Thrilling story, great plot and characters that keep you guessing right til the end. Great for fans of this genre. Really enjoyable.

Title: The Woman In The Veil

Series: Victorian Mystery #4

Author: Laura Joh Rowland

Crooked Lane Books

Pub: January 7,2020

Genre: Historical mystery

Pages: 352

Rating: 3

London, June 1890.



Sarah Bain and her friends Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O'Reilly are crime scene photographers for the Daily World newspaper. After solving a sensational murder, they're under pressure to deliver another big story. On a foggy summer night, they're called to the bank of the river Thames. The murder victim is an unidentified woman whose face has been slashed. But as Sarah takes photographs, she discovers that the woman is still alive.



The case of "Sleeping Beauty" becomes a public sensation, and three parties quickly come forward to identify her: a rich, sinister artist who claims she's his wife; a mother and her two daughters who co-own a nursing home and claim she's their stepdaughter/sister; and a precocious little girl who claims Sleeping Beauty is her mother. Which party is Sleeping Beauty's rightful kin? Is someone among them her would-be killer?



Then Sleeping Beauty awakens--with a severe case of amnesia. She's forgotten her name and everything else about herself. But she recognizes one of the people who've claimed her. Sarah is delighted to reunite a family and send Sleeping Beauty home--until one of the claimants is murdered. Suddenly, Sarah, her motley crew of friends, and her fiancé Detective Sergeant Barrett are on the wrong side of the law. Now they must identify the killer before they find themselves headed for the gallows.


My thoughts

Would I recommend it? yes ( but I would read the first 3 books before this one)

Will I read more of this series ? yes

Would I read anything else by this author ? maybe

This is the first time I've ever read a book that's part of a series where the main character is a woman who happenings to be crime scene photographer in 1890, another thing is I love how it has a touch of the LGTBQ in it , one thing I didn't like was how at times I felt a bit lost because of how aften Sarah was constantly reflecting on her own thoughts and feelings , and then doing those times I would have to go back and re read what I already read ,but once I got past those moments I enjoyed the story ,but then why wouldn't I it has a bit of everything in it , murder, romance , a mystery of who the woman is and why was she almost killed . With that said I want to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a portion of the Review on my blog Trails of Tales

Whew! This one is truly a ride. As soon as you think that the story might be coming to an end, it starts right back up and climbs to another crescendo.

Like when you are on a roller coaster and at the edge of the drop the cart starts to slow down, feels like it has come to a stop and your poor innocent heart thinks “Oh thank god! I have been saved”. Just as it starts to beat normally…Whoosh…“Oh for the love of Hogwarts! Save me!!!!”

‘The Woman in the Veil‘ might at certain points of the story seem just like a roller coaster.

In fact, the mystery might not even feel like something that would pan out.

After the initial intensity, the pace starts being a little lukewarm and you might think that the description of the book seemed more interesting than the actual plot. But THAT is a misleading feeling and I got caught up in it too. Laura Joh Rowland sure knows exactly when and where to place her twists!

The pace suddenly picks up and at first it teases you with the niggling sensation of something big about to happen and then…

Much, MUCH more action than you anticipated when the story introduced itself to you.

Author Laura Joh Rowland’s treatment of her characters is admirable. Some more than others.

Lord Hugh’s character and back story was really interesting. A wealthy Aristocrat who fell upon hard times when the tabloids revealed him as secretly homosexual. Consider the media in Victorian Era finding out that a man belonging to high society is homosexual. Think about all the hue and cry this would have created. Amidst all the ostracization and ridicule, Hugh holds on to his cheery disposition, humour and authencity.

A character worth falling in love with.

The sexual tension between Sarah and her fiancee Thomas Barrett does offer the readers a few moments of higher temperatures. You can look forward to that.

What is a definitive sign of a good Mystery Thriller?

It is when late at night you’re sleeping or rather pretending to sleep, you just cannot stop thinking about the mystery. The human body’s need for sleep appears to be the most irritating thing you have to deal with. ‘The Woman in the Veil‘ put me in that position. I just HAD to find out!!!!

