This is a very good mystery. It’s the third in a series, which I didn’t realize until after I started, so you may want to go and read those first. I’m not sure how much more you’d get out of it by reading those first but I imagine you’d have a better grasp of the main characters and their backgrounds. Still, without reading those two I didn’t feel lost or confused so it’s likely that these are also fine to read without the one or two before.
Private Detective Laetitia Rodd receives a request from a retired actor, a very delicate request. It’s the spring of 1853 and ten years prior the actors' days on the stage were brought to an end by a fire in the theater. Now, his dear friend, Thomas Transome, decided that he is going to leave his wife and she needs assistance in getting a worthy settlement. Mrs. Rodd is reluctant to get involved with the most scandalous world of theater; she feels she can’t turn away the woman who is in need of help. She decides that she will take the case.
Soon enough though what started out as a fairly simple matter of negotiations gets really complicated when a dead body is discovered in the burnt remains of the old theater. Now she finds herself all wrapped up in the politics of the family, terrible rivalries, and huge betrayals. Mrs. Rodd has to use all of her investigative powers and famous discretion to solve the case before more tragedy strikes.
This is a good story and the ending is perfect! The characters are well written and the murder mystery is an addicting page turner. It's a fantastic historical mystery!
If you like audio books, the narrator for this one is absolutely spot on. The voice absolutely fits the story and makes it feel that much more authentic. Highly recommend both forms of media for this one. You can’t go wrong either way.

This book was archived before I had time to read it, so I am not able to give accurate feedback. Thank you for the opportunity, sorry I was unable to get to it in time.

I hate the incest trope! I hate it so much. I don't understand why so many cozy mysteries set in the Victorian period have incest. Is it because of Freud?
This is the third book in the series and I don't think I've read the previous two. I found a bunch of it kind of clunky (references to the dead husband, her taking care of her lady tenant, her inserting herself in a seemingly unrelated murder mystery), but I was still enjoying it. Then I started picking up on the incest hints and my enjoyment took a nosedive. Between Sherry Thomas and Victoria Thompson, I am DONE with the incest trope in Victorian mysteries.

I wanted to like this. Unfortunately it fell flat and I was terribly bored. I'm left pondering what went wrong. And, I think its the simplicity of the era. The dialogue where women are protected from unsavory thoughts; forget them seeing anything. As much as I enjoy historical fiction and nonfiction, this time period doesn't work for me.

The narrator, Sasha Higgins, did a good job.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, ad Kate Saunders for accepting my request to read and review The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden.

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I found that while the overall story and premise of this book is interesting - the flow of the story and even of the audiobook just did not work - it just felt overly long and seemed to go down a lot of derivative paths that seemed to prolong the story unnecessarily.
About half-way through the book is where I felt like the original story could have been condensed and ended, but instead it just kept going.
As I have not read any of the other books in this series I am not familiar with the traditional way that the author chooses to lay out the story of the readers, but ultimately for me while the story was fine and the plot was interesting, it was just too long to keep me interested in completing it.

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden is a period murder mystery with a pinch of family drama. A nasty divorce turns up an old murder and then the body count keeps growing.

I enjoyed the “detective” - the widowed Mrs. Rodd even if she started a little too high and mighty for my taste. The writing was period-perfect and I especially loved the narrator.

The relationships intertwined in interesting and satisfying way until the end (CW: abuse), which left a sour taste.

I’d happily read more books in this series.

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden by Kate Saunders - 3/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for access to a free copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this unbiased review independently.

This book felt like watching a cross between an episode of Downton Abbey and a different episode of Murder, She Wrote on 2 different TVs, both on mute, at the same time and trying to come away knowing what happened in either. It wasn't exactly a bad time, and I know a mystery was solved, and there was some high-class family drama that happened, but I couldn't tell you the exact details of either. I'm not sure I would have gotten through this one if it hadn't been an audiobook, but even not knowing was exactly what was happening nearly 100% of the time, it was pleasant to listen to and a nice, easy quick-read.

This is the third book in the "Laetitia Rodd Mystery" series and although I haven't read the first two I didn't feel lost or out of the loop while I was listening. I've become a fan of mysteries and thought this sounded pretty interesting. That said, I found it meandered a bit. Interrogate person A, then person B and C, question the validity of person A's version of the events and circle back around and start the process again.

I don't know if I would have finished it if it was a physical book instead of the audio. Especially with the immoral/indecent comments and judgements being handed out left, right and centre. Just as the novel comes to a close we get... well I'm not sure what to call it. It feels like a plot twist but to call it that feels wrong and reprehensible given the subject matter.

While I enjoyed the narration, I can't say that I'd recommend this one.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I have attempted to listen to this book a few times on different occasions and each time my mind wanders. I have tried other audio books and not had the same issue so I can only guess that this has to do with the accent of the narrator. It is a bit hard to follow.

