A Singular Woman

Tabitha & Wolf Historical Mystery #2

by Sarah F. Noel

Wolf had hoped he could put his thief-taking life behind him when he unexpectedly inherited an earldom. Wolf, the new Earl of Pembroke, against his better judgment, finds himself sucked back into another investigation. He knows better than to think he can keep Tabitha out of it. Tabitha was the wife of Wolf's deceased cousin, the previous earl, but now she's running his household and finding her way into his life and, to his surprise, his heart. He respects her intelligence and insights but can't help trying to protect her. As the investigation suddenly becomes far more complicated and dangerous, how can Wolf save an innocent man and keep Tabitha safe?

Genres: Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Romance, Historical Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2023

Reviews

[Carrie ✨ The Blinging Bibliophile✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the first book in this series and I did not vibe. I wasn't a fan. Funnily enough, the book club decided to read this for April's read so I sucked it up and gave it a shot. I was shocked that I liked this installment much better. The Dowager Countess was definitely the star of this story for me and I hope she doesn't evolve into a caricature of herself later in the series. My book club friends that have read the series ensure me that it keeps getting better so I'll probably check out book 3 and go from there. The mystery was basic and I was BEYOND annoyed that the supposed detective, Wolf, missed the most obvious clue EVER, dismissed it and never thought about it again until the end of the book when it was convenient to wrap the storyline. The colorful cast of characters is the only reason I'm going to try the next book but have zero hopes the mysteries will get more complex

[Doris Brase · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too many secrets

I loved it! The antics of the dowager countess are hysterical. There's lots of laugh out loud scenes. The dowager countess' butler gets arrested for murder. She enlidts the help of Wolf and Tabitha. There's lots of plotting and excitment. Off to book 3.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I really enjoyed the previous book and was enjoying this one too, but was a bit disappointed by the ending. I wish they had uncovered the murderer themselves instead of being told who it was? Also, I think it was kinda insane how quick everyone forgave kidnapping?? Like hello??? Alsooo, I was kinda wishing for more jealousy to happen between Tabitha and Wolf because she went to the German dude’s place (sorry I cannot remember his name for the life of me). I thought it was a pretty big missed opportunity for him to have not seen the extremely suggestive letter and shown his jealousy. But otherwise I still enjoyed this book.

[Becki Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like these stories

[Margaryta · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must admit I feel rather conflicted. I appreciated and enjoyed the writing, but not the plot. The writer painted a vivid picture of the Victorian London, but the story had been lost along the way.

About 40% of the book (if not more) were retellings of the previous book’s events, I felt like I was not participating, rather listening to the gossips, events that already happened behind the scene. All characters were re-introduced with almost the same wording as they were in the first entry.

After we figured out who was the “culprit”, I found myself no longer invested in the story. This whole occurrence seemed really far-fetched to me. I kept pushing through the book probably because of the good impressions of the first book.

This being said the characters are still very much likeable, especially Wolf 👀 Sarah F.Noel handles her writing pretty well and I appreciate the effort she puts in diversifying the vocabulary. Yet I wished that there would have been more action to the story.

[Karan Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

I love granny. I didnt, at first, but by the second one book she is fabulous. I like that Tabitha is coming into her own. Good for her. I cant imagine having to put up with a husband who likes to hurt you and thinks cheating is a sport he deserves. Who wouldn't love Wolf and Bear. Melody is not my favorite , only because she is not a very real four year old. I am surrounded by littles, and where defiantly precocious and very smart......Melody is more of a little older child. I hope there will eventually be a happy ending for wolf and tabitha! I am also, so hoping Bear gets a sweet girl!!! Both books have been just fun, and I am looking forward to the others! Thank you!

[Lacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took FOREVER to get through this book. I left off at 25% for months and could never get through more than a page or two at a time. I finally was able to pick it back up the other day and am glad I did. The story was a lot less dark than the first book but still good.
The end wasn’t really a surprise in the who culprit was, but it got so twistedly farcical that it made it worthwhile.
Also, picturing them and their deep seated desire not to use the phone was hysterical.

Oh, there were lots of typos or grammatical errors. Nothing obscenely ridiculous but plentiful. So if you’re bothered by it, give this a wide berth

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The circle is tightening...in a good way. There are many things that strike me as thoroughly anachronistic; then again, my view of the time period is based on other novels! (Mainly romance/mystery, but Dickens too. :-) And George Eliot, and Thackery.) So, what do I know?

[Mari · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot and dialogues were ridiculous

[Heather]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The outcome of this book and the attitudes of the characters were so outrageously unbelievable that I am still shaking my head. I don't know if I will continue with the series.

