No Life For a Lady by Hannah Dolby

1896 was not a good time for a lady and certainly not for Violet Hamilton. 28 years old, a spinster, outspoken but still hemmed in by antiquated rules of decorum and blighted in the eyes of local society because her mother the beautiful flirty woman that shewas has just disappeared. Nearing the tenth anniversary of her disappearance Violet is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. There is a lot of pressure on the hapless Violet. Her father has started bringing a series of ineffectual and vapid young men as suitors, hoping one of them will take Violet offhis hands, his hope is that he himself wants to get married. After a disastrous interlude with the detective in town, whom Violet instinctively distrusts (but cant get out of his clutches) she appeals to the honest Mr Blackthorne for help. He is dragged into it much against his will but the entire story ends well for all. The hypocricy of the age, with its well delegated rules and roles for each gender heavily in favor of the males does not make for pleasant reading. It is however what it was. To have to navigate that and come out victorious one had to choose one's battles. That is what Violet strove to do. A bit slow at times, this was Victorian romance and life well written about Sent by Aria & Aries for an unbiased review, courtesy of Netgalley.