Summary

Ms. Steen is a new-to-me author, only having read the first two books in this series. I look forward to reading more of her books since I genuinely enjoy her writing style.

4.5-STAR REVIEW: LADY ODELIA’S SECRET by Jane Steen

About The Book

Scott-De Quincy Mysteries: Book 2
Publication Date: March 7, 2022

Do you ever really know your family?

In the 1880s a sixth daughter learns not to ask for much, even if she’s the daughter of an earl. Even if she married the richest man in her corner of Sussex. Even if she’s now a widow with a splendid Georgian mansion.

Lady Helena Whitcombe is still trying to adjust to widowhood and reconcile her family loyalties with her desires when her artist sister Odelia makes a startling suggestion. Why not make her mark on the house that’s now all hers, by commissioning a magnificent work of art from one of London’s most celebrated painters?

Lady Odelia invites Helena into the seductive world of medieval fantasies and fairy tales she has inhabited since Helena was a child. But when a shocking series of events exposes the destructive reality of a great artist’s unusual lifestyle, Helena and her lady’s maid Guttridge are called on to help—or is it to interfere?

Looming danger, the risk of scandal, and competing loyalties force Helena to re-evaluate her relationship with the sister she’s always loved the most.

What is Lady Odelia’s secret? Find out in this gripping continuation of the Scott-De Quincy Mysteries, a story that blends mystery and historical detail with Downton Abbey-style saga as the truths about Helena’s aristocratic family unfold. Read it now before the secret gets out!

Buy Links

Amazon Barnes & Noble iBooks Kobo
Add to Goodreads

The Review

Lady Odelia’s Secret is the second book in the Scott-De Quincy’s Mysteries series by Jane Steen, and it did not disappoint. We pick up where the first book, Lady Helena Investigates, leaves off. 

The story is set in the late 1800s in London and a small town in Sussex, where Lady Helena and her family reside. There is a darkness to the story as, of course, there are crimes to solve, especially when they keep escalating in damage and danger. Will Lady Helena and her lady’s maid be able to solve this case as they put their heads together to try and piece clues together?

The art world plays a large part in the story, and Odelia, or “O” as she likes to be called, likes to live in London to be near her artist friends and one in particular. We learn a lot about “O,” and Helena feels shock after shock as things unfold about her and feels she never really knew her sister. 

The story has a wonderful flow, with several stories told within the novel. The characters have a depth to them, and there’s a richness to the story. I liked that Lady Helena continues her friendship with the French doctor and his sister and that she might still be in mourning but is living her life the way she wants to.

There is some ugliness throughout, as well as memories shared. We learn of demons and a lifestyle that Lady Helena can’t fathom her sister living. There are twists and turns to the story as well as closure. The cover is spot on.

Ms. Steen is a new-to-me author, only having read the first two books in this series. I look forward to reading more of her books since I genuinely enjoy her writing style.

If you like some romance thrown into your mysteries, Scott-De Quincy’s Mysteries might be a series you’d enjoy!

About The AuthorJane Steen writes series set in the late Victorian period, with an unputdownable blend of mystery, family saga, romance, and the real-life issues facing women of the era. She is an indie author who began her career while living in Illinois, later moving with her American husband to her native England. When not working, she can be found walking through the green and muddy Sussex countryside, getting her cobwebs blown away on the nearby beaches, lovingly tending her garden, or sticking her nose into yet another book.

WebsiteFacebookTwitterGoodreadsAmazon-SocialBookbub

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, April 4
Review at Coffee and Ink
Interview at Novels Alive
Review at Gwendalyn’s Books

Tuesday, April 5
Review at Bonnie Reads and Writes

Wednesday, April 6
Interview at Passages to the Past

Thursday, April 7
Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Friday, April 8
Review at Novels Alive
Review at View from the Birdhouse

REVIEW AUTHOR

JoAnne
JoAnne
JoAnne Weiss, nee Montalbano, was born and raised in NYC until moving to CT with her family when she was 16 and she's never left. Married for 43 years with one grown son, she works in an elementary school office where she's been since it opened in 2003. Prior to that, she was an accountant in several corporations before becoming a stay at home mom for 12 years. JoAnne enjoys reading, traveling, spending time with her family, and extended family as well as with friends. She enjoys cooking and rarely uses a recipe the way it was intended but instead uses them and cooking shows to give her new ideas and suggestions. JoAnne has a huge bucket list of places she'd like to visit but has been lucky enough to travel to England, Italy, the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, and many states in the U.S. including Hawaii, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Maine among others. Some of JoAnne's favorite genres include contemporary romance, chick-lit, romantic suspense, and historical romances including regency and those set in the west. JoAnne is on several author's street teams and enjoys interacting with many of them on Facebook as well as reading their newsletters. She has been lucky enough to meet some of her favorite authors among them Susan Mallery, Debbie Macomber, Nora Roberts, Meg Tilly, Beatriz Williams, and Marie Bostwick. JoAnne took a road trip with her sister in the fall of 2019 and visited Nora Roberts' bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland for an authors' signing. She hopes to do more of this in the future. JoAnne leaves reviews for all books she reads on Goodreads and her reviews can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5001736?ref=nav_mybooks JoAnne currently reviews for - NovelsAlive.com. Previously she reviewed for Romancing-the-Book.com and RomanceJunkies.com both of which have since closed. Payment is in the form of receiving free books to read and review. Her mantra is too many books and not enough time!

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -
Ms. Steen is a new-to-me author, only having read the first two books in this series. I look forward to reading more of her books since I genuinely enjoy her writing style.4.5-STAR REVIEW: LADY ODELIA'S SECRET by Jane Steen