BOOK REVIEW: Lady Helena Investigates by Jane Steen

I received this book for free from Netgalley. This did not influence my review.

I’ve been nursing a horrible cold this week, so I spent as much time as I could under a blanket, reading. I just finished Lady Helena Investigates by Jane Steen. (Book one of a new series.)

A cozy historical mystery, the novel’s protagonist is Lady Helena, a young woman newly widowed. Her unfortunate husband, Justin, was a gentleman farmer many years her elder. Their marriage had been a happy one, and Helena is stunned and grieving. Justin died by drowning, trying to save a ram that had fallen into a river. At least, that’s the theory.

Helena is the youngest daughter in a large aristocratic family. Very large. It’s a bit difficult keeping them all straight in the opening chapters, but things fall into place fairly quickly. The main thing is that Helena is stronger in spirit than her older sisters and overbearing brother, the Earl of Broadmere, credit her with being. Although everyone has their opinion on what she should do next, she has her own ideas and searching for a replacement husband is not one of them.

With enough to do fending off her probably well-meaning but intrusive family, Helena is not particularly pleased when her husband’s physician, Armand Fortier, an attractive, self-assured Frenchman, presents himself at her door. After offering condolences, he states the real reason for his call. He believes Justin was murdered.

Helena doesn’t want to believe this and so, for a time, she simply doesn’t.

The novel does not proceed as a usual mystery. It’s more of a gentle family saga, with Helena trying to piece her life back together. In her youth, Helena had an interest in following in her mother’s footsteps as an herbalist and healer. But she lost interest when her first fiancé, her cousin Daniel, died unexpectedly. Helena’s mother is now suffering from dementia, and Helena regrets the lost opportunity to learn from her. But she does have all her mother’s old journals. Reading through them, Helena learns a great deal about the woman her mother once was. But unearthing the past leads to shocking, painful truths about her family.

There’s a lot packed into the story–maybe a little too much. A lot of human foibles are crammed in as well as the usual suspects of sin and evil. But the main characters are thoughtful, caring people so I’d be glad to read more about them in book two. The budding romance with its hint of mystery is another reason to look forward to seeing them again.