Sacred Ends

Fans of elegantly written and intricately plotted historicals will relish this middle volume in British author Appignanesi’s Belle Époque trilogy (after 2014’s Paris Requiem). Marguerite de Landois, who lives in Paris, welcomes a summons home to the Loir region of France by her husband, who lives in a chateau mostly without her. The visit will allow Marguerite to assist her friend, 17-year-old orphan Martine Branquart, in finding Martine’s sister, a servant, who’s gone missing in the Loir area. A body on the tracks, an apparent suicide, disrupts Marguerite and Martine’s train trip. Martine appears to recognize the dead man, but quickly claims that she was mistaken. After their arrival, Marguerite learns that the tragedy may actually have been a homicide. Her further investigations lead her to another corpse, that of a woman, which she literally trips over in the woods. The truth behind both deaths is complex, and the reveal well handled. Marguerite is a worthy addition to the ranks of strong independent female amateur sleuths. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Associates (U.K.). (Feb.)