Now Read This: “The Secrets of Wishtide,” by Kate Saunders

In “The Secrets of Wishtide” by Kate Saunders, scandal threatens to ruin Sir James Calderstone’s family when his son Charles falls for Helen Orme, a woman below his social class. Despite his father’s distrust of the young lady, Charles declares his intent to marry her. With an anonymous letter in hand warning of this lady’s disreputable past, Sir James seeks out the only person he believes can help his situation, Laetitia Rodd, a 52-year-old widow known for her ability to “get to the bottom of domestic mysteries.”

With high stakes and a need for discretion, Laetitia is appointed as the Calderstone family’s newest governess. Her job while she attends to the young ladies of the Calderstone family is to dig up any information she can find about the mysterious Helen Orme in order to prevent any unsavory characters from taking advantage of the family. But when Laetitia finds a second scandal involving Lady Calderstone, Laetitia must delve even deeper into the family’s history to figure out who is blackmailing them. However, when a dead body turns up at the meeting place the morning after the bribe is paid, Laetitia finds herself with more questions than answers.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick read and managed to keep the traditional feel of both a historical fiction novel and a classic mystery. Laetitia’s character was very personable, and I liked that she made intuitive leaps the reader could follow. In addition, the ending was satisfying because even though the loose ends were tied up, they didn’t feel too perfect to be real.

Kate Saunders’ “The Secrets of Wishtide” is the first book in the Laetitia Rodd Mystery series, which follows the cases Laetitia solves to pay for her lifestyle since her husband passed. These mystery novels are set in the 1800s, and although they have a bit of blood and gore, they avoid most unsavory topics. The second novel in this series, “The Case of the Wandering Scholar,” came out in 2019. Both are available as books at the Cape Girardeau Public Library.