The Vanishing Thief by Kate Parker

Overview:

Georgia Fenchurch appears to be an unassuming antiquarian bookseller in Victorian London, but the life she leads is as exciting as any adventure novel. For Georgia is a member of the Archivist Society, a secret association of private investigators led by the mysterious Sir Broderick.

When a frantic woman comes to Georgia claiming that her neighbor, Nicholas Drake, has been abducted by the notorious Duke of Blackford, Georgia and the Archivist Society agree to take the case. But Drake is no innocent—he is a thief who has been blackmailing many of the leading members of London society. To find Drake and discover who is behind his abduction, Georgia and her beautiful assistant, Emma, will have to leave the cozy confines of their bookshop and infiltrate the inner circles of the upper crust—with the help of the dashing but dubious Duke of Blackford himself.

But the missing thief and his abductor are not the only ones to elude Georgia Fenchurch. When she spies the man who killed her parents years ago, she vows to bring him to justice once and for all…at any cost.

My Review:

This is the first book in the Victorian Bookshop Mystery series where we meet Georgia Fenchurch, owner of a bookstore that specializes in antique books.  She is also a member of the Archivist Society, a group that discretely solves crimes. 

Georgia was orphaned as a young girl when both her parents were brutally murdered and she has been on the hunt for their killer ever since.  In the beginning of the story, she spots him and though she chases after him, he gets away.  Shortly after, a woman comes into Georgia’s store and demands help from the Archivist Society in locating her neighbor has been abducted by the Duke of Blackford.  Georgia is skeptical but discusses the case with the rest of the Archivist Society and they agree to help. 

I found the story to be engaging, although the author plays a little too fast and loose with the rules of society at that time.  I am more than willing to suspend belief if the rules are broken “correctly” but there still needs to be a sense that it is a historical event and not a modern story with a Victorian setting.  It wasn’t enough to take me out of the story, though, and that’s important.

I thought the characters were interesting but just a tad two dimensional and a little flat.  I would like to see them more fleshed out but the story had enough twists and turns to keep me turning the page and wanting to find out how the person would be caught and that’s the tell-tale sign of a good book.

Overall, while there were a few minor issues, I did enjoy the book and will definitely be picking up the next one in the series.