Minnie Harper #2
A Murder in Marylebone is the second book in a delightful new mystery series by Emily Sullivan, featuring Minnie Harper, a widow in her thirties with two children, in the late 1890s. The first book took place on Corfu, where Minnie had lived with her husband, Oliver, until his sudden death. She had promised him that she would stay on Corfu and raise their children there, but in the previous book her daughter, fourteen-year-old Cleo, decided to go to school in England with the hope of attending Girton College, Cambridge (one of the first colleges for women), just like Minnie did. And so, Minnie and her son, eight-year-old Tommy, who is a budding natural scientist, return to London to be closer to her.
In the previous book, Minnie had worked as a typist for Stephen Dorian, a famous mystery author, who had temporarily taken up residence in a house near hers on Corfu. They got off to a bad start with each other. At their first meeting, Minnie overheard Stephen making a disparaging remark about her at a party, in a scene that’s very reminiscent of Elizabeth’s and Darcy’s first meeting in Pride and Prejudice. In fact, the relationship between Minnie and Stephen, which is the central one in the first book, A Death on Corfu, often parallels that of Elizabeth and Darcy. In fact, as I was reading it, I kept imagining Colin Firth in the role of Stephen, even though I know he would be much too old for it now. But, unlike in Pride and Prejudice, there is no happy ending for the couple, at least in the first book. In fact, they part on bad terms, as Stephen accuses Minnie’s late husband of selling Greek antiquities on the black market, then leaves Corfu without saying goodbye.
Now that Minnie is back in London, she is staying at the home of her Aunt Agatha (yes, really!) while her aunt is traveling on the continent. She is reacquainted with her family, with mixed feelings. Minnie is delighted that they will meet Tommy, and Tommy is just as delighted to meet his cousins, but Minnie has not seen her family since her marriage, fifteen years previously, and she and her parents were never close. Her mother is just as emotionally distant as ever, and she has never approved of Minnie’s choice to get an education and to live on Corfu. Sadly, Minnie’s father has had a bad fall, which no one bothered to tell her about, and he is slowly losing his memory. He does have some lucid moments, though, and he warns Minnie of danger, but she doesn’t know if he is in his right mind or not when he issues his warning.
Minnie’s favorite sibling is her brother Samuel, who lives in India. Her oldest brother, Jack, is a Member of Parliament who is concerned mostly with his political career and wants to avoid any stains on the family’s reputation that might ruin it. He and his wife, Dolly, seem to be two of a kind at first, but Dolly eventually proves to be a friend to Minnie. Minnie’s sister, Delia, the youngest in the family, is a talented artist. She invites Minnie to a gallery opening where her painting will be exhibited.
Although Minnie never cared for London’s social whirl, she is glad to attend the opening, if only to get better acquainted with her sister, who was just a child when Minnie left England. She meets Delia’s bohemian artist friends, as well as Charles Pearson, the young man with whom Delia is in love. Charles deals in antiques as a hobby, and he and Delia keep their relationship a secret from her upper-class parents, who wouldn’t approve of Charles as a husband for their daughter.
Minnie, Delia, and Charles go on from the gallery opening to a more raucous party at the home of a baron, Lord Linden, who is an enthusiast for Greek antiquities and who flirts with Minnie. And then, to Minnie’s dismay, Stephen shows up at the party—with a beautiful woman on his arm. Stephen has a scandalous reputation because of his divorce, the details of which we don’t know for certain. Since he left Corfu, the newspapers have reported on his activities, always going to parties with different women, and Minnie admits she is hurt by what she hears. Of course, it is an awkward encounter. They are obviously still attracted to each other, but don’t know how to get past what happened on Corfu.
A fortune teller warns Minnie to beware of a man in her life, but Minnie doesn’t know if she means Stephen or the baron. Then the fortune teller tells Delia that Charles is already married. She is devastated, and they decide to leave the party early. After Minnie goes to bed, Delia decides to confront Charles at his home, only to find him murdered. She goes back home to get Minnie, and Minnie calls the police, using a telephone, which she had never used before and has to figure out.
The detective inspector assigned to the case is none other than Stephen’s estranged brother. Delia, as the one who found the body, immediately becomes the prime suspect, especially after the police hear that she had wanted to marry Charles, but had just found out he was already married. Minnie, of course, does not believe her sister is guilty and decides to investigate on her own, especially after her experience on Corfu, when the police didn’t care much about finding the murderer. Her family also want to clear Delia’s name, but they are more concerned about their reputation than about justice.
Minnie suspects that the murder is connected to Charles’ trade in antiquities, and she also wonders if there is also a link to her late husband’s activities. She hopes her investigation will clear her husband’s name, but she’s also afraid Stephen’s accusations will be confirmed. Minnie realizes, though, that she needs to set aside her fears so she can find the murderer and save her sister. She and Stephen team up once again, as he doesn’t trust his brother to find the killer. There are many occasions in which they come close to telling each other how they really feel, only to be interrupted.
The investigation takes them into the world of the illegal antiquities trade, as they attend a private auction, hoping the killer will be there. Not to give too much away, but things do not go according to plan. I have to say, one thing that disappointed me a little in this novel was how the killer is discovered. It’s basically a lucky guess by Minnie and not based on deductive reasoning or examination of clues. And I figured out relatively early who the murderer was, unlike the previous novel, where I didn’t guess until close to the end. Part of the problem was that there was a limited number of suspects, once Delia was ruled out, and I never really suspected her in the first place.
This does not detract from my enjoyment of the novel, though. At first, I missed the Greek setting, which was one of the things I loved most about the first book, but Sullivan writes well about late 19th century London, which is a changing world. The characters travel by carriage and hansom cab, but their world also includes new inventions like the telephone. The first book has been described as a romance with a mystery in it (not surprisingly, since the author wrote historical romances before beginning this series). This one is better described as a mystery with a slow-burning romance in it.
Minnie is a wonderful character, and she prefers the freedom of life on Corfu to the stifling world of her upper-class family. She and Stephen make a great couple, even if their relationship doesn’t develop as quickly in this book as I would like. There is a resolution to the plot thread about Minnie’s late husband’s activities, but I will not say if it is the one Minnie would have wanted or not. It will be interesting to see what happens in the next book, whether Minnie stays in London or goes back to Corfu. There is also a hint that the third book might have a different setting altogether. I wonder if this will be a series like Erica Ruth Neubauer’s Jane Wunderly mysteries, with a new setting for each book.
I would recommend this book to fans of Neubauer, even though her series takes place later, in the 1920s. There is something of a similar setup, with the main character as a young widow who finds a new love interest far from home. I also recommend Sullivan’s books to fans of Tasha Alexander and Dianne Freeman. Minnie and Stephen are characters with whom I am looking forward to spending a long time, and I hope there will be many more books about their adventures. — Vicki Kondelik