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Miss Scarlet and the Duke #1
Miss Scarlet and the Duke: House of Mystery
The first original novel inspired by the hit MASTERPIECE Mystery! series Miss Scarlet and the Duke.
At the height of Victorian "Egyptian Mummymania," when illusion and obsession captivate London society, a discovery defies all reason—the body of a recently murdered woman found inside a sarcophagus sealed for thousands of years.
For Eliza Scarlet, the case offers a chance to prove herself once again in a world that continues to underestimate her, but as she delves deeper, she uncovers a troubling pattern—women vanishing, lives dismissed, and a mystery that reaches further than anyone is willing to admit. At its center is a name spoken in Jebediah Griffin.
As Eliza follows the truth into increasingly perilous territory, Detective Inspector William Wellington is never far behind. He is bound to her by loyalty, by history…and by something neither of them is willing to face. Each step deeper into the case tests not only their resolve, but the fragile line between partnership and something more.
At the height of Victorian "Egyptian Mummymania," when illusion and obsession captivate London society, a discovery defies all reason—the body of a recently murdered woman found inside a sarcophagus sealed for thousands of years.
For Eliza Scarlet, the case offers a chance to prove herself once again in a world that continues to underestimate her, but as she delves deeper, she uncovers a troubling pattern—women vanishing, lives dismissed, and a mystery that reaches further than anyone is willing to admit. At its center is a name spoken in Jebediah Griffin.
As Eliza follows the truth into increasingly perilous territory, Detective Inspector William Wellington is never far behind. He is bound to her by loyalty, by history…and by something neither of them is willing to face. Each step deeper into the case tests not only their resolve, but the fragile line between partnership and something more.
- GenresMysteryMystery Thriller
Audible Audio
Published June 23, 2026
About the author
Victoria Dowd
22 books92 followersVictoria is a crime writer and her first novel, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Murder, won The People’s Book Prize 2020/2021. It was also In Search of the Classic Mystery’s book of the year 2020. It’s the first in the Smart Woman’s mystery series. The second is Body on the Island and the third, The Supper Club Murders is out on 16th September. They are a dark comedy take on the classic whodunnit.
She is also an award winning writer of short fiction, having won the Gothic Fiction prize for short fiction by Go Gothic. She was the runner up in The New Writer’s writer of the year award and her work has been short listed and Highly commended by Writers’ Forum magazine. She was also long-listed for The Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition. She has had short stories published in various literary and arts journals such as BTS Literary and Arts Annual, Gold Dust magazine and Dream Catcher. She has spoken at various literary festivals, most recently in Bath, and at various schools and book groups. Her historical fiction, The Painter of Siena, was published in 2016.
After studying law at Cambridge University, she was a criminal law barrister for many years, but finally hung up the wig in favour of more fictional crimes.
She is also an award winning writer of short fiction, having won the Gothic Fiction prize for short fiction by Go Gothic. She was the runner up in The New Writer’s writer of the year award and her work has been short listed and Highly commended by Writers’ Forum magazine. She was also long-listed for The Willesden Herald International Short Story Competition. She has had short stories published in various literary and arts journals such as BTS Literary and Arts Annual, Gold Dust magazine and Dream Catcher. She has spoken at various literary festivals, most recently in Bath, and at various schools and book groups. Her historical fiction, The Painter of Siena, was published in 2016.
After studying law at Cambridge University, she was a criminal law barrister for many years, but finally hung up the wig in favour of more fictional crimes.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 1, 2026
Faithful to the TV series. Same voice and intrigue.
July 12, 2026
The Duke is back… but to what end?
This review contains spoilers for the Miss Scarlet and the Duke: House of Mystery book and the TV series, including the upcoming seventh and final season.
House of Mystery is "inspired by" the TV series Miss Scarlet and the Duke, airing on Alibi in the UK, and as part of PBS Masterpiece in the US. You'll notice that this novel uses that full title. However, after the airing of Season 4, it was announced that the actor who played the Duke was leaving the show, and the title was being cut in half. I won’t theorize on the true reasons for his departure here, but suffice it to say the explanation we were given didn't make any sense, and a lot of the puzzle pieces still don't add up. The producers, who are also the publishers of this book (MSL), immediately turned around and added a new love interest despite the fact the audience was promised that the show would then just focus on Eliza Scarlet. Suffice it to say, there was backlash.
