Petty Treason

The second (sadly, of only two) book in the Sarah Tolerance mystery series set in an alternate Regency period of British history. Miss Sarah Tolerance is a Fallen Woman living in Regency London, making her living by doing private and discreet investigations for the well-to-do. She is approached by a Mr. Colcannon to investigate the violent death of his brother-in-law, the Chevalier d'Aubigny, who was found bludgeoned to death in his own bed. As Miss Tolerance soon discovers, there are more people that wished the Chevalier dead than alive, as he was a cruel husband, a lakcluster employee and all around, a bad apple. As Sarah delves deeper into the mystery, she comes into contact with London's darker, seedy side and a plot that may show more involve treason and royalty as well as murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed Madeleine Robins' first book in the Sarah Tolerance series, and as I wanted a shorter story to read before picking up Hilary Mantel's large Wolf Hall, I thought this would be the perfect book for me to read at this time. It does not disappoint. Regency London in Robins' world is one in which women are given just a bit more freedom than they were during the actual English Regency- just enough to make for some compelling adventures on the part of Sarah Tolerance. I also had a lot of fun trying to pinpoint the changes Robins made to history, particularly the history involving the Royal family, and why she chose to make those changes. It was amusing for me and says a lot about Robins as a writer, I think. Alternate histories can be difficult, depending on the initial point at which the author chooses to break with history. The main basis of this series is that, rather than the Prince of Wales becoming the Regent, George III's wife took on the role. However, she is very sick in the books, and so there is a huge power struggle between all the king's sons as to who may become the next Regent. It's fascinating and I'm quite depressed we don't have any further books in the series to read. But maybe Robins will find a small press publisher for Sarah Tolerance and my world will be righted once more.

If you are not a Regency aficionado like me, but just enjoy historical mysteries, I thin you'd find the Tolerance books up your alley as well. The story moves quickly, the mystery has many nuances and levels, and the characters are engaging. It's also interesting to learn about judicial history and how it used to work. Or did not work, as the case may be. Also, Sarah Tolerance is a very interesting character, and I would really enjoy getting to know her better through more books. She does not indulge in self-pity, she refuses to let the world dictate how she should act, and she is handy with a sword. Good stuff all around, I think. show less

Six months after the events of Point of Honor, Miss Sarah Tolerance is still working as an agent of inquiry, and is now tasked with discovering who was responsible for the brutal murder of a French émigré in his own bed. I liked that Madeleine Robins was careful to show that what happened in the first book did have an ongoing effect on Sarah and made her question her own judgement somewhat, but despite that Petty Treason overall felt like there was a little less at stake for her this time around. Fun, but lacking in that full-on escapist factor.

The first book in this series grabbed my attention because of the alternate history element. The mystery was fine, but I was more interested in the world-building that took place. With this second book, though there is a deeper exploration of relationship between two of the main characters, there is relatively little that is new in terms of alternate history. The mystery itself was well rounded, but again, I was looking for more exploration of this other England. The stories of both books remind me a bit of the Anne Perry ones, which I stopped reading after a while because of the sameness of plot. I think I may leave this series for a bit as well, unless I hear there has been something drastically interesting that takes place.

Rounding show more up to 3 stars. show less

This is the sequel to [book: Point of Honor], and once again Miss Sarah Tolerance (basically Elizabeth Bennett in rather different circumstances) must navigate through treacherous London to solve a mystery. After a much disliked gentleman is murdered in his bed, Miss Tolerance is called upon to solve the mystery. But there are too many suspects--the brutalized wife, the many men owed money, the victims of blackmail. The mystery itself is interesting, but what I really love about these books is how belieavable and fully characterized the characters, communities and city are.

Sarah investigates the murder of the husband of a woman, the woman is the prime suspect but there are many other possible culprits for the job.

The more I read of Sarah the more I like her. She's a solid character who is likeable and you can see how the author has done her best to study the period and come up with a character who is firmly rooted in the period but still struggling with her survival as a fallen woman.

A good second outing for Fallen Women Sarah Tolerance, in a Regency England just slightly askew from our own. Robins is thoroughly grounded in the Regency period, and her books are prime examples of how to do historical fiction right. Her grasp on plotting and pacing is not quite so sure: she telegraphs her twists well ahead of time and could have brought the book to a close many pages earlier if Miss Tolerance had gone to the magistrate with her evidence sooner.

Nicely done and original. Getting tired of the constant Fallen Woman term used as a descriptor, though. Will try to ignore it,