Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books, for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book for review.

This book is imbued with a captivating blend of historical mystery and subtle romance.

At the heart of the tale is Rosalind Thorne, a resourceful female detective dedicated to aiding high-society women who find themselves mired in perplexing predicaments. In this particular installment, her keen intellect and intuition prove instrumental in assisting three women and unraveling a murder mystery. The narrative astutely delves into her professional life and provides an insightful glimpse into her world, enriching her character portrayal.

Jack Harkness, a steadfast Bowstreet Runner, emerges as the embodiment of moral rectitude. His unwavering sense of duty resonates profoundly, rendering him a character that readers will find immensely likable.

The narrative crackles with the palpable tension between Rosalind and Adam, their mutual attraction simmering beneath the surface. However, they grapple with the societal norms and familial obligations that threaten to keep them apart, adding a layer of angst to their burgeoning relationship.

Supporting characters, Alice and Amelia, contribute significantly to the story's progression. Their tumultuous sapphic romance is filled with emotional complexity, yet they play a crucial role in driving the plot forward.

The story not only unravels a gripping mystery but also delves into the complexities of human motives, making solving the mystery an exhilarating experience. The narrative's compelling nature encourages readers to follow Rosalind and Adam's journey closely.

Despite being the seventh installment in the Rosalind Thorne series, the book can be appreciated as a standalone read. As a first-time reader of the series, I can affirm that I didn't feel like I missed out on anything.

One thing I love about Darcie Wilde's historical mysteries is that they always have a wonderfully convoluted plot. And these plots seem to always revolve around families, the good, the bad, and the ugly. This one is no exception. Each book also seems to progress, inch by inch, the relationship between the useful woman, Rosalind, and the Bow Street Runner, Adam. This particular story is very satisfying in all regards!

Adam Harkness is looking for someone who has committed treason and Rosalind is looking for someone who has poisoned Cate in this latest in a long running series set in 1820 London. Rosalind and her friend Amelia who work more or less as fixer for society, find themselves baffled by events surrounding Cate, who was sent away by her family for what was seen as an unseemly friendship with Amelia. Normally, Adam would help but he's got his own troubles. The two different cases in some ways muddle the narrative (it helps to be familiar with the politics of the period) but the characters are good as are the atmospherics. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. I've only read two of the preceding books and appreciated how Wilde catches the reader up on the relationships- making this just fine as a standalone.

The setting in this story is immersive, with dark coffee shops, strolls through Hyde Park, plenty of fog, and thorough explanations of London policing in 1820. I enjoyed this story and I easily put myself in the role of Rosalind our main character. She is smart, brave, and willing to get in the trenches to solve a mystery. This is a mystery centered on a young amateur sleuth Rosalind Thorne. In 1820 London, Rosalind and her dear friend Alice Littlefield have recently moved in together, and Alice has developed feelings for the pair’s maid, Amelia. At Amelia’s previous place of employment, she’d fallen in love with her employer’s daughter, Cate Levitton. While fetching supplies for Rosalind and Alice at a local market one morning, Amelia stumbles into Cate, who appears to be on death’s door and brings her back to Rosalind and Alice. With the help of police officer Adam Harkness, Rosalind’s love interest, the two friends determine Cate has been poisoned. As the group digs into potential foul play, Adam works to uncover a government spy instigating treason in Westminster, only to find out that the poisoning and the treason may be linked. I will continue with this series.

Rosalind Thorne has made a place for herself solving problems for the haut ton and now has some financial security. The problem she's trying to solve this time is the most complicated that she has ever faced. Cate Levitton has run away from home and found herself at Rosalind's home after collapsing in the park.

Cate's previous relationship with Rosalind's maid Amelia was the cause of Amelia losing her job. Now she has shown up dying of arsenic poisoning and lying about nearly everything. She won't say why she left home. When Rosalind goes to investigate, she finds a very dysfunctional family situation. Her aunt is the one with all the money in the family which fosters all kinds of resentment in Cate's oldest brother who is a jealous man. The younger of Cate's brothers tries to make peace between all parties but his efforts usually make situations worse instead of better. Her fiancé is her aunt's protegee and isn't really interested in Cate. In fact, he's having an affair with Cate's sister-in-law. And all of them are lying and keeping secrets about something.

While Rosalind is trying to untangle all the lies and secrets, her love Adam Harkness is having his own issues as a Bow Street Runner. He feels that the Runners are more interested in doing the political thing instead of the right thing concerning a group of men accused of treason. He's facing pressure from his colleagues as he tries to find out the truth about the treason plot. He has also been approached by a radical Member of Parliament who has offered a life-changing reward for finding one of the conspirators which his colleagues don't want found.

This story had a lot of viewpoint shifts and had a nicely twisty plot. I liked the look at the culture of the time period and sympathized with the tough decision Rosalind had to make.

