Her Ladyship’s Curse by Lynn Viehl
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
What a fun venture into steampunk alternate American history! Our heroine Kit doesn’t believe in magic, and makes her woman-in-a-man’s-world way by debunking “curses.” However, her gender and her profession make her a target for those who peddle magic and those who believe women should stay in the kitchen. Kit goes through several close calls, has to work with two men, one who wants to seduce her to his own ends, and one who doesn’t believe she can be a good investigator since she’s female.
There is a surprising amount of plot in this unexpectedly short story–hidden identity, is-it-or-isn’t-it real magic, thrilling peril, sewer diving, the plight of repressed women–all mixed into the alternate timeline where the British Empire still holds sway over America. Sometimes this alternate setting is confusing, since most of us are conditioned to picture steampunk as taking place somewhere in Europe, but it’s a nice change.
I felt a little disappointed when I realized the ending would be a cliffhanger, because I was enjoying the story so much. I’m looking forward to the next installment so I can find out what happens to Kit, and how the overarching story (Kit solves her original mission, but it opens up so much more plot) will move along. I just wish I didn’t have to wait for the rest of the first novel; it seems odd to cut a book down to such small chunks. I would have gladly spent more time on this as a longer novel, which I understand it will be once it gets a paperback release.
tags: alternate-history, crime, historical, mystery, steampunk, supernatural, netgalley