I listen to stories from different historical periods. Ms. Wilde does an excellent job explaining the roles of males and females, as well as the customs during this time period. I love the strong and sensible Rosalind Thorne and look forward to her next mystery. The narrator did a good job with so many voices to perform. Would highly recommend.

Lovely twists.

Story: Just as you think you have figured everything thing out the author adds a few twists at the end. Thank you!

Not the best story in this series

Rosalind and Adam are typical of previous stories but this one was rather complex in an artificial. The old English ambience was excellent

What in the TOWIE!

What is with the narrator? Perhaps she isn’t aware the main characters are from 19th century upper class London and not extras from “The only way is Essex” reality show!!!

Disappointing Narration

The narrator was very difficult to listen to & I had to force myself to just get through the book which greatly diminished my enjoyment. As per usual with this author, I found it somewhat difficult to follow the many characters & wish there was a bit more time spent both introducing & developing some of the more peripheral characters. I was glad to see some movement in the relationship with Rosalind & Adam and look forward to seeing where their careers take both of them in future books.

Narrator was okay

I was not thrilled with the narrator, but after getting through the first few chapters, it was tolerable. I really enjoyed the previous narrator, Pearl Hewitt. The story was a good addition to the series.

Latest Rosalind Thorne novel

Love Rosalind Thorne & all of her adventures but did not like this narrator. Her accent was wrong for Rosalind, Alice and the other women in higher society.

Prefer Previous Narrarator

Hard to reconcile these characters interpretation with the well established personas from previous books. I am sure she is good at other novels, struggled with this one.

Did not like the narrator

I like the Rosalyn books. I was sad they changed the narrator. She made it hard to follow. Please bring back the original narrator.