Masquerade in London

The Samantha and Wyatt Mysteries, Book 1

By: Emily L. Finch

Narrated by: Polly Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

On the run, a world away from all she's ever known.

London, 1861. Samantha Kingston has lived under the control of her overbearing uncle since the death of her parents six years ago. Trapped by the conventions of her gender and social class, she is desperate to find a way out. But when her aunt and uncle are murdered, the freedom she sought seems even further out of reach. A suspect in the crime, she finds herself on the run, unsure whom to trust, lost in the underworld she had only ever read about in the pages of a Dickens novel.

V. T. Wyatt has defied his aristocratic upbringing to pursue a life as a private investigator. After an unusual first meeting, he hires Samantha to help him solve a rash of burglaries. Soon, a connection between the burglaries and the murders emerges, drawing Samantha and Wyatt even closer together as they race to solve both mysteries and clear her name.

©2022 Emily L. Finch (P)2023 Tantor

A new favorite series and author

The narrator was outstanding and enhanced the story and atmosphere with realistic emotion and did men’s voices extremely well. I will be reading this again. I will also preorder the final book.

Did not care for the narration

I liked it overall but not the narrator. Hard to listen to. The voice is ugh

Entertaining. Not overly dramatic.

Good story. Male voices are irritating, but the story was engaging enough to continue listening.

Amazing First In Series

What a welcome addition to the historical mystery genre. I am so excited to see what the future holds for Samantha and Wyatt. Full disclosure, I briefly thought this book was going to be rather gloomy, and I even questioned whether or not I wanted to continue. I am so thankful that I did. These characters are well developed, and the story is complex with unexpected twists and turns. Samantha promises to be a worthy protagonist, demonstrating both vulnerability and strength; though she will need to take care to avoid becoming broody. Wyatt is brimming with intensity and integrity, but he also has a lighter side that surfaces from time to time. In fact, even with multiple murders and continued threats, there is time for some lighthearted humor, particularly portrayed in the friendship between Wyatt and Ashton. One of my favorite scenes in the book is the dinner attended by Lord Ashton at Wyatt's home. This book checks all of my boxes for a (mostly) cozy historical mystery, and I look forward to more adventures with Samantha and Wyatt.

Polly Lee does an excellent job voicing these characters and performing the variety of accents. Some reviews indicated that they were less than pleased with her voicing of Wyatt, but I beg to differ. In my opinion, her portrayal is perfectly in keeping with his character, and she brings him, as well as the others, to life.

I do listen to this and most books at 1.20 speed.

Story line moves quickly

Had to listen at 1.2 speed to get normal prosody. However, the rest of the listening was enjoyable.

Really good addition to this genre

I listen to dozens of books but write only one or two reviews. I choose the ones I really like and appreciate.
This is an historical mystery with the typical format- young woman in trouble, beautiful/pretty, smart, and usually in some type of financial straits. This can become very Harlequin-y, and if so, that’s it for me.
This story has all of the above, but it’s not sickeningly sweet or crude with first time sex scenes.

The protagonists are likeable, intelligent but not overly sarcastic and rude, and the Victorian woman is assertive with the males around her without being obnoxious.

I really liked it and hope to read more from this author. The narrator was lovely to listen to, also, which can make or break a story.

Predictable and boring

Story is frustratingly stupid at times. The narrator sounds like she could be reading a news bulletin on the BBC.