As a hardcore fan of the original show who was deeply hurt by what happened, I did not watch the seasons after the title change. It’s no longer the show I love, and pairing I love was broken up. This review is not a rant about all that, but given all that has transpired with this franchise, what is the intention of this novel? To perhaps create an alternate universe, via a book series, where Eliza gets with her original love interest William Wellington, the titular Duke? Because it is baffling to me, even a diehard shipper of Wiliza, to create a novel at this point that heavily features the romance between the two of them before the seventh and final season airs, where Eliza's endgame is with someone else. Even the promotion for this book has Kate Phillips on set, in costume as Eliza, complete a shiny new ring on her left hand, reading passages from House of Mystery that highlight the romantic nature of her relationship with William. And rings play a big part in this book. So suffice to say, this is super messy.
Given the backlash over his departure on the show, my first reaction to MSL venturing into publishing a book that reinstates William to his rightful place seemed like a greedy cash grab. Although perhaps one that backfired, because I'm not sure how many of the original fans really want to be giving money to the same company that ruined the show (I got House of Mystery from my library via Libby). I feel like I would be more receptive to the book's existence if that was some acknowledgment to how awkward it is. Even a "we heard you, here's an AU for y'all" kind of thing would have been something. But that makes promoting S7 even harder, and I'm confused to the marketing strategy in general here. Why, at this point was a novel starring William alongside Eliza even commissioned?
Because the book proves that the character of William *is* the reason that MSATD in its original form was a sleeper "hit". William, and his love for Eliza, was the key to its (moderate, lbr) success, and really, it's why this formula works. There are plenty of books in the same exact genre - plucky woman in the late Victorian period becomes a private detective and joins up with a Scotland Yard inspector - and it was in fact this use of this genre and its tropes in the TV series that made people love MSATD. Sure they attempted to recreate that with a new man, but it truly was the characterization of William, and his slow burn romance with Eliza, that made this franchise what it is. And by using him for the novel versus the new love interest, it’s like they are admitting they messed up. Which is likely exactly why they are avoiding addressing the elephant in the room.
House of Mystery is an original story, and not based on any of the existing episodes, and thus follows a case inspired by the Victorians' obsession with Egypt and mummies. The climax of the mystery is actually more exciting that most of the case storylines in the original MSATD, barring Season 1's "Cell 99", and that made it more thrilling than some of the more low stakes crimes they solved in S1-4. There are some elements to the resolution of the mystery though that are in line with the show, however. For a series that touts itself as feminist, there sure are a lot of female villains, and that's especially interesting to note in the context of the book, when there are other disturbing details about violence against woman committed by men.
Victoria Dowd's overall writing style is not my personal cup of tea, with either attempting to do third person omniscient but then not being fully omniscient (at times, it's more like Dowd is watching an episode and describing to us what she sees on the screen), or third person limited and then jumping from head to head, paragraph to paragraph. This also leads to a lot of full naming the characters, and swapping between terms of address even within the non-dialogue portions of the text. And frankly speaking, not too many characters in the TV series call William 'Duke', despite its original title, and I feel like it was used here in order to make the book's title make more sense (but, granted, I question why the book uses the full title, if we are expanding the “MSU,”so to say. I mean, I'm glad it does, since this book as it as much William's as it is Eliza's).
There's other parts that contain some info dumping for the non-show audience to get some background (which is either occasionally wrong or retconned from the TV show), and other passages have choppy sentences, and describe things and settings that I don't think we needed to dwell on so much. As the "About the Publisher" says, MSL is about character driven stories, and I think that some of the attention to detail to the describing locations should have been used to go further into Eliza's psyche. There's a few missed opportunities to tie things together in a clever bow, and tighter editing could have improved things greatly.
