Lady Rights a Wrong

Casey’s uneven sequel to 2019’s Lady Takes the Case, likewise set in 1912 Yorkshire, finds Lady Cecilia Bates of Danby Hall excited to learn that Mrs. Amelia Price, the charismatic president of the Women’s Suffrage Union, will be speaking at Danby Village Guildhall. Lady Cecilia meets Mrs. Price at the event, and the two women become friends. Mrs. Price rents a nearby cottage for an extended stay. Tensions slowly emerge within the Union as well as within Mrs. Price’s immediate family. Eventually, Mrs. Price takes a fatal fall down her cottage stairs. Was it an accident or murder? Lady Cecilia, who knows many people regarded Mrs. Price’s views as a threat to their livelihood, works with Jane Hughes, her American lady’s maid, to resolve the mystery. Casey knows how to set a scene, but her rich, sometimes repetitive descriptions of upper-class life tend to slow the plot, and some readers may struggle to engage with characters who could have come straight out of a TV miniseries. Those who care for depth more than surface will have to look elsewhere. Agent: Gail Fortune, Talbot Fortune Agency. (June)