Death of an Angel

Maire Beaufort, society’s adored “Angel of Waldfeld," is dead. Her body was found propped against a wall of the Korcher canal in one of the city of Waldfeld’s more fashionable districts. The death is more than a tragedy. It threatens a diplomatic crisis.

A Death in Good Society: A John Recht Novel, by Taleena Sinclair, opens with Maire Beaufort’s death. A month later, the crime is still unresolved, her murderer still unknown.

John Recht, retired from his army’s intelligence service, is unsurprised when he is summoned to the palace of the Lord Mayor of Waldfeld. Alfred Gesittet was his former colonel, before Recht shifted to intelligence. He soon learns the summons leads to what he expected. Gesittet wants Recht to investigate Beaufort’s death.

Recht quit the army after his wife committed suicide, leaving him to raise his teenaged stepdaughter. He worries the investigation will take time away from the child alienated by her mother’s death. Yet duty draws Recht to accept Gesittet’s commission.

He soon learns why the mystery is unsolved after a month. No one wants it solved. Unless the murderer was a random footpad — and indications are it was not — the killer belongs to or is employed by Waldfeld’s elite. The authorities want that Pandora’s Box firmly shut.

Recht does not care. He is determined to follow the trail to the killer. The path uncovers palace scandals and hidden corruption. Recht finds an unexpected ally, a next-door neighbor, an intelligent, unmarried woman, who becomes intrigued by the mystery. She offers an entrée into Waldfeld’s distaff society, finding answers the male Recht cannot.

The setting is familiar yet not entirely clear. Events take place sometime in the 18th century or possibly early-19th century. Horses or walking are the main form of transportation, and machine technology plays no part in the story. It has the feel of a Regency novel. Yet it is not set in Britain. Its fictitious setting has a central European and Germanic feel, the author’s version of Ruthenia or Graustark. The result is a rich and intriguing background, one that draws readers in. There are tantalizing hints demanding answers, leading readers onward.

A first novel, A Death in Good Society builds to a surprising and explosive conclusion, a mystery satisfactorily solved. While it is not a Regency romance, it will appeal to those who read them as well as to fans of traditional mystery tales. Sinclair delivers reading value in this book and promises similar value in its sequels.

“A Death In Good Society: A John Recht Novel,” by Taleena Sinclair, Mevrian House Books, ‎ July 2026, 357 pages, $16.99 (Hardcover), $3.99 (E-book)

This review was written by Mark Lardas, who writes at Ricochet as Seawriter. Mark Lardas, an engineer, freelance writer, historian, and model-maker, lives in League City, TX. His website is marklardas.com.