Baroness Emmuska Orczy is best known for her Scarlet Pimpernel series, but in 1910 a set of her short stories was the first to feature a female detective, Molly Robertson-Kirk. Like her real-life counterparts who appeared a decade later, Lady Molly makes a great detective because she recognizes clues foreign to the experience of her…
Tag: mystery/thriller
Review: Pies and Prejudice
Ella Mae LeFaye bakes a mean pie, just about the only thing going right in her life. A failed marriage has driven her back to Georgia and the town from which she thought she’d finally escaped. Her mother and three aunts are there to welcome her with open arms…and a family secret. Ella Maye opens…
Review: The Book of Madness and Cures
Committed to following in her father’s footsteps through the world of medicine, Gabriella Mondini has worked for years to become a legitimate doctors, despite the sexism of 1590 Venice. But when her father — her patron in the male-dominated society — goes missing, Gabriella’s already-precarious position becomes even more so. Using clues in the letters…
DNF: The Name of the Rose
It’s 1327, and Brother William Baskerville and his companion (monk-in-training Adso of Melk) have just arrived at an unnamed abbey somewhere in Italy or France. A resident of the abbey has committed suicide — or possibly been murdered — and the abbot has requested that William investigate. William hopes for a quick resolution, but the…
Review: Nine Coaches Waiting
Linda Martin arrives in France expecting little excitement or trouble. Her young charge — the nine year-old Count Philippe de Valmy — is a well-behaved child, and the work of governess is not strenuous. However, something about the Château Valmy feels…oppressive. Philippe is terrified of his uncle Leon, the family trustee, whose paralysis is no…