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden by Kate Saunders.
Narrator, Sasha Higgins.
I think I was at a bit of a disadvantage by not having read the previous books in this series. Even so, it was not too hard to understand the relationships of the main characters and there was a brief description of how Mrs. Rodd got into detection. I listened to this audiobook in one day. I confess to speeding it up to 1.25 but that did not detract in any way from my enjoyment of this Victorian mystery with melodramatic undertones.
I will not give away the revelation at the end of the book even though others have done so. Suffice it to say that the Victorian era was known to be staid and prim on the surface and often sordid underneath it all.
I plan to go back and listen to the previous books and I enjoyed the work of the narrator.

In this 3rd book in the Laetitia Rodd series, the private detective investigates the death of a thespian. The book works fine as a standalone.

*****

In the mid-19th century Mrs. Laetitia Rodd, needing a source of income after her archdeacon husband dies, becomes a private detective. Conservative and respectable, Mrs. Rodd wouldn't normally mingle with theatrical people, who rate VERY low on Britain's rigid social scale. However when Mrs. Rodd's neighbor Benjamin Tully, a retired thespian, brings a delicious seed cake and asks Mrs. Rodd to help his actress friend Sarah Transome, the detective agrees to listen to his request.

Tully explains that his friend Sarah Transome's husband, Thomas Transome, has an acting company to which Tully himself belonged until ten years ago. At that time the King's Theatre leased by Thomas burned down, and Tully was injured, and subsequently retired from acting. Thomas Transome went on to lease another theatre, and he's now fallen in love with an 18-year-old actress called Constance Noonan.

Transome wants to separate from his wife Sarah, with whom he has three adult daughters, and live with his new love. Tully asks Mrs. Rodd to negotiate a fair settlement between Sarah and Thomas Transome, so the abandoned wife has a nice house and the means to survive.

The three Transome daughters, Maria, Olivia and Cordelia - all of whom are actresses - are divided in their loyalties. The oldest daughter, 27-year-old Maria, married actor Edgar Betterton, the scion of a rival theatrical family - which infuriated her father; the middle daughter, 24-year-old Olivia went to live with her father; and the youngest daughter, 19-year-old Cordelia, remained with her mother. All the daughters still compete to go on the stage, which causes some ruckus in the family.

Mrs. Rodd helps to arrange an equitable financial resolution between Sarah and her adulterous husband Thomas Transome - and thinks her job is done - when there's a startling development. The Transomes' daughter Maria and her husband Edgar are renovating the old King's Theatre that burned down a decade ago. During the repairs a corpse is found beneath the floorboards, and it turns out the murdered man was a member of Transome's theatrical company.

The dead man was thought to have left town after the fire, which was written off as an accident. However, with this new discovery, both the conflagration and the death must be investigated by the police. Police Inspector Blackbeard gets the case and asks his friend (and unofficial colleague) Mrs. Rodd to help with the investigation since she 'can talk' to theatre folk.

Before long there's another murder, and Inspector Blackbeard and Mrs. Rodd run all over London to view bodies, locate witnesses, interview people, and so on. Along the way various scandals are revealed, such as unwed girls becoming pregnant; illicit love affairs; bankruptcies; coerced witnesses; and more. Unfortunately every witness in the case lies, and when caught out, just lies some more.

For me, the endless questioning and requestioning of witnesses by Blackbeard and Mrs. Rodd slowed the story too much and I got bored waiting for a resolution. On the upside, it's interesting to see the mores of 1800s London through the eyes of a respectable widow. Mrs. Rodd contantly frets about girls being 'ruined' by things like love letters; pregnancies; scandalous relatives; etc. This kind of thing could literally leave a girl homeless and starving. Of course social norms have changed considerably since the mid-19th century and it's interesting to contrast then and now.

The mystery part of the book is belabored but compelling, and - though I didn't identify the killer - I sussed out a major plot point. I'd recommend the book to fans of historical mysteries who don't mind a sluggish tale.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Sasha Higgins, who does a fine job.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kate Saunders, and Dreamscape Media for a copy of the book.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden was a fun little mystery to jump into. Even though I jumped out of order, I still enjoyed the third installment. Definitely makes me want to go back just to see what I missed.

In this, you will meet Laetitia Rodd. She is a widow of a clergyman and is called to help with some final funeral preparations. Upon arrival, her interest and curiosity are piqued. Mostly because she is not one to believe in coincidences lightly either. So, when she's asked to help out in the divorce settlement it's safe to say she put on her detective hat.

Now I loved the theater setting. Everything was dramatic and enjoyable. I had a feeling that another body was going to show up during the investigation too. Just because it's the theater and everything is unexpected. As for the mystery? Well, I enjoyed it all. I honestly had no idea who was behind it all but that's because the twists and turns were so freaking good.

It was a lot harder to keep track of everything too. For example, the clues or the suspects. Or maybe it's just me feeling that way. Either way, I definitely enjoyed this one and look forward to the next mystery!

