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Secret of the Lost Pearls
Secret of the Lost Pearls | Darcie Wilde
3 posts | 3 read | 2 to read
Beyond the glittering ballrooms and elegant parties of Regency London lurk all manner of unexpected dangers. In Darcie Wilde's captivating mystery series inspired by the novels of Jane Austen and written with the wit of "Phoebe Waller-Bridge's cheeky asides in Fleabag" (Bookpage), no one is better equipped to help ladies who find themselves wronged than "useful woman" Rosalind Thorne... Rosalind Thorne may not have a grand fortune of her own, but she possesses virtues almost as prized by the haut ton discretion, and a web of connections that enable her to discover just about anything about anyone. Known as a "most useful woman," Rosalind helps society ladies in need--for a modest fee, of course--and her client roster is steadily increasing. Mrs. Gerald Douglas, ne Bethany Hodgeson, presents Rosalind with a particularly delicate predicament. A valuable pearl necklace has gone missing, and Bethany's husband believes the thief is Nora, Bethany's disgraced sister. Nora made a scandalous elopement at age sixteen and returned three years later, telling the family that her husband was dead. But as Rosalind begins her investigations, under cover of helping the daughters of the house prepare for their first London season, she realizes that the family harbors even more secrets than scandals. The intrigue swirling around the Douglases includes fraud, forgery, blackmail, and soon, murder. And it will fall to Rosalind, aided by charming Bow Street officer Adam Harkness, to untangle the shocking truth and discover who is a thief--and who is a killer.
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kspenmoll
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I love that most chapters begin with a pertinent epigraph from Jane Austin‘s Pride & Prejudice!
Rosalyn Thorne,a “most useful woman”of discretion & societal connections,is hired by Bethany Douglas,an old school friend,ostensively to find her stolen pearl necklace.Bethany‘s multi-generational family,who reside with her, harbor many secrets.Rosalind,with the help of Dec. Adam, has to wade through questions of fraud, blackmail, forgery,& murder.

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kspenmoll
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I am so enjoying this audiobook, a first in a series of mystery novels inspired by Jane Austen. Each chapter begins with a quote from Pride and Prejudice which suggests just what unfolds. #serieslove2025 #jumpstart2025 #Read2025

TheSpineView Fantastic! 1w
robinb I‘m enjoying this series so much I‘m devouring it…seriously, currently reading my 6th one! 😂 1w
DieAReader 🤓Enjoy! 1w
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kspenmoll @robinb I am excited to know there are more books ahead for me!!! 1w
robinb @kspenmoll My only issue is that there are two sets of the mysteries. The older set (5 of them) are listed as Rosalind Thorne mysteries. The newer ones (3) are listed as A Useful Woman mysteries. And unfortunately between the two of them they are not exactly in chronological order. There‘s not a big time difference but it is noticeable. Not sure why that happened? 🔻 (edited) 1w
robinb Relationship progression, location differences, etc. But you can infer things between the two sets. Maybe she stopped after the Rosalind Thorne‘s and when she started again with the Useful Woman she wanted to toggle back and forth between the two to call attention to both sets?? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1w
Andrew65 Looks a good series, well done 🎉🎉🎉 1w
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robinb
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I was pleasantly surprised by this Regency era mystery. So much so that I plan to go back and read the previous six. Rosalind Thorne has a reputation as a “Useful Woman” (she aids high society ladies who have been wronged or with any problems) in the haut ton. Even though she‘s not in possession of a fortune, she has the connections, the discretion and the intelligence to assist these ladies (for a small fee, of course). She is called on by a 🔻

robinb friend to help absolve her sister (who has a less than sterling reputation) of the theft of an expensive pearl necklace. What follows includes secrets, blackmail, fraud and ultimately murder. I loved the character development here (and I really loved Rosalind!), and not just the mains but the family (all with motives) of the friend. The mystery, which is fairly convoluted, is also well thought out and intriguing. My only caveat was that 🔻 2y
robinb I felt it was a bit long and could have been tightened up, and there were a few errors which I‘m sure editing will take care of. Looking forward to reading more of this series. 4.25/5⭐️ If anyone is interested, here‘s the first in series. (edited) 2y
Bookzombie This sounds like a good series! I stacked the first one. Thank you for including it. 🙂 2y
robinb @Bookzombie You‘re welcome. 😊 I was actually a little surprised by it. I was expecting more of a cozy, but it turned out with a little more “meat on its bones”. 🤣 2y
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