Our Dear Miss H. Is on the Case

A plucky archeologist searches for her missing cousin in Marsh’s sprightly follow-up to Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man. In 1750 Essex, England, Georgina Harrington uses her cousin Percy Pendergrast’s name as her nom de plume to publish archeological articles. When she discovers a priceless helmet during a dig on her property, she asks Percy to present it on her behalf to the Antiquarians of England Society in London and he agrees. But then Percy goes missing. Georgina travels to London in search of him, heading first to the Black Sheep coffeehouse, his favorite haunt. There she meets Percy’s friend, Alexander Lovett, and the Black Sheep’s three enthusiastic proprietresses, who all agree to help her investigate. Matrimony-averse Alexander can’t help but feel drawn to Georgina’s beauty and fortitude—but then he learns that Georgina is the woman his father has picked for him to marry, an arrangement both parties balk at. They fight their attraction as the search for Percy leads them first into a series of comical mishaps and then headlong into a criminal conspiracy. The pages fly and the banter sparkles. Readers will be hooked. Agent: Jessica Watterson, Sandra Dijkstra Literary. (Mar.)