I should mention that along with the the main mystery, there are a couple of back stories and sub plots playing out too. Some could view that as distracting. They did not pose any problems for me in focusing on the flow of the story though.

The series has a new mystery in each book with the same major characters so all of them are stand alones. However, all the other books in this series i.e. The Ripper’s Shadow, A Mortal Likeness and The Hangman’s Secret sounds really intriguing so do check them out.

The Woman in the Veil is part of a series that I have not read before this installment. I was impressed by the character development and their realness. It was not necessary to read previous books in the series, but I will definitely be reading the first three after reading this book. Ms. Bain is a great character to have her point of view and the supporting characters only add to the depth of the story. I would definitely recommend The Woman in the Veil to historical mystery readers.

Sent to photograph a battered body on the shore of the Thames for the Daily World, Sarah Bain detects signs of life. Dubbed Sleeping Beauty by the newspaper, she awakens in the hospital with no memory of who she is. After numerous interviews by the police, there are three claims that stand out. Hoping that a meeting with the claimants will jog her memory, Sarah arranges interviews at the hospital.

An artist whose first wife committed suicide claims that she is his current wife. Controlling and with a quick temper, he demands that she be released to him. A step-mother with her two own daughters run a nursing home and claims that she ran away. When the third person comes forward, it is a young girl in search of her missing mother. There is a reaction by the victim, who claims to remember the child. Is this her true family or is she avoiding one of the others? Sarah is delighted but Detective Bartlett, her fiancé, has serious doubts and continues to investigate.

Sarah is once again joined by Lord Staunton and Mick O’Reilly, her housemates and adopted family. Together they assist in her photographic work and the investigations that she involves herself in. This is Laura Joh Rowland’s fourth book in her Victorian mystery series. Her characters have been well developed as they travel through 1890s London. While Sarah and her associates are involved in the Sleeping Beauty case, there is also the issue of Sarah’s missing father. Accused of murder, he has been on the run since Sarah was a child. Rowland resolves this storyline while revealing enough to update anyone who is new to the series.

I was first introduced to Rowland through her San Ichiro series set in Feudal Japan and I have been a fan ever since. She is an author that I have recommended in the past whose stories continue to provide hours of entertainment. Her latest is highly recommended for fans of historical mysteries. I would like to thank NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! It was so easy to read and without the sometimes stilted nature of books actually written in the era. It's obviously written in the present and you can tell by the way the author tries to explain for the reader certain things that were typical of the late 1800s, whereas authors from that time were unapologetic since that was simply life was it was. But it's a fun suspense, an intriguing plot, with very relatable and enjoyable characters. I can't wait to read more of Laura Joh Rowland's books, especially with these characters. (Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early review copy.)

I am a fool. I just realized this was a part of a series and one that I’ve been dying to start reading. We all know that I am a huge fan of murder mysteries especially set in the Victorian era and if you didn’t know, allow me to introduce myself.

Hello, my name is Amanda and I love mysteries that include MURDER and the Victorian era.

I promise I’m not as morbid as I appear *cough*

This book is fantastic. From the very beginning when our protagonist Sara Bain happens upon a half dead, disfigured woman I knew this was going to be the book for me. Normally, I shy away from series reads that I haven’t read in order but in this case the writing is so great and plenty of background information is given so it doesn’t feel like I missed a thing. Rather, I have the urge to read all the books preceding to this.

The characters are interesting. Sara’s job is insanely cool if not gruesome and we see how nurturing she is from the start. Also, I usually can’t stand romance in books like this but this was nice and felt genuine. A good dose of murder, intrigue, and some *waggles eyebrows* loins aflame makes for a great read

Thank you very much to the publisher and Netgalley for this copy of my ARC.

A naked woman washes up on the shores of the Thames with horrific wounds to her face and body. As Sarah is taking pictures of the crime scene she discovers the woman is still alive. As they hunt for her identity and family they stumble across more questions than answers. Our group once again faces off against inspector Reid as he becomes more antagonistic and dangerous. As they race to find the truth Sarah also races ahead of Reid to find her long lost father.
So many things happen in this book and the truth really is stranger than fiction. Many long unknown questions are answered and our group once again placed their lives at risk to solve the mystery at hand. I was thoroughly impressed with this and am finding that the stories are improving with each subsequent book. We get to know more about our group of heroes and what drives them. They become closer to each other and they become more of a family to each other as time goes on. I look forward to more in this series and highly recommend it if you love Victorian mysteries.