Rosalind Thorne is a great characters and Darcie Wilde delivers another well plotted and intriguing historical mystery.
Well researched, compelling, a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is a mystery set in 1820 in England. This is the 7th book in the series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this one didn't spoil the previous mysteries.

I'm feeling confused by how this ended. Adam's storyline was his struggle to make a big choice: do what he thought was right (arresting two criminals, one of whom was a Bow Street informant) and losing his job or letting his Bow Street friends deal with their mutual case without him. He made his decision but then never carried through on it one way or the other. It just kind of was forgotten as Adam got caught up in Rosalind's case.

Also, criminals walked free. With two women in Rosalind's case, the idea seemed to be that since they're oppressed women and were sorry they were caught, Rosalind and Alice (and Adam) would just overlook what they did as they felt the legal punishment was too severe for the crime. I still wanted them to have some negative consequences for their actions, but both end up in better circumstances than before.

This was a clue-based puzzle mystery. Rosalind asked good questions and collected information, but it took her the longest time to figure out how Cate was poisoned when I figured that out very quickly. Whodunit was guessable, and I guessed correctly long before Rosalind. Historical details were woven into the story. However, Rosalind kept waffling between wanting Adam and preferring to keep her social status and independence. While there were no sex scenes, there was plenty of intense kissing in private. There was occasional bad language.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

Poison, politics, jealousy and jewel thieves combine in Rosalind’s most complex case yet. Exploring and strengthening relationships are really the cornerstone of this book. Yes, there's the mystery of a poisoned woman and missing jewels, but Wilde's strength has always been in the development of her characters; Alice and Amelia, Rosalind and Adam, and the acceptance and support they have for each other with "unconventional" relationships.

How is it possible for each new Useful Woman Mystery to be even better than the last? Because it’s true! By focusing on Rosalind and Adam (and their families, friends, coworkers, & how they all intertwine), the series is smarter, sharper, and swoonier than ever. They both have serious decisions to make, which then informs and affects how they handle their cases. And the mystery in The Secret of the Lady’s Maid is a doozy - so many twists, turns and red herrings. Fortunately, this book left me feeling good about our favorite useful woman’s future, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

3.5/5 stars

OK, I'm going to disclose here that I've only read the previous book (#6) of this series. And as this is 7th, I'm going to preface my review by saying that I think I should have read the series in order. While I've been able to grasp the gist of the story, there are developments and nuances of the characters that I felt I've missed along the way.

There are two mysteries here...one for Rosalind regarding some poisonings and the intrigue, greed and disfunction of a family of the ton. Meanwhile, Adam is investigating a possible government coverup which could land him without a job and possibly charged with treason.

While the dual stories were fine, I found the back and forth between the cases a little disjointed and tiresome. I would much rather have more interaction between the mains with the focus on working together on one case at a time. I also felt that certain social/conduct mores of the period were not correctly adhered to/portrayed...which is irksome to me.

But again, this is one of those series that I feel I should delve deeper into by starting at the beginning and working forward. So, I do plan to at least give the first book a try and see if I'd like to pursue reading the rest.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing the free early arc of The Secret of the Lady's Maid for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

I love this series but to me this felt like a transition book to get us to the next phase of the story. The underlying mysteries were a little convoluted but ultimate moved the overarching story of the series to it's next phase. Rosalind and Adam are two of my favorites and I'm very much looking forward to their next adventure!

I really enjoy historical fiction making this book a good fit. I didn’t realize it was part of a series. Reading it as a stand alone did not distract from the story, although I do plan to read the rest of the series. The main characters are caught in the social restraints of the time period.

I haven't yet disliked a Rosalind Thorne book, and this is no exception.

Characters: Adam and Rosalind continue to be one of my favorite problem-solving couples in fiction. I adore their quiet steadiness, and the very realistic way that their relationship is portrayed. However, I wish that we had a LOT more than a few kisses and tender looks at this point. I do appreciate that there haven't been magical solutions to their situation, but I don't think it needed to take 7 books to get here. I love the way that Adam is staying true to himself and that Rosalind is finding the bravery to actually voice what she's thinking- and that she supports him. I definitely have a lot of highlights in their interactions!

As for Alice and Amelia- I don't think their characters have as much oomph, especially Amelia. It doesn't feel like she was meant to last this many books, and Alice's character has suffered as well because of it. Her spunk and snappiness is hidden here until the very end of the book. Neither of them feel fully drawn, and that may have been because we had other POVs added in this book as well.

Plot: There was a lot going on here. We've had treason plots before AND we've had unlikeable women hiring Rosalind before, both executed well. But including both in this book was an issue for me. It's extremely intricate and you can tell Wilde did a lot of research, but Rosalind's not-so-missing lady plot loomed large and meant we didn't get enough explanation about the Cato Street dealings and the weight of it all. Maybe I just really, really disliked Cate (the "missing" lady in Rosalind's case). I also think Amelia is the weakest character, and spending basically an entire book on her backstory kept me from caring much.

