Waltz with a Stranger

Sherwood’s debut is a tame, detail-heavy romantic mystery set in late Victorian London and Cornwall. American debutante Aurelia Newbold, crippled from a riding accident and deserted by her fiancé, Charles Vandermere, hides in the shadows while her beautiful twin, Amy, dazzles society. James Trelawney asks Aurelia for a waltz, telling her, “You need not be defined by your scars,” and her confidence returns. After Aurelia’s leg is conveniently fixed by a yearlong visit to a German spa, she finds James has inherited an earldom and bankrupt estate from his dissolute cousin Gerald—and is engaged to Amy. When anonymous letters accuse James of murder, he suspects that Gerald was guilty of more than poor judgment. Aurelia helps James investigate Gerald’s misdeeds while Amy is drawn to James’s friend Thomas, and Charles reappears to beg Aurelia for forgiveness. Plot entanglements resolve too easily, but the sympathetic protagonists will keep readers engaged. Agent: Stephany Evans, FinePrint Literary Mangement. (Dec.)