THE MYSTERY WOMAN – Amanda Quick
A Ladies of Lantern Street Novel , Book 2
Putnam (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-399-15909-1
April 2013
Historical Paranormal Romance

Victorian England

The ladies of Lantern Street were introduced in April 2012 in Ms. Quick's CRYSTAL GARDENS. They work for the Flint and Marsh Agency that is seemingly a domestic employment firm placing professional governesses and lady's companions in the homes of the wealthy. What they really are, however, is a private inquiry agency, and the ladies all have some kind of psychical talent that helps them ferret out villains. Our story opens with our heroine, Miss Beatrice Lockwood, escaping a dreadful and dangerous situation. A change of place and profession is definitely in order. . . .

Some months later, we find Beatrice—now working for Flint and Marsh—at a ball in the guise of a lady's companion. She saves a young heiress from abduction by a fortune hunter with the help of a stranger only to find herself in danger as well. It seems her past may have caught up with her, though the danger does not come from the man who helped her. Joshua Gage was looking for Miss Lockwood, not to harm her, but as a possible suspect in a blackmail scheme connected to her former employment.

Gage is a very interesting fellow, a former spy known as The Messenger who performed many missions for the Crown. His last year was spent recuperating in the country after a disaster that left him with a scarred face and a gimpy leg. He was near despair until sent for by his sister. Beatrice and Gage get to know each other and begin to work together. Two people could not be more different. Beatrice is a strong psychic while Gage scoffs at the paranormal. He's a controlled, logical man, given to looking for rational explanations for everything; she is much in tune with her feelings. Yet there exists a powerful—though not acknowledged—connection between the two.

THE MYSTERY WOMAN has a complex and intriguing set of plotlines with multiple characters, good and evil. Who is after Beatrice and for what nefarious plot does he need her? That is only one of the mysteries in this series you don't want to miss. Another of the Ladies of Lantern Street who shared a London house has a story yet to be told. What does the author have in store for Clarissa Slate?

Jane Bowers