The book is also vague with the timeline. Masterpiece advertised it as being set after S1, which is has to be after the death of Henry, Eliza's father and William's mentor, but characters and some of the relationships appear to be more after 2x04. In fact, it feels like S1-4 have been put in a blender, both with the general timeline of events, but also the characterizations. I will say, not only is the ending, which would be lovely in other circumstances, odd in light of S3, where William dates someone else in an attempt to get over Eliza, but of course S4 and his departure. That's why I lean into believing this is AU, but it's also confusing.
William at times seems to be emotionally very firmly in the first two episodes of S4 in his relationship and feelings for Eliza, but also with his career at Scotland Yard. Of course, though, he is operating without the knowledge of the end of S2 nor any of S3. However, his introduction in this novel reads like variation of 1x03, and is therefore not the same William who developed to who he is in 2x04. The earlier version of him gives way rather quickly, though. With Eliza, the lead showrunner and the writers have always suffered with keeping her consistent and growing her properly throughout the show, so this is par for the course for her. Being inconsistent is one of the few constants with this franchise!
The characters' voices are better in matching the show's dialogue in some scenes than others. Sometimes the dialogue is more or less lifted from the TV series (e.g. there's one scene that contains a slightly edited version of an exchange that appears in 4x01). The attempts at Wiliza’s banter are also a little off for me. Like I am always down for a down-bad-William, but I also feel like there was less repartee than the show. Dowd used the gag of them purposefully misunderstanding each other a little too much. And I could have done with less arguments, even the book itself mentions how repetitive they are.
Of course, the novel also lacks the element of seeing the scenes acted out. And I feel like that would help fill in holes in Dowd's writing. Much like the TV series, it wants to be vague about Eliza's true feelings, which can work better on screen when you see Kate's expressions as Eliza fights with trying to keep her walls up. Here, it's just more of the absence of emotion. It's not the entire book, but it's very noticeable at times when Eliza should be feeling something. I do appreciate though, that William's affection for her is portrayed with a lot more care, and allows him to be the romantic hero. Dowd makes it clear that his reservations over her career choice have more to do with being afraid of her getting hurt or worse, and his protectiveness isn't because she's a woman (helpless or otherwise), but because he loves her. In fact, he is shook when Eliza appears "fragile" after their confrontation with the antagonists. He does not view her as weak and feeble. But he cannot bear the thought of her dying. Even if his concerns for her safety irritate Eliza all the same.
I would be remiss if I did not point out there are some lovely moments and scenes in the book for us Wiliza shippers. Some were a little lacking full impact in text form, namely the final scenes, and of course, I imagined the actors acting it out to achieve the whole effect. But I cannot deny that those scenes were the ones I actually liked the best in the novel. There were times where my shipper heart was squeeing ...but then I was brought back to reality that William is no longer on the show. I will never get to see to see them together again. Am I supposed to think he is still waiting for Eliza across the ocean while she's likely marrying another man? Again, there are positives to this book, but the question is why are they even there?
I'm not saying that emotion is completely missing in this book, but there are scenes where it is glaringly and jarringly absent. Eliza has several scenes of introspection about her loving relationship with her father, for example. However, all that introspection seems to be about the past. It's barely about the present, and when it comes to future, it's only ever wanting to maintain her career and that it. She cuts herself off thinking about William. And worse, scenes were we should be getting internal thoughts often fall into just describing her actions. At least those actions included her being physically affectionate with William.
I did appreciate that Eliza was actually scared when facing danger. The book in many ways proved William's point about how dangerous the job is. TV!Eliza brushes this off almost entirely (other than, ironically, when William almost dies), and I was delighted not only to have Eliza fleshed out in the regard, but also to have William there to comfort her, and that she sought that comfort out multiple times as well. Also her sharing as the same compassion as William for the victims comes across better here than on TV. Despite other inconsistencies, this made Eliza feel more well-rounded.
But because the novel does struggle with conveying Eliza's thoughts evenly throughout the book (and even occasionally William's at times), as it almost comes off as adapting an unused S2 script that has scene directions for the actors. This is very evident in the final scenes, where we get broad strokes of William's emotions, but Eliza's are just not even really there. And it feels like it's on vague on purpose. At first it seems like Eliza is just too afraid to think more about the "uncertainties" that would come if her relationship with William fully crosses the line, but it actually feels more as if Dowd herself was afraid to get further into their heads, perhaps as instructed by MSL (to be fair, the one of the actors has said in an interview that he was directed to be "less emotional" in a very emotionally charged scene). Like the show, William's clearly in love with Eliza, even if she keeps him at arm's length. But also like the finales of S1 and S2, it's set up in a way that it can be easily undone in the next book. Although backtracking William will be a little harder to do in this instance, with his declaration that he will wait for her.
