Under the plain gray skirts of Miss Beatrice Lockwood’s gown, a pistol waits at the ready. For Beatrice is a paid companion on a secret mission—and with a secret past—and she must be prepared to fight for her life at any moment.

Yet she is thrown oddly off guard by the fierce-looking man who joins her in foiling a crime outside a fancy ball—and then disappears into the shadows, leaving only his card. His name is Joshua Gage, and he claims to know Beatrice’s employers. Beyond that, he is an enigma with a hypnotically calm voice and an ebony-and-steel cane…

Joshua, who carries out clandestine investigations for the Crown, is equally intrigued. He has a personal interest in Miss Lockwood, a suspected thief and murderer, not to mention a fraudster who claims to have psychical powers. The quest to discover her whereabouts has pulled him away from his mournful impulses to hurl himself into the sea—and engaged his curiosity about the real Beatrice Lockwood, whose spirit, he suspects, is not as delicate as her face and figure.

He does know one thing, though: This flame-haired beauty was present the night Roland Fleming died at the Academy of the Occult. Guilty or not, she is his guide to a trail of blood and blackmail, mesmerism and madness—a path that will lead both of them into the clutches of a killer who calls himself the Bone Man…

My Review:

There was both a mystery woman and a mystery man in this second installment of Amanda Quick’s Ladies of Lantern Street trilogy. I wouldn’t mind a bit if the owners of the Flint & Marsh Agency on Lantern Street found a few more operatives and kept this series going!

Beatrice Lockwood is very much the mystery woman. She starts out as Miranda the Clairvoyant of Dr. Fleming’s Academy of the Occult and ends by attempting to raise the dead. Needless to say, there is a LOT of story in the middle!

And even though Beatrice believes in the paranormal, and definitely has talent, she knows perfectly well that raising the dead is beyond anyone’s ability. But the madman pursuing her is convinced otherwise, and doesn’t care how many other corpses he has to make in order to reach her.

Yes, he’s a bit illogical about it. After all, he’s insane.

Meanwhile, Beatrice is in a bind. The madman is after her for her power. Joshua Gage is after her for much more mundane reasons. He starts out convinced that she’s blackmailing his sister over secrets she learned while posing as Miranda the Clairvoyant.

First, Bea is no blackmailer. Second, she learned no secrets. Third, Joshua has been misled into this case for all the wrong reasons. But someone made a mistake. Because Joshua realizes that while Bea may not be the blackmailer, she is the center of the case, and that they are stronger if they join forces.

Even though Joshua emphatically does not believe in the paranormal, their forces are very considerable. Especially once they realize that the most important thing they have discovered in this case is their need for each other.

But can they discover who is behind the madness before it is too late?

Escape Rating B+: The Mystery Woman was even better than Crystal Gardens (reviewed here). It didn’t have the weight of needing to explain the set up of the story, and the plot was stronger. There were more twists and turns to the mystery. It was much eerier and more diabolical.

Joshua’s story had a lot of depth. He underwent much more of a transformation. He starts the story having been in kind of retreat after a case went badly. This turns out to be the real heart of the story in The Mystery Woman. Joshua was an espionage agent for the government, and his mentor’s daughter as well as a fellow agent died on his last case. Joshua blames himself. He also injured his leg and uses a cane as a result.

Of course, it’s not that simple. The complications are what we learn in the story.
The Egyptology trappings are fascinating. There really was an Egyptology craze in England in the 19th century, so this part really works well!

That Bea not only has a paranormal talent but believes in the paranormal, where Josh has a talent but refuses to believe in anything remotely psychic provides for endless but entertaining banter. He represents the skeptic’s point of view marvelously.

But they not only fall in love, they accept each other. Which helps Josh to accept himself as he is now; injuries, scars and all. They each let go of their past identities so they can build a future together.

Bea does not raise the dead. But she and Josh do rise from the ashes of the past.

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Evangeline Ames has rented a country cottage far from the London streets where she was recently attacked. Fascinated by the paranormal energy of nearby Crystal Gardens, she finds pleasure in sneaking past the wall to explore the grounds. And when her life is threatened again, she instinctively goes to the gardens for safety.

Lucas Sebastian has never been one to ignore a lady in danger, even if she is trespassing on his property. Quickly disposing of her would-be assassin, he insists they keep the matter private. There are rumors enough already, about treasure buried under his garden and occult botanical experiments performed by his uncle—who died of mysterious causes. With Evangeline’s skill for detection, and Lucas’s sense of the criminal mind, they soon discover that they have a common enemy. And as the energy emanating from Crystal Gardens intensifies, they realize that to survive they must unearth what has been buried for too long.

