{"id":10906,"date":"2018-06-07T19:27:49","date_gmt":"2018-06-07T23:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=10906"},"modified":"2025-10-01T19:03:37","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T23:03:37","slug":"lady-helena-investigates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/10906","title":{"rendered":"Lady Helena Investigates"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lady Helena Investigates<\/a><\/em> (2018) Jane Steen<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in Sussex in 1881<\/p>\n

Lady Helena Whitcombe survived the death of her first love, and now she must get past the accidental death of her husband. Except that her husband’s doctor doesn’t think the drowning was an accident, but a murder.<\/p>\n

Helena’s is the youngest of her siblings, and as was common at the time, has nieces and nephews closer in age to her than her oldest siblings. Despite being a grown woman, many of her older siblings attempt to manage her life, and at first she doesn’t have the strength to stop them, but as time passes and she settles into being a widow, she begins to discover herself, in a way she hadn’t since she was a teenager.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t have you back, so I\u2019m forced to move forward with my life. I let Daniel\u2019s death reduce me to some kind of paralysis, but you rescued me from it in the end. Perhaps this time I can find the strength to do without a rescuer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a murder mystery, but the story is as much about Helena’s growth and self-discovery as it is about discovering whether her husband was murdered, and why. <\/p>\n

(D)eepest mourning should be carried out with the mirrors covered, you know. You\u2019re not supposed to be looking at yourself and considering who you are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s an interesting concept. In a way it feels cruel, but in another way, it makes sense–you probably shouldn’t be making life changing decisions in the depths of grief.<\/p>\n

Although her siblings were a bit overwhelming to keep straight at first, and I wondered about the motives of her brother, eventually they became distinct personalities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find this house terribly quiet by comparison.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI have just as many visitors as I want, thank you, Blanche. And don\u2019t forget I\u2019m still in deep mourning.\u201d <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t mention that several of my regular visitors, hearing of Blanche\u2019s presence, would delay their next visit until she was gone. Blanche\u2019s little assertions of superiority and gripes about money tended to put people off.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I also began to appreciate Michael, who was clearly dyslexic, even if that concept was unknown at the time, and who worked around his handicap as a wealthy lord might–buy hiring good men to be his secretaries.<\/p>\n

It was almost unheard-of for Michael to look anyone directly in the eye, with the exception of his children.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in Papa\u2019s map chest, quite nicely preserved. In fact, would you like the map chest itself? You always enjoyed playing with it when you were a little girl.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cMichael dislikes it,\u201d added Annette. \u201cHe says all the little compartments under the glass lid are crooked, and he doesn\u2019t like the way the glass reflects. You know how fussy he is.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not a thriller. There are no chases or murderers hiding in the dark with sharp knives. But there is plenty of death–the deaths common to the times, of childbirth and illness. But it is, as I said, a discovery of the past and Helena’s own strengths.<\/p>\n

I very much enjoyed it.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Aspidistra Press
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lady Helena Investigates (2018) Jane Steen Set in Sussex in 1881 Lady Helena Whitcombe survived the death of her first love, and now she must get past the accidental death of her husband. Except that her husband’s doctor doesn’t think the drowning was an accident, but a murder. Helena’s is the youngest of her siblings, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,30,48,33,207,8,608],"tags":[530,597,213,628,750,557],"class_list":["post-10906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-british","category-female","category-historical","category-mental-health-rep","category-mystery","category-neurodiversity","tag-disability","tag-dyslexia","tag-grief","tag-jane-steen","tag-scott-de-quincy-mysteries","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2PU","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":24156,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24156","url_meta":{"origin":10906,"position":0},"title":"Lady Helena Investigates, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"January 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady Helena Investigates, Audiobook (2018) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #1) Set in Sussex in 1881 \"I can\u2019t have you back, so I\u2019m forced to move forward with my life. I let Daniel\u2019s death reduce me to some kind of paralysis, but you rescued me from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lady Helena Investigates","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Lady-Helena-Investigates.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23155,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23155","url_meta":{"origin":10906,"position":1},"title":"Lady Helena Investigates","author":"Michelle","date":"February 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady Helena Investigates (2018) Jane Steen (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries) Set in England in 1881 It\u2019s too early to make big decisions about your life. You must give yourself time to grieve, Baby. That\u2019s why deepest mourning should be carried out with the mirrors covered, you know. You\u2019re not supposed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lady Helena Investigates","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Lady-Helena-Investigates.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19880,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19880","url_meta":{"origin":10906,"position":2},"title":"Lady Odelia’s Secret","author":"Michelle","date":"March 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady Odelia's Secret (2022) Jane Steen (Lady Helena Investigates) Set in England in 1882. I read the first book, Lady Helena Investigates, soon after it came out, and was disgruntled when there wasn't a sequel. Until a couple weeks ago I stumbled across the second book in the series. HUZZAH!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lady Odelias Secret","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lady-Odelias-Secret.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23473,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23473","url_meta":{"origin":10906,"position":3},"title":"Lady Ambition’s Dilemma","author":"Michelle","date":"March 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady Ambition's Dilemma (2024) Jane Steen (Lady Helena Investigates) Set in England in 1883. Lady Helena is approaching the end of her mourning period, following the death of her husband in 1881. Although she still misses Justin, she is ready to return to the world--and her growing feelings for Armand\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lady Ambition's Dilemma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Lady-Ambitions-Dilemma.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Lady-Ambitions-Dilemma.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Lady-Ambitions-Dilemma.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Lady-Ambitions-Dilemma.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24205,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24205","url_meta":{"origin":10906,"position":4},"title":"Lady Odelia\u2019s Secret, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"January 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady Odelia\u2019s Secret, Audiobook (2022) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #2) Set in Sussex in 1882 I felt Michael\u2014who hated to touch, or be touched by, other people\u2014flinch as I rested my fingertips as lightly as possible on his arm. \u201cI enjoy reading about people who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lady Odelias Secret","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Lady-Odelias-Secret.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24207,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24207","url_meta":{"origin":10906,"position":5},"title":"Lady Ambition’s Dilemma, Audio Book","author":"Michelle","date":"January 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lady Ambition's Dilemma, Audiobook (2022) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #3) Set in Sussex in 1883 \u201cIn any case, we\u2019re not discussing me. 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