Charlotte is enjoying a holiday in Devon with Mrs. Watson, Lord Ingram, and a group of family and friends when Mrs. Watson’s estranged sister, Justina Carstairs, the lady of a family of consequence, appears with ambiguous intentions. No sooner has she requested her sister’s presence at her home and suggested that something dangerous is imminent than she disappears, leaving her concerned husband and children baffled. A corpse who resembles her washes up nearby, but Mr. Carstairs insists it’s not his wife. Mrs. Watson and the intrepid band of sleuths led by Holmes and assisted by the police embark on a search for the missing Mrs. Carstairs and the identity of the corpse, as well as other missing women who may or may not have a connection to these events. Is the devoted Mr. Carstairs guilty of infidelity and murder? Did one of their children have an axe to grind? Is Moriarty making a new move in his game against Charlotte? The game is afoot and the players chase several threads over the countryside while Mrs. Watson swings between worry and suspicion of her sister’s ambitions and motives. This newest addition to the Lady Sherlock series is a soap opera blended with a “whodunwhat” puzzle that requires patience and attention to detail. The story introduces a bewildering number of characters in different locales, and belonging to different classes; the intricacies of their motives and the breadcrumbs Thomas scatters about their pasts will appeal to the British mystery and gothic fan, but romance readers might be disappointed at the dearth of scenes between Holmes and her lover, Lord Ingram. Passages on family dynamics and an occasional touch of melancholy show flashes of the author’s stylistic power and stiletto-like insights into love and heartache.