This audiobook is a delightful read and addition to the murder mystery genre. I couldn’t help but like Laetitia Rodd and her with when it comes to approaching a crime, especially one like this. I really appreciated the way Saunders tackled family trauma like this with such respect. I found myself loving all the side characters and hoping against hope that they would not be the murderer. Saunders keeps her readers guessing and it is a wondrous thing to experience.

The audiobook narrator does a great job, even though her voice for Mrs Rodd did feel a bit youthful at times, I still enjoyed her performance immensely, especially when she performed the voices of the side characters.

This story follows Laetitia Rodd in an established second instalment of her case as a private detective in 1853 England. The reader is exposed to a dreary & dark theatre scene wherein the complicated relationships amongst the actors reveals itself to be murkier than the aristocracy of the times thought. Though Laetitia is written as an insightful, dedicated, independent character, I struggled very deeply to find any motivation to continue listening to this audiobook.

When I requested this story I had hoped to listen to a somewhat cozy, yet dark, mystery which took place in a scenery which I have often been unfamiliar with; the theatre. I reached the 14% mark & found that I had barely been paying attention to the story & often found myself hard-pressed to try & resume my listening. I will attribute this to the fact that some stories are better off read rather than told; this might have gotten a higher rating for me had I tried to read the story in the traditional sense of the word rather than allow myself to wander in thought at someone recounted the tormented feelings of a wife whose husband has just left their family for a random younger actor. I did enjoy Sasha Higgins' narration & do think she was the appropriate choice for the job. I don't think my lack of desire to continue this book was in any way accredited to her.

Perhaps, had I begun with the first instalment I might have been pulled-into the quirky way that Laetitia & her brother interact or maybe I would have not felt like such a third party player in the story. Unfortunately, I did. When we are first introduced to the conflict of the story I felt that it was difficult to care. Perhaps, this story would thrive on the shelves set for younger audiences or those for whom a long-winded mystery is their cup of tea. As for myself, I think that I was not the target audience & therefore encourage you to take my review with a spoon-full of salt as, if you enjoy this type of book, set in this type of scene, you will surely enjoy this one too.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media & Kate Saunders for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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I really enjoy cozy mysteries so I was excited to delve into this new book. Once I realized it was the 3rd in a series, I picked up the first 2 at my library to read first. I like the main character, Laeticia Rodd, but not as much as I enjoy others in similar mysteries like Veronica Speedwell. I think that Laeticia isn't enough of a spitfire to me. It seemed like the assignments were actively given to her to work and she was given a lot of leeway in investigating them. I can't imagine it would be like that during that time for a woman. I enjoyed the narration of the first 2 audiobooks but was not happy to find that there was a different narrator for this one. The characters are interesting and likeable and I especially enjoy the relationship between Laeticia and her brother.

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Was not expecting this one to be as heavy as it was. The plot was very well-crafted, the characters were rich and complex. But fair warning, it does get ugly at the end.

In the spring of 1853, private detective Laetitia Rodd receives a delicate request from a retired actor, whose days on the stage were ended by a theatre fire ten years before. His great friend, and the man he rescued from the fire, Thomas Transome, has decided to leave his wife, who now needs assistance in securing a worthy settlement. Though Mrs. Rodd is reluctant to get involved with the scandalous world of the theatre, she cannot turn away the woman in need. She agrees to take the case. I so wanted to like this audio version of this story but it was really difficult. Distasteful plot lines thrown in for no reason, way too many characters with little to no relevancy to the story and a plot that dragged was all made worse by really awful narration. I realize I was listening to an advanced version but I can only hope the final product has much better narration and that the incest/rape plot line is removed. This could have been a really good story and did not need shock value thrown in. When read aloud by the apparently bored and disinterested narrator, it made it all the more jarring. Thank for NetGalley for the advanced listeners copy for review.

Letitia Rodd, minister's widow and private detective, is pulled into the unsavory world of stage actors to help a scorned wife receive a fair divorce settlement and lands in the middle of a murder investigation.

Soon, the bodies are piling up faster than Mrs. Rodd and her friend and colleague, Police Inspector Blackbeard, can investigate. With a list of suspects spanning the whole London theater scene, Rodd and Blackbeard are up to their ears in divas and drama.

I really loved all the quirky characters. I tend to prefer character-driven novels to plot-driven ones because I need to have someone to root for or sometimes against (I'm looking at you, White Ivy). What I really liked about this book was how difficult it was to tell who were the heroes and who were the villains. It changed every few pages. I won't spoil it by telling how it shuffles out.

I listened to the audio version which was narrated by Sasha Higgins. Her voice fit the Victorian English mystery genre perfectly and I can't imagine anyone else doing a better job. It was an excellent performance.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to review this audio, but unfortunately I could not finish.

I could not connect to the narrator. Story was long,slow and many characters. Could not focus.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the audio version. I loved this book! I am so happy to finally read a really well written book. The style is very old fashion writing. Great little mystery. Loved all the characters. Highly recommend!