The Mysterious Lady Law

Robert Appleton

In a time of grand airships and steam-powered cars, the death of a penniless young maid will hardly make the front page. But part-time airship waitress and music hall dancer Julia Bairstow is shattered by her sister's murder. When Lady Law, the most notorious private detective in Britain, offers to investigate the case pro bono, Julia jumps at the chance—even against the advice of Constable Al Grant, who takes her protection surprisingly to heart.

Lady Law puts Scotland Yard to shame. She's apprehended Jack the Ripper and solved countless other cold-case crimes. No one knows how she does it, but it's brought her fortune, renown and even a title. But is she really what she claims to be—a genius at deducing? Or is Al right and she is not be trusted? 

Julia is determined to find out the truth, even if it means turning sleuth herself—and turning the tables on Lady Law...

My Take:

"Eh." "S'Okay."  Such were my considerably underwhelmed reactions at the conclusion of this little steam punk novella. Parts of the book I thought were totally random and downright weird (and not in a fun way, but in a huh? way) and the ending was just so so.  But there were aspects I really enjoyed.  I thought the main character (not the titular character Lady Law, she, I didn't care for) Julia, was interesting and her love interest, while nothing to write home about, was engaging.  The whodunit mystery at the center of the book was not all that mysterious, but the means by which  Lady Law solves mysterious (and whether or not she is a good guy) proves to be the far more interesting question.  Now, while I didn't find the novella to be all that gratifying overall, to be fair, I must say that I didn't expect the twist at the end and overall the story was quite a page turner (or clicker, since I read it on my Kindle:)  It is a fun and quick read, if you like steam punk, or light mysteries, you will probably enjoy this book, I'm just saying don't expect it to rock your world. 4, Borrow from a friend

I'd love to hear your opinion!  Have you read this book?  If so, what did you think of it?  Do you enjoy the steam punk genre?  What do you think the twist ending is (if you've read the book don't spoil it!)?  Hit the comments!

If The Mysterious Lady Law was a movie, it would likely be rated PG-13 for some violence and brief strong sexual content 

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

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