The Daughters of Gentlemen * Linda Stratmann * Frances Doughty #2

In the genteel London district of Bayswater, a young female private detective takes on her very first professional case to uncover who is sneaking scandalous pamphlets to schoolgirls, only for the minor prank to spiral into a web of blackmail and murder.

The Story: Frances Doughty is determined to carve out a living as an independent lady detective in 1880 London. Her professional trajectory begins with a discreet assignment at the highly respectable Bayswater Academy for the Education of Young Ladies. The school’s governors are in a panic over the mysterious distribution of dangerously feminist, anti-marriage pamphlets among their well-brought-up pupils. Frances steps into the academic workspace expecting a straightforward, low-friction tracking mission. However, her presence accidentally triggers a volatile counter-campaign among the district's elite. As preparations for the upcoming General Election heat up and the formidable activists of the Bayswater Women's Suffrage Society launch into action, a dead body is discovered. Frances drops her guard and realizes the lace curtains of the neighborhood shield a dark ledger of adultery, financial ruin, and long-concealed family scandals. To secure her professional survival, she must use her sharp deductive logic step-by-step to trap a ruthless killer before her fresh career hits a permanent deadline.

Perfect For: Fans of meticulously plotted, atmospheric Victorian procedurals, clever and resilient historical female sleuths, and readers who devour cozy historical mysteries by authors like Anne Perry, Jacqueline Winspear, or Tasha Alexander.