As I read Crystal Gardens, I kept thinking that there would be a point where this Ladies of Lantern Street series would somehow connect with Quick’s (also known as Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle) Arcane Society/Harmony series.

All the elements are definitely present for this book to flow directly into the Arcane Society. And that’s not a bad thing!

Evangeline Ames is an independent woman in the Victorian Era, a time when women had very few options open to them if they wished to remain independent. Evie appears to be a ladies’ companion, someone who lives with unmarried rich females and serves as a chaperone. However, it’s all a disguise. Her true position is as an inquiry agent for the female-owned firm of Flint & Marsh, and her last investigation ended badly. She discovered that the gentleman pursuing Lady Rutherford’s granddaughter was the fortune hunter that her grandmother suspected, but that revelation came at a price.

Said fortune hunter died in mysterious circumstances. And someone from the London criminal underworld has pursued Evie to the countryside with the intent of murdering her.

Instead, Evie uses her paranormal abilities to save herself and thwart her would-be murderer, with the assistance of her country neighbor. And that’s where the fun begins.

The ladies of Lantern Street are both Mrs. Flint and Mrs. Marsh, as well as the the women they employ as inquiry agents. One of the requirements for positions with the firm is paranormal talent. Evie has the ability to raise or suppress someone else’s paranormal and physical energy currents. She can soothe a fever, she can keep a heart beating, or she can push someone into unconsciousness. She can go too far.

The other ladies, whom we meet in the later books, have other talents.

Evie was drawn to the town of Little Digby because it has a garden famous for its paranormal energies. The owner of the garden, and the estate it belongs to, is Lucas Sebastian. Sebastian is a hunter talent. He’s come to back to Little Digby to discover why his uncle’s experimental garden has, in effect, gone rogue.

What he discovers is Evie Ames trespassing in his garden in order to escape her would-be killer. Sebastian is more than willing to let the garden have the assassin. For dinner. But now that his hunter talent is focused on protecting Evie, he’ll do anything to keep her safe. But he can’t let her go.

Escape Rating B+: Crystal Gardens reminded me just how much fun Amanda Quick’s historical paranormal romances can be. This was absolutely a pleasure to read.
The story does set up the Ladies of Lantern Street trilogy. We meet all three of the “Ladies” as well as get the background on Flint & Marsh. I’ve read that this connects with the Arcane Society, but not officially. It does seem like the same world.

I enjoyed the give and take between Evie and Lucas in this story. One of the things that makes Quick’s Arcane historicals work for me is that she gives a reasonable explanation for why her female characters are so anachronistically independent. Evie always stands up to Lucas, to the point of eventually managing his relationship with his stepmother and half-siblings, but her independence makes sense in light of her background.

Lucas reveals himself over the course of the story. It’s not so much a redemption arc as a peeling back layers of secrets, but it allows him to show that he has changed and is capable of more.

The paranormal elements add sparkle, even if there are sometimes literal thorns!

***FTC Disclaimer: Most books reviewed on this site have been provided free of charge by the publisher, author or publicist. Some books we have purchased with our own money and will be noted as such. Any links to places to purchase books are provided as a convenience, and do not serve as an endorsement by this blog. All reviews are the true and honest opinion of the blogger reviewing the book. The method of acquiring the book does not have a bearing on the content of the review.

Admittedly, my housekeeping skills are such that there are probably LOTS of them under the bed…but I don’t mean that kind of dust bunny.

I’m referring to the psychic kind. The occasionally predatory kind.

And if you’re a fan of Jayne Castle’s science fiction romance series, set on the planet Harmony, you know exactly what type of dust bunny I’m referring to.

The next (the ninth!) book in Castle’s Harmony series is coming out in September. If you’re as eager to read The Lost Night as I am, here’s the description from Goodreads to whet your appetite.

With the ability to detect the auras of dangerous psychic criminals, Rachel Bonner has found peace and quiet on Rainshadow Island with her dust bunny companion. Then Harry Sebastian, the descendant of a notorious pirate, arrives to investigate strange developments in the privately owned woods known as the Preserve. Rachel can sense the heart of darkness within him— and the stirrings of desire within her own soul…

September 4. After the Labor Day weekend for those of us in the States. Why are the good books coming out after the long weekend is over? Where’s the justice in that?