The woman in the veil

At the start of Rowland's clever fourth Victorian mystery (after 2019's The Hangman's Secret), Sarah Bain, a London newspaper crime scene photographer, is assigned to take pictures of the corpse of a naked woman with a mutilated face. But as she prepares to take the photo, Sarah realizes the woman is breathing. Sarah's boss, Sir Gerald Mariner, thinks "Sleeping Beauty" would make a great story, and fortunately Sarah's fiancé, Det. Sgt. Thomas Barrett, is on the case. Many claim to know Sleeping Beauty's identity, but Barrett quickly narrows the possibilities to three: artist August Legrand claims that she's his wife; Frances Oliphant insists the woman is her stepsister; 10-year-old Venetia Napier is sure Sleeping Beauty is her long-missing mother, Maude. When Sleeping Beauty finally awakes, she remembers Venetia, and a joyful reunion ensues. But Sarah learns that not all stories have a happy ending when one of the claimants is murdered. Is Sleeping Beauty really Maude, or did she choose the lesser of three evils? Readers will enjoy Rowland's original approach and realistic characters. Agent: Pam Ahearn, Pam Ahearn Agency. (Jan.)

A crime-scene photographer in Victorian London is drawn into the notorious case of the Sleeping Beauty.A foggy evening finds narrator Sarah Bain (The Hangman's Secret, 2019, etc.), along with her friend and business partner, Lord Hugh Staunton, and her assistant, young Mick O'Reilly, a former street urchin, in Shadwell prowling the dangerous banks of the Thames, looking for sensational images to sell to the Daily World. And the group makes a sensational find: a naked female body looking like a mermaid who's washed ashore. Even while they argue about how to proceed, they realize that the corpse is actually alive. Sarah sets out to discover the identity of the mystery woman, who's soon dubbed Sleeping Beauty. Hugh, meanwhile, struggles in his closeted romance with aristocratic Tristan Mariner, who's unable to deal with the "sinful" nature of their relationship. Sarah gets able assistance from her fiance, DS Barrett. As the Daily World milks the story of Sleeping Beauty, who remains in a coma, people come out of the woodwork to claim her as a beloved relative. Dapper, condescending Belgian August Legrand claims she's his wife, Jenny; prim widow Mrs. Oliphant thinks she's her stepdaughter, Peggy; and eerily composed waif Venetia Napier believes the Sleeping Beauty is her mother. An additional burden comes in the person of Sarah's sister, Sally, who insists that they work to remove the cloud over their father, who disappeared after being implicated in a high-profile murder. Sarah goes to extremes to solve the case and protect her friends. Strong in character and plot, Rowland's fourth Victorian mystery consistently appeals even when it veers into a motley muddle. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.