[Ka · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars again! Rounded up since I rounded down last time. Plus I liked this one slightly better, or maybe I'm just getting used to the blandness of the main characters. It's not that Wolf and Tabitha are unlikable... I think the problem might be that the author is trying really hard TO make them likable. Neither has any flaws except being too perfect (well, and "noble flaws" like being too headstrong/outspoken/honest or whatever). The actual most likable characters so far in my mind are actually the Dowager Countess (AKA DC), who is a miserable crazy bitch, and Lord Langley, who despite BEING A KIDNAPPER is actually still more interesting to me than our main characters. Sure, he has his issues, but at least he has a personality! The author SAYS he is cold and unlikable, but she does a really bad job showing that; I already liked him from the first book where we hear his pathetic backstory, and now we learn that he's great with kids (lol). What's not to like?

THE PLOT, FOR MY MEMORY WHEN I READ THE NEXT BOOK:
We pick up from the end of the previous book, where the DC has just rolled up and demanded that Tabitha and Wolf investigate the murder of some wench, because her butler was accused of the crime, and he totally wouldn't murder anyone!!

Almost from the moment we learned anything at all about butler and about the girl who was killed, I was like "she's probably his daughter" and what do you know. (Although sadly, she was NOT his daughter, and we never really find out why she was trying to get close to him -- did her mom tell her about him and show her a picture or something? It seemed like she recognized him. Presumably she knew the identity of her real father, so what the hell was up with her having daddy-daughter time with the butler? And did anyone EVER tell the butler the truth??)

Halfway through the book, Mel0dy, the most Mary Sue 4-year-old ever, is kidnapped and everyone is freaking the fuck out for like a week and a half or whatever while she's gone (as you'd expect). However, they continue investigating, which conveniently involves going to a fancy ball and dancing together.

Tabitha and Wolf engage the Young Duke whatshisface (I'll just call him "the Young Duke" to differentiate him from the old dead child molester duke) to help them ask some questions, and of course the DC is along for the ride since she is the one who asked them for help in the first place. They also introduce the DC to Wolf's underworld gangster acquaintance Mickey D at a very awkward dinner, and he bizarrely seems to strike up a genuine friendship with the old bat. Okay.

After the most amusing scene in the book, where the DC barges into some lecherous German diplomat douchebag's house and yells at him for trying to despoil her daughter-in-law, they get Melody back. Turns out she was at Lord Langley's house the whole time, which is not surprising given that he very blatantly hinted about it to Wolf several days prior. He did it for the British intelligence service, so... yeah, okay. Everyone just forgives him because he was a really stellar kidnapper who gave Melody a puppy and taught her to do math, read, and play chess (let's all admit this would be pretty impressive to accomplish). Melody had no idea she had been kidnapped, so she's totally fine, but I found all the forgiveness kind of bizarre considering the trauma the entire (innocent) household went through; it would have been more believable if the girl had been gone only a few days, not well over a week.

Oh and why were British spies involved? Because of some convoluted nonsense. The upshot was that the dead girl was an Irish courtesan who was getting some dude in the navy drunk to steal state secrets, which she then gave to the Germans because they were working together, and when she got knocked up by the previously-mentioned lecherous German dude, he murdered her because babies are inconvenient, or something, and framed the butler. And apparently, the Brit spies knew all this and just let the completely innocent butler go to a really rough prison to be treated as a murderer for a few weeks because they didn't want the spy to be revealed. Okay.

TABITHA: Were you guys just gonna let him hang for a murder he didn't commit??
LANGLEY: Of course not, we would have stopped it eventually! Sorry about that, we'll get him out of prison ASAP, we'll just say we found proof that he didn't do it and that we don't know who did.
TABITHA: Why didn't you just do that to begin with?!
LANGLEY: Uh... who can say?

His lame reason is something like "some of my higher-ups made the decision!" and it's like... my dude, none of this is making me think the British government is competent (as depicted in these books, anyhow). Anyhow, they all get sworn to secrecy about the spy stuff and the book ends. On the romance front, Tabitha and Wolf continue to want to bang, but Tabitha has decided that since she doesn't want to get spousally abused again (understandable), she will never marry again, and so sadly, she cannot bone Wolf, because that would be immoral or something. *eyeroll*

[J Cuzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book right up until chapter 28, in which the barely remorseful kidnapper was inexplicably forgiven for traumatizing and endangering several people instead of being punched in the face repeatedly and threatened to within an inch of his life. It went completely off the rails at that point, and since the kidnapper (who also framed an innocent person for murder and let him rot in jail, btw) is now integrated into the abducted child's life for some completely asinine reason, I'm not going to continue with this series. I can only suspend my disbelief so far, and that ending ruined the book for me. The first book centered on sex trafficking of children, but I'm supposed to believe that the abduction of a child in this book is nbd because she thought she was on a fun vacation with an adult she'd never met and had no reason whatsoever to trust? Ok. Sure.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm disappointed in the consequences. The heroine places herself in an unusually perilous situation in order to eliminate a suspect. They teach him a lesson, but she doesn't seem to realize that she was foolish and an expected dress down from the paramour was completely by-passed.

