With a treaty imminent between the Republic and the Kingdom that would see her deported and returned as property to the Duke of Northampton, Elizabeth is only too glad to take up the offer of an investigation into ice thefts from the founder of a charitable foundation in Derby. But what she uncovers there will shake her to the core ...

In the second volume of The Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire much of the tension and pace comes from Elizabeth's attempt to stay one step ahead of the authorities and the bounty hunters on her trail, and the mystery of the ice thefts that uncovers a far larger crime is compelling. I agree with one reviewer that part of the attraction of this series is the fact that Elizabeth must use every ounce of her intelligence, ingenuity and resourcefulness to escape danger, whether that be deportation and the fate that will inevitably follow, or the danger to life and limb. She always has to be alert, and the feeling of being constantly kept on your toes transfers to the reader through the first-person narration. This is quickly shaping up to be one of my favourite series and Elizabeth one of my favourite
characters. ( )

In this second book in the trilogy, Elizabeth Barnabus must evade the authorities as the Republic and the Kingdom work on a treaty that could force Elizabeth to return home where she'd be forced to be an indentured servant to a lecherous duke. Meanwhile, her best friend has gotten herself involved in a local charitable organization of women who are working to resolve a conflict between ice workers and the manufacturers. However, as Elizabeth begins to help in the investigation, they discover there is far more at risk than ice.

This second book in the trilogy continues the steampunk-ish mystery and adventure and while it had been over a year since I'd read the first book, I was able to jump back into the series with few issues (the glossary in the back of the book was pretty helpful for refreshing my memory on some details though). The mystery is well crafted, Elizabeth is a compelling character even though I felt like we didn't get as much of her emotional reactions to things as I think would have made her understandable. I'll definitely be finishing off the trilogy. ( )

I won my copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
This is a fairly fast-paced, readable steampunk adventure novel, starring Elizabeth, a tough young woman who is on the run from agents of both the Kingdom and the Republic. At the same time she is also trying to be a PI for hire, tracking down answers to a suspected ice theft problem.
I had some issues getting into this book. It is very British, written by a Brit, for a British readership, so in the world of this novel, even though they are in a year comparable to our own, the Kingdom and the Republic are oddly isolated from Ireland and from the United States. In this alternate history, a civil war in the early 1800's splits Britain in half, with the area that we would know as Scotland as a sort of democracy (but with gender discrimination far worse than I would expect from the Scots) and a monarchy in England and southern Wales. The science is shaky, the history and sociopolitics feel cobbled together, and I was surprised that there is not a better developed underworld that the heroine can escape to when she is on the run. I also have my doubts that isolating Europe from the Americas and preventing WW1 and WW2 would really result in technological stagnation enough that the year 2000 in their world looks a lot like the late 1800's in ours.
Still, fiction readers are supposed to do their best to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the story, and the story is entertaining and well enough told to justify 4 stars on Goodreads. ( )

Unusually for a second book in the series, I think this one was even better than the first.

Elizabeth Barnabus is living a double life, both as herself and as her male twin. The events of Book 1 are still having an effect - although Elizabeth now owns her boat free and clear, she has also come to the negative attention of the authorities...

Unseemly Science follows Elizabeth as she attempts to solve a mystery relating to the ice farmers (an excellent concept!) and avoid legal threats to her liberty at the same time. And somebody seems to be following her...

And why is the Patent Office so interested in the Bullet Catcher's Handbook anyway?

One might also ask why the young Patent Office official from the previous book seems so interested in Elizabeth personally, but one would probably get a pitying look if one did. I look forward to seeing how that one plays out...

One thing I like about this trilogy is that Elizabeth is very much not in control of events. Even when she thinks she is, things have a habit of turning around on her. She is almost powerless in the face of her enemies, and much of the time, pretty much all she can do is dodge one bullet at a time. She knows she is in danger, and this gives the books what I think is a realistic feeling of threat: this is not the kind of book where the underdog suddenly develops amazing powers of strategy and a host of allies to take her from being at the bottom of the pile to being a series threat to the powers-that-be. Elizabeth is not a threat: she is continually one step away from getting squashed flat. However, she has something that powerful people want - but what is it?

I shall now go and acquire the next book in the series - [b:The Custodian of Marvels|25489100|The Custodian of Marvels (Fall of the Gas-Lit Empire, #3)|Rod Duncan|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1443099188s/25489100.jpg|45263398] - to see how the trilogy plays out. ( )

I can never read a steampunk book without thinking of one of my favorite television shows, "Wild, Wild West", and even though this book is set in England and not in America it still embodies all the elements that make this genre enjoyable and fun to read, good writing and memorable characters.

I hope there will be more books in this series, because I can't wait to find out what happens next! ( )