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Summary

A debutante-turned-spy and a Bow Street Runner join forces to crack mysteries on London's streets. 

Stats

Genre: Adult historical mystery (regency England)

Series length: Two currently

Violence: Moderate, no gore (e.g. vandalized gallery, dead body, chase scenes, kidnapping)

Magic/Supernatural: None 

Romance: Light (e.g. the attraction of the hero and heroine to each other)

Christian/spiritual element: Light but explicit. Heroine struggles with the conundrum of faith and the necessity of deception for spy; the hero deals with anger with family.

Recommendation: Readers who enjoy cozy mysteries and regency England.

You might like this book if you liked... 
​Miss Scarlet and the Duke

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Opening Lines: 

"If you lean out any farther, you'll wind up in the drink. Which, I suppose, would be an fitting end to this disaster of a trip." Lady Juliette Thorndike ducked her chin and turned away from the fresh breeze, the deck rocking gently under her feet. Her heart pounded beneath her woolen cloak as she reached the end of one journey and anticipated embarking on a wholly new one. 

The Debutante's Code
(Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries #1) 
by Erica Vetsch

Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series

Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn't spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love. But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They've been living double lives as government spies--and they're only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family's legacy.

Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spy craft. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors--not to mention nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner Daniel Swann, who suspects her of a daring theft.

Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents' last mission? Or will it lead her to a terrible end?

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Opening Lines: 

The problem with concealing a weapon beneath a day dress at a social gathering became all too apparent to Lady Juliette Thorndike the moment she sat beside the Dowager Duchess of Haverly. Juliette had only worn the pistol because, following her abduction last month, Uncle Bertie had insisted she never again go anywhere unarmed. Though she couldn't think of a single reason she would need a weapon at a small party hosted in her parents' home, she had decided to humor him. And now here she was, less than a half hour into that party, and the strap holding the pistol against her thigh had shifted and loosened, the gun parting company with her leg. 

At least she hadn't been standing when the defection occurred, but now what? 

Millstone of Doubt
(Thorndike & Swann Regency Mysteries #2) 
by Erica Vetsch

Regency London's detective duo is back on a new case--and this one is going to be a killer.

Caught in the explosion of the Hammersmith Mill in London, Bow Street Runner Daniel Swann rushes to help any survivors only to find the mill's owner dead of an apparent gunshot.

Even though the owner's daughter, Agatha Montgomery, mourns his death, it seems there are more than a few people with motive for murder. But Daniel can't take this investigation slow and steady. Instead, he must dig through all the suspects as quickly as he can, because the clock is ticking until his mysterious patronage--and his job as a runner--comes to an abrupt and painful end. It seems to Daniel that, like his earthly father, his heavenly Father has abandoned him to the fates.

Lady Juliette Thorndike is Agatha's bosom friend and has the inside knowledge of the wealthy London ton to be invaluable to Daniel. She should be in a perfect position to help with the case. Still, her instructor in the art of spy craft orders her to stay out of the investigation. But circumstances intervene, dropping her into the middle of the deadly pursuit.

When a dreadful accident ends in another death on the mill floor, Daniel discovers a connection to his murder case--and to his own secret past. Now he and Juliette are in a race to find the killer before his time runs out.