Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is an interesting and twisty Edwardian historical fiction romance/mystery. Lady Marigold and her younger brother Yates inherited a fun, albeit bankrupt, estate from their father. To pay the bills, they formed an anonymous exclusive detective agency serving the elite of England. Sir Merritt is working in the War Office precursor to MI5 when an agent goes missing after leaving a one word missive – the name of a connected nobleman. He retains Marigold and Yates’ agency to find out information he’s not able to discover on his own. Will the trio uncover a traitorous plot that threatens England in time?

I really loved Marigold and Yates. The family they’ve built together with the retired circus families and animals is so unique and I got a kick reading about all of the animals, especially the lion and monkey. The way they use the skills they learned from the circus in performing their investigation was unique and fun to read.

I could sympathize with Merritt’s health concerns and feeling like less of a soldier because he still needed to heal. I feel like his friend Xavier and Marigold handled this well and kept his spirits up without letting him feel as though he’s being pitied. While I liked he and Marigold’s budding romance, it seemed a bit spotty on details and so when they got together it seemed a bit rushed. But, that’s a minor detail. One thing that I’m not used to reading in mysteries is so many references to religion and praying. It isn’t heavy-handed or off-putting, it was just a surprise.

This is a slow burn mystery, but I didn’t mind because it’s the first book in a series, so the author needed to do a lot of worldbuilding. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more books in the series.

I was given a complimentary e-copy of this book by Austenprose PR and Baker Publishing Group/ Bethany House Division. All opinions are my own.