A Lark's Tale

by Lynn Messina

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Pub Date Sep 02 2022 | Archive Date Aug 11 2022

The Book Whisperer

General Fiction (Adult) | Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction

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Description

Verity Lark knows everything.

As the London Daily Gazette’s popular gossip columnist, she is extremely adept at sneaking into houses, assuming disguises and overseeing a vast network of spies to ensure she stays abreast of the beau monde’s comings and goings. If it sometimes seems as though she was hiding behind the settee during a particularly fierce quarrel between a husband and his wife, it’s most likely because she was hiding behind the settee during their fierce quarrel.

But nobody knows her.

Writing under a pen name, Verity safeguards her anonymity via an elaborately constructed alter ego. Seemingly everywhere, Mr. Twaddle-Thum is in fact nowhere. He has never met with an informant or skulked in a dark alley. He simply does not exist. That is why she is so startled to discover he has recently been spotted at a variety of locations. A Twaddle-Sham is knocking about London and in such a ham-handed manner he is inciting people to murder.

At least that’s what Verity thinks is happening when she stumbles across a plot to kill him.

Or her.

Who is the real target?

Well, see, that’s just the problem because Verity can’t actually say.

For the first time in years, she isn’t sure of anything.

Verity Lark knows everything.

As the London Daily Gazette’s popular gossip columnist, she is extremely adept at sneaking into houses, assuming disguises and overseeing a vast network of spies to...

Available Editions

EDITION	Ebook
ISBN	9781942218609
PRICE	$5.99 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 44 members

Featured Reviews

Kiri U, Reviewer

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC!

I thoroughly enjoyed this romp through 19th century London- think Dickens meets Sherlock Holmes meets Miss Fisher meets Bridgerton- a classic murder mystery ‘whodunnit’ with a great amount of humour sandwiched in!

Things I loved:
- Verity is a courageous, intelligent and witty heroine- we live a strong FMC!
- The side characters of Delphine and Freddie were stellar.
- There is a great dynamic between Verity and Hardwicke that will hopefully be explored in further works!

Things to think about:
- At times the plot moved slowly and was a little convoluted.

In general, a great read, and I look forward to more!

Was this review helpful?

Valerie S, Reviewer

This is set in the world of Beatrice Hyde-Clare, but follows Verity and a few of her fellow orphans. It's definitely a different side of society that Verity belongs to. I quite enjoyed this, I look forward to seeing Verity's growth. She is stubborn but loyal to her little family. She and Hardwick have a nice dynamic, and I liked finally seeing what the heck was up with Holcroft. There is a lot, a lot of exposition in this, I would have liked a bit more dialogue, as I think the dialogue is a lot of fun. But it's a first book and it's laying the groundwork. Now, my one big thing is, I cannot see how this is a stand alone. I've read all the Beatrice Hyde-Clare books and even I had a hard time remembering everything. If you haven't read them, I can't see how you wouldn't be lost, and I'm not sure you'd care at all about the plot. All that said, for someone already familiar with the world, this is enjoyable and I look forward to seeing where Lynn Messina takes this series. I received an ARC and am willingly giving an honest review.