Laura Rowland proves yet again that she is fast becoming the queen of historical mysteries.
Sarah Main and her cohorts find themselves embroiled in a case of murder, mayhem and extenuating circumstances in Victorian London which will keep you sitting comfortably enjoying the tale as it unfolds.
Strong characters, great storyline and a bit of emotion thrown into the mix what's not to like.
Highly recommend.

Interesting mystery. I didn't realize this was the fourth in a series, so I went back and read the other three. I really like the characters, and the over arching story that Rowland is creating. The resolution to this particular mystery was very satisfying. I will definitely recommend this and pick up the next one.

I found this to be a lightweight drama and in fact would recommend it as "Young Adult" fiction. While there was nothing wrong with the basics of the plot, it lacked sophistication; I kept waiting for the "big twist" to redeem it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to review.

'The Woman in the Veil' is the fourth book in Laura Joh Rowland's series of mysteries set in late Victorian London (1890). The heroine is Sarah Bain, a photographer making her way in the world by taking pictures of crime scenes for a newspaper, although the other regular characters are here too: former street urchin, Mick; Lord Hugh Stanton; and Sarah's policeman beau, Barrett.

Sarah's latest crime scene photograph is of a naked woman pulled from the river in Shadwell who has suffered facial disfigurement. When Sarah finds out that the supposed 'corpse' is alive but in a coma, a quest begins to find out her true identity. The team of amateur detectives are thwarted whichever way they turn by a malevolent police Inspector, multiple claims about the woman's identity and a newspaper magnate determined to get his scoop on the 'Sleeping Beauty' case. As the group try to unravel the leads, the stakes are raised further by a murder accusation...

This is another enjoyable novel within the series. The characters are relatable and engaging and it is well-plotted. If you have not read the previous books in the series, I would recommend that you start there as there are a few threads running through this novel that make a lot more sense with that wider perspective, not least Sarah's family situation and her involvement in the Jack the Ripper case.

My only problem with this book was the occasional jarring anachronism or Americanism - for this reason, I did not find it fully immersive, although it is a lively and entertaining read. Lovers of historical crime fiction will enjoy this as long as they aren't purists seeking authenticity - for them, as for me, it will be good, but sadly not great.

I haven’t read any of the first three books, but will likely rectify that when I can because I very much enjoyed book four. While the mystery of Sleeping Beauty, as she’s called by the papers in this book, was interesting, I wasn’t fully invested in this book. I feel as though I missed out a lot on the characters, and their stories from previous novels. While the author does a great job of letting you know what’s happened, I feel it’s best to read this series in order.

There was a surprising gay couple in the book of which I very much enjoyed seeing, especially with one of the characters being a former priest. That was very surprising and nice to see in historical fiction for a change. I liked the main character, and I liked the mystery overall. But as I said, I think I’ll read the other three books and then re-read this one to see how I feel about it.

Overall I liked it, but I think I’ll enjoy it more when I read the rest of the series. 4/5 stars.

The writing was a little bit complicated for me to fall into, but once I got the hang of the author's style, I liked it!

A really enjoyable mystery set in Victorian England. When a woman turns up on a beach with her face disfigured and a severe case of amnesia, it's up to crime photographer Sarah Bain and her colleagues to figure out this woman's identity. The only problem is that three separate families claim that this woman is their missing relative. Sarah's reputation is flying high after her hand in investigating the Jack the Ripper killings, but can she solve the identity of the mystery woman? Full of twists, turns, love, and murder, this book will keep you guessing.

While this book took me a while to get into, it was an enjoyable mystery /thriller set against the backdrop of Victorian London. I love books set in this era and Rowland does such a great job of making it all come to life. However as I haven't read the other books in the series, I feel like I was missing some of the finer details so perhaps next time I'll read those first!

