The Secrets of Wishtide, Saunders - B

                                               This is the first novel in a presumed new series about Letty Rodd, widow of a vicar and investigator for her barrister brother in Victorian England. The reviewer's comparisons to Dickens and Christie are a bit too enthusiastic, but it is a good detective story. Letty is tasked with looking into the background of another vicar's widow who is the object of affection of a scion of a wealthy family. To say that nothing is as it seems at first blush would be an understatement. Just about everyone in the first half of the book has secrets to hide, and Letty is off and running, eventually defending the young scion. It does a solid job of bringing mid-nineteenth century sensibilities to the reader's attention.