In any normal novel series with more books to come, Eliza's character's growth would be developed during the future installment(s). However, with S7 looming in the distance, and no idea when a second novel will appear, the next book might drop after Eliza's married another character on TV, and that's the happily ever after presented in the original canon. And if the idea is to keep of the pattern of the early seasons were she took one step forward and two steps back with William constantly, what is the point of the book series?
I do not know if the book is meant to be a consolation prize, but what is does to do provide me with evidence of just how important The Duke was to Miss Scarlet & The Duke. Not only in his relationship with Eliza, and with her father, but in how he was vital as his own character who had overcome so much in his life to get to where he is, and his teamwork with solving the cases. And perhaps instead of charging ahead with the show, if it really came down to Stuart Martin wanting off, then they should have ended it with S4 and then pivoted to books in the first place. He was the other titular character. It would have saved them some money television production wise, and maybe made them some money book publication wise, as the fans wouldn't face any uncertainties purchasing it.
There's multiple instances where the book discusses that Eliza's taking William for granted, and I frankly, I had too. Given the original title, you only only assume that both Miss Scarlet and the Duke are gonna be in the whole show, and that eventually they would indeed get together in a proper romantic relationship by the end. And I don’t know if I can do that again in book form. I still feel very deeply about these damn characters to write this long of a review, but I also still feel betrayed by what happened to the show, and how being that much emotionally invested backfired.
This seems like MSL is trying to have their cake and eat it too, but I’m not exactly sure many people want to be taking a bite at this point in time. As huge fan of the original show and ship, my initial reaction to the book announcement was a punch to the gut than extending an olive branch to those of us who love the character of William. Instead, I felt used, the same way I felt after they taunted us with S4. There's also several parts, including in the final scene (but also the aforementioned "taking for granted" scenes, among others), where Dowd herself seems to be taunting about his departure in the TV show. Maybe it's just poor word choices, but they seem rather pointed to me as a super fan. Maybe she's agreeing with me that it was out of character to have him leave? I don't know, and that uncertainty colors my reaction. Especially when MSL and everyone related to the project just doesn't address just how baffling it is to bring back William at this point.
I have no idea how this book comes off to people who haven't ever watched the show, as I would assume they would feel quite dropped into the middle of things, especially not just Eliza and William have known each other 10 years prior to the start of the show, but also the vagueness of the timeline within the novel. You aren't reading about two characters falling in love with each other, as you would in the first installments in other series in this genre. It's William who already is desperately in love with Eliza and trying to protect her, and Eliza who too concerned with her career to actually even think much about her emotions towards another person.
If she’s taking him for granted, and thinks that they can just push those conversations to later, then let’s cover that instead of making him wait for how many ever books. Let’s actually go AU then for the next one, if there is to be one. Let Eliza have the character growth she needs and deserves. Actually follow through with the original premise of the show.
Again though, in the grand scheme of things, what is the book trying to achieve? Other than preying on the heartbroken Wiliza fans? Because it's odd they did not sub in her new man and explain why she caved to him and never to William (I haven't seen S6 but I got the gist of it). But I have to assume it's because they know William sells better (and yet, ironically, they are already promoting S7 co-currently). And he is literally the center of all the positive feelings I do have about the book.
So, I only recommend this to fellow Wiliza fans are prepared to have their feelings jerked around (and/or can block out all existence of where the TV show is likely headed). You have to decide if the more overt romantic scenes here (which again, do make my shipper heart sing!) outweigh reading about Eliza's ambition (I too can make pointed references!) and her refusal to voice her feelings. Which I know are there. Otherwise... AO3 is free if you need a fix-it fic.
