The Spinster’s Swindle

While not quite as polished as The Scoundrel’s New Con, Stein’s second Arcane Tales Victorian romance still brings the fun with capers and chemistry aplenty. Phony medium Lydia Weaver can’t believe her luck when playwright Maxwell Millerson, the son of her nemesis, comes to her for spiritual advice. Maxwell’s father, Adolphus, has sunk his family into debt with a misguided renovation of his gentleman’s club, and Maxwell will try anything to save them from financial ruin. Lydia seizes the opportunity for revenge, pretending to help Maxwell while enacting a series of escalating schemes, from donning various disguises to beat gentlemen at cards to staging an elaborate hoax to convince patrons that the club is cursed. But Maxwell’s kindness, good looks, and way with words soon have her questioning her mission. The backstory of how exactly Adolphus wronged Lydia takes slightly too long to be fully revealed, making it difficult to invest in the opening pages, especially as Stein relies on some sketchy contrivances and conveniences to get the plot in motion. These are minor quibbles, however, in the face of giddily executed set pieces and the protagonists’ chemistry. The love scenes are especially notable for how grounded they are in character, with wordsmith Maxwell providing some suitably poetic dirty talk. It’s another charming romp. (Self-published)