Thanks to Net Galley and Laura Joh Rowland for the opportunity to read this ARC, I enjoyed the book., a mystery to be solved by Sarah and her coworkers Hugh and Mick, they are crime scene investigators for a local paper, and come across a dead woman one night, however she turns out not to be dead. They call her sleeping beauty until she hopefully awakes and can explain who she is and why she is so badly battered and cut up. hundreds of people come to claim she is their missing person, and Sarah and her team set forth to uncover the mystery that surrounds this woman, with a bout of amnesia, sleeping beauty finally remembers who she is... but is she really. The undercover work continues until the mystery is finally solved, after a murder almost makes it look like the trio are in on it.
This novel did keep me reading, was not my favorite but i did like it, it was set back in the late 1890's in London, was well researched and well written., characters well developed and introduced

The Woman in the Veil has such promise. A naked woman is found on the banks of the Thames with her face slashed. Sarah Bain a photographer discovers the woman is alive. The mystery begins, who did this to her? Who is she? This takes place just after Jack the Ripper has terrorized London. Is she another of his victims? Sarah knows she isn't, but who's victim is she? There is intrigue, a bit of romance, some vengeance and the streets of Whitechapel. The writing fell a bit flat, it was an okay book. Thank you to #Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

Sarah Bain and her two colleagues, Lord Hugh Staunton and Mick O'Reilly, are crime scene photographers for London’s Daily World newspaper in the late 1800s. On the side, they also dabble in solving murders and other sensational crimes. On a summer night, they are called to photograph the body of a nude woman who was found on the bank of the Thames. In the process of photographing the scene, Sarah discovers that the woman is still alive. The “Sleeping Beauty” case quickly becomes a sensation. With the backing of the newspaper owner, Sarah tries to uncover the woman’s identity and figure out who attempted to murder her. Multiple people are trying to claim Sleeping Beauty as their relative, and they refuse to give up their pursuit even after the woman claims to remember who she is. Sarah is one of the few people who believes that Sleeping Beauty is who she claims to be, but, the deeper she digs, the more she begins to doubt that the woman is telling the truth.

THE WOMAN IN THE VEIL is the first novel I’ve read by Laura Joh Rowland. There were hints at what happened in the previous three novels – enough to tantalize but not enough to give the plot away. Because I did enjoy reading THE WOMAN IN THE VEIL, I plan to go back and read the first three novels in the series.

The plot of the novel was very interesting, and there were a lot of twists that kept me guessing. I did figure out a few of the mysteries before the big reveal, but there was a surprise in the end that seemed to come out of left field. Overall, there is a lot of deception, lies, and backstabbing that take place throughout the novel. It is very gritty and shows a darker side of London than a lot of mysteries set in a similar time period.

There were really only two things I didn’t care for. The novel is told from Sarah’s first-person perspective, and it is done so in the present tense. The present tense threw me off at first, and it occasionally got annoying throughout the novel. But, as I got caught up in the scenes, it bothered me less. The other thing that I didn’t care for was the big confrontation with the bad guy(s) at the end. There are way too many people involved in the scene and they are running around all over the place. I assumed it was supposed to be a dramatic scene, but it came off as ridiculous and chaotic.

London, June 1890. Just after the death of Prince Albert and the infamous Ripper case. Sarah Bain, a photographer, and her friends homosexual Lord Hugh Staunton and former street urchin Mick O'Reilly are crime scene reporters for the Daily World newspaper who do a bit of sleuthing on the side.

One night they are called to the bank of the Thames where the body of a naked woman is found by a whore and her punter. On close examination however Sarah discovers that the woman is still alive and she is rushed to hospital. But with a disfigured face and amnesia the next question is her identity and who has left her for dead. Sarah's fiancé Detective Sergeant Barrett is given the case to solve.

But are the people claiming to know her speaking the truth? Is Sleeping Beauty really unaware of who she is?

On the background there is also the mystery in Sarah's own life.

The central theme of the novel is the (lack of) love of parents.

The story is entertaining and has a good plot. It keeps pace and you can finish it in a day or two.