Also, it is NOT okay for someone to kidnap a child and use them for blackmail without facing punishment, even if they are a better parent/educator than the heroine. It is also not okay for them to remain in the child's life. I'm sorry, it really isn't.

[Carôle Ceres · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s hard to know how to rate this story. It’s not as interesting/intriguing as the first, but the character development is on point and the Dowager Lady P is as amusing and infuriating as ever!

I am enjoying this novel take on this historical cozy, as it’s not quite a cozy murder mystery, but it is an enjoyable look a Victorian England life with Polite Society, Political Society and Gang Society.

I listened to the audiobook version of this title. The narrator is superb! I’m happy to have found this series at a time when I can move from one story to the next, seamlessly.

[Doreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific!

Another great historical mystery with great main characters, good plot, entertaining dialogue, and historically accurate! Such a delight after the many mediocre, new historical novels of this period being offered to readers! It is a great reading experience , one to be savored rather than rushed. The journey to the solution is a wonderful one through this volatile time in European history, the consequences of which determined our present history!

[Zgardenldy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My new favorite author!

As an avid reader of Victorian Mysteries, it is sad to say I am rarely surprised by a book. This one and it's predecessor are true gems. The writing is perfect in it's balanced approach to sprinkling of uncommon words and historical detail. If you want adventure without the emotional torture of depressing outcomes, I highly recommend this author! Sarah Noel is like an intelligent friend who has come for tea. You will enjoy the encounter.

[Nan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5? Plot ended up getting a little out of hand in this one….and I think something needs to really push along Tabitha and Wolf’s romance. Clearly this is where it is headed, but at least some mild spice is needed here. The author also seems to just pick up whichever viewpoint is most convenient in the paragraph she is in. The ultimate, sanguine acceptance about a kidnapping (with a obvious culprit) was pretty stupid.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly love this series! The characters become more endearing with each book, the plot is always straight forward and easily followed, and the premise is also always helping their fellow Brit, no matter what walk of life they are in. Although I admire Violet, the main protagonist, I absolutely love the little girl, Melody. I have seen her in my life dreams as well. I most assuredly recommend this book and the entire series and look forward to more of this author's works.

[Colette Ferreira · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this second book, even more than the first one. While the first story dealt with a very disturbing and sensitive theme, this one felt lighter and easier to read, without losing the charm of the characters or the intrigue of the mystery. The relationship between Tabitha and Wolf continues to develop in a very engaging way, and the mystery kept me turning the pages. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Glenda Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly a delight! Ms. Noel followed up well from her first novel I read it but did not review it then. A Singular Woman is the second of Tabitha and Wolf series. The characterizations are three dimensional. The novel seems to have been well researched. The interactions between the main characters are intriguing. Definitely read this.

[Judith Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great New Series

The mores of British aristocracy during the 19th century is at the heart of this delightful series. The dowager countess is one of the most entering characters ever. While the mysteries thus far have been intriguing, I can’t wait to see how the series continues to develop.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent reading

Have just finished 2nd book in the series and have really enjoyed both books I like the fact that it highlights the violence and nasty habits of the rich in that time who thought they were above the law a little different from the norm and they have a good touch of humour aswell I really recommend them look forward to the next book.

[alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Original story!

I love this series! The stories are very good and well written. There are many different characters who you come to like, even the local gang leader and his family. Unlikely partners work together towards a common goal. I'm going to start book 3 next. It's a fun book to read. 😊

[Debra Ranck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting investigation.

Tabby cat and Woffie join forces again to find the real murderer of a young woman whose father is butler for the old Dutchess. Kidnapping, murder, German, Irish, spies and misunderstandings are all just part of the mayhem of this investigation. The ending is not one to easily guess. The book keeps interest Enjoy

[Kathi Beecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

I found the second book in the series less stiff than the first. There was less telling and more showing as well. I do like the characters and they seem to be developing better. The basics of the stories are interesting and are moving along better. I’m going to keep reading the series because I think it has great possibilities. I do recommend them.

[Ana T. Bartys · Rating 5 out of 5]

more please!

Witty, clever, well written, accurate to the period, Full of interesting and varied characters. Once you start reading the fist book you can’t put it down and before you know it, in a couple of days, you are ready for book 3 - not yet in print.
Please keep writing Sarah!

[Nancy T Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Death/A Kidnapping/A Search!!

With the butler’s life in jeopardy an investigation begins - which leads to some complicated decisions & issues. With help from others there is still no word on the kidnapping until Tabitha & the dowager are taken by force. But Wolf isn’t far behind!!

[Nancy Meyer Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun to curl up with - I plan to read the whole series!

I really enjoy Tabitha’s growing confidence in her own development and Wolf’s growing respect for her. The tot Melody is a treat and the supporting characters are well developed too. Fun to see how the author weaves in the culture of the period.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

the main characters circle is growing

I like how the cast of characters is expanding. The enlarged found family are becoming more interesting. We are experiencing different facets of their personalities. And a dog was added.