It took a long time to get everything set for the reveals, but the finale was exciting and this book was unputdownable from about the 80% mark to the end.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book. It's a solid installment, but I do think it ended up being more of a bridge. The ending seems to open up a lot more possibilities for Adam and Rosalind going forward, rather than circling around the same non-options (which is so exciting!!) As always, both mysteries are exceptionally researched, hard to figure out, and definitely jaw-dropping. Wilde has a perfect feel for pacing (just when I think 'hey, I miss Adam,' BOOM, there he is) and though this is a more complex book, I enjoyed all of it. Can't wait for the next one!

I still can't believe that the turning point has finally arrived for Rosalynd and Adam, and as usual the author leaves things very vague, but never more so than in this case, the story behind the novel, however well organized, was but a side dish to what for me was THE MAIN STORY.

Non riesco ancora a credere che finalmente sia arrivato il momento della svolta per Rosalynd ed Adam, e come al solito l'autrice lascia le cose molto vaghe, ma mai come in questo caso, la storia alla base del romanzo, per quanto ben organizzata, non era che un contorno per quella che per me era LA STORIA principale.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

I thank the author, NetGalley and Kensington Books for access to this ARC.

Sadly, this installment in the series did not work well for me. It was a muddled plot, the historical treasonous event never grabbed my interest. We spent too much time with Adam, and not enough with Rosalind, whose success seems to have changed her and not for the better. She's become very much in demand and is ranging outside the titled realms of society. But in this case, I didn't find the characters interesting or exciting.

I persevered and finished the novel. The author seems to be setting up for a happy next chapter, with new options for both Rosalind and Adam. I wish them both well.

Two stars.

Amazing!! This series is a favorite of mine & this installment had me on the edge of my seat on many different levels. I loved the split between multiple POVs, & especially the balance between Rosalind & Adams separate investigations & their unique killings over their relationship. I was excited about Rosalinds’ concerns & motivations towards the relationship & potential future, as they were relatable to me & are almost NEVER applied to heroines in novels, I appreciated this characterization. The author continues to deliver edge of your seat mysteries where the villain is not super obvious, which I love. Most mysteries are pretty formulaic & it tends to be easy to spot the villain but this author dies a better job of keeping one guessing than most. I almost never figure out who her villain is before about the 90% mark. Her character & relationship development is top notch, the slow burn is to die for, and the examination of class, gender, & social commentary is always wonderfully woven throughout both subtly & strongly. A great balance. Can’t wait for the next one.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Kensington Books. All opinions are my own, and I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Historical Romance, Historical Mystery
Spice Level: Low (intimacy is mentioned but not explicitly)
Representation: Lesbian relationships, Different classes in love

I adore the Regency and Victorian time period in fiction. The mystery and the business of Rosalind trying to help the ton is delightful.

And Adam is back! I loved the push and pull in the relationship between Rosalind and Adam. Such a set of conundrums! And his work as an officer puts him in such sticky situations. The tension between him and his superior officers is perfect.

The maid, Amelia, struck me as wishy-washy. How can she be attracted to someone who she knows is manipulative? Does this happen all the time in real life? Unfortunately, yes. So maybe it is realistic, but I hated that part because I wanted to shake her to her senses.

I enjoyed this book and hope you do too.

Happy reading!

That's really a 3.5 stars rounded.

Thrilled to read this ahead of its publication!

As always the mystery is somewhat convoluted and I struggled to make sure I was understanding everything. I appreciate when Rosalind and Adam’s work collide but it does stretch the bounds of reality a bit here.

While I’m happy for Alice and Amelia I do think I lost a bit of interest in their relationship this book just because I felt Amelia was hiding too much and not deserving of Alice’s trust.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Rosalind and Adam’s new roles shake out!

Some edits that may be necessary:

Prologue
Using “His grace” for an Earl again - incorrect use of terms of address
It says “Townsend” when it should say “Tauton” I believe regarding who came along with Adam for the mission

Chapter 38
Repeat of Sanderson asking Rosalind what to do next - except his question is phrased differently and her response is the same? If the idea is to call it back to the previous chapter, then maybe best to use the same lines so it doesn’t look like he is repeating himself

Chapter 54
Wilhelmina isn’t Marianne’s daughter in law? She’s Beatrice’s? Marianne is her husband’s aunt as noted in the epilogue…

This book was exactly what I was looking for! I was craving a historical mystery with some romance and this fit the bill. The characters are a diverse set of people and I loved the diversity. This is the 2nd of two books and while I do wish I had the first book before hand I was never lost in the story or what was going on. This was very well written and I will be reading more from Darcie and recommending this book to my book club and friends. Of note this is a relatively clean romance with no spicy scenes.