The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies (Goodman)
by Alison Goodman (2021)
(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)
This was recommended on the Brooklyn Public Library page as something that I might be interested in. I read it and listened to most of it. If I finish reading first, I'm less likely to finish the audio before it needs to be returned.
Note that the cover is inaccurate because even though the two sisters are twins, one is several inches taller than the other.
The book is a high society amateur detective story set in the heart of Regency London. Several stories in fact. Lady Augusta Colebrook, “Gus,” is determinedly unmarried, bored by society life, and tired of being dismissed at the age of forty-two. She and her twin sister, Julia, who is grieving her dead betrothed, need a distraction. One soon presents to rescue their friend’s goddaughter, Caroline, from her violent husband.
Along the way, they are attacked by and manage to subdue a highwayman, who isn't exactly what he appears to be. They use the man to pose as their brother, who they claim was wounded by a highwayman, to get to Caroline. When the man awakes, he sees no choice but to continue the ruse and is instrumental in getting away. Gus is terribly smitten with him as she's never been before, but he knows that they could never be together for it would ruin her, and he would surely hang.
They eventually get reunited for another case, and Gus becomes determined to prove the man's innocence.
This was an enjoyable (though a little long) book. I would read another in the series.
If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs.
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