Five stars for: inclusion of William; portrayal of William and his love for Eliza; the romantic/shippy scenarios; high stakes case/climax; Eliza actually feeling fear and having compassion
Minus five stars for: Me having to question the intentions of this book even existing; the vagueness and sometimes straight up lack of Eliza's emotions/thoughts in important scenes
3 stars: for Dowd's writing style, the choppy sentences, and poor POV choices
Overall: 3 stars.
This review contains spoilers for the Miss Scarlet and the Duke: House of Mystery book and the TV series, including the upcoming seventh and final season.
House of Mystery is "inspired by" the TV series Miss Scarlet and the Duke, airing on Alibi in the UK, and as part of PBS Masterpiece in the US. You'll notice that this novel uses that full title. However, after the airing of Season 4, it was announced that the actor who played the Duke was leaving the show, and the title was being cut in half. I won’t theorize on the true reasons for his departure here, but suffice it to say the explanation we were given didn't make any sense, and a lot of the puzzle pieces still don't add up. The producers, who are also the publishers of this book (MSL), immediately turned around and added a new love interest despite the fact the audience was promised that the show would then just focus on Eliza Scarlet. Suffice it to say, there was backlash.
As a hardcore fan of the original show who was deeply hurt by what happened, I did not watch the seasons after the title change. It’s no longer the show I love, and pairing I love was broken up. This review is not a rant about all that, but given all that has transpired with this franchise, what is the intention of this novel? To perhaps create an alternate universe, via a book series, where Eliza gets with her original love interest William Wellington, the titular Duke? Because it is baffling to me, even a diehard shipper of Wiliza, to create a novel at this point that heavily features the romance between the two of them before the seventh and final season airs, where Eliza's endgame is with someone else. Even the promotion for this book has Kate Phillips on set, in costume as Eliza, complete a shiny new ring on her left hand, reading passages from House of Mystery that highlight the romantic nature of her relationship with William. And rings play a big part in this book. So suffice to say, this is super messy.
Given the backlash over his departure on the show, my first reaction to MSL venturing into publishing a book that reinstates William to his rightful place seemed like a greedy cash grab. Although perhaps one that backfired, because I'm not sure how many of the original fans really want to be giving money to the same company that ruined the show (I got House of Mystery from my library via Libby). I feel like I would be more receptive to the book's existence if that was some acknowledgment to how awkward it is. Even a "we heard you, here's an AU for y'all" kind of thing would have been something. But that makes promoting S7 even harder, and I'm confused to the marketing strategy in general here. Why, at this point was a novel starring William alongside Eliza even commissioned?
Because the book proves that the character of William *is* the reason that MSATD in its original form was a sleeper "hit". William, and his love for Eliza, was the key to its (moderate, lbr) success, and really, it's why this formula works. There are plenty of books in the same exact genre - plucky woman in the late Victorian period becomes a private detective and joins up with a Scotland Yard inspector - and it was in fact this use of this genre and its tropes in the TV series that made people love MSATD. Sure they attempted to recreate that with a new man, but it truly was the characterization of William, and his slow burn romance with Eliza, that made this franchise what it is. And by using him for the novel versus the new love interest, it’s like they are admitting they messed up. Which is likely exactly why they are avoiding addressing the elephant in the room.
House of Mystery is an original story, and not based on any of the existing episodes, and thus follows a case inspired by the Victorians' obsession with Egypt and mummies. The climax of the mystery is actually more exciting that most of the case storylines in the original MSATD, barring Season 1's "Cell 99", and that made it more thrilling than some of the more low stakes crimes they solved in S1-4. There are some elements to the resolution of the mystery though that are in line with the show, however. For a series that touts itself as feminist, there sure are a lot of female villains, and that's especially interesting to note in the context of the book, when there are other disturbing details about violence against woman committed by men.
Victoria Dowd's overall writing style is not my personal cup of tea, with either attempting to do third person omniscient but then not being fully omniscient (at times, it's more like Dowd is watching an episode and describing to us what she sees on the screen), or third person limited and then jumping from head to head, paragraph to paragraph. This also leads to a lot of full naming the characters, and swapping between terms of address even within the non-dialogue portions of the text. And frankly speaking, not too many characters in the TV series call William 'Duke', despite its original title, and I feel like it was used here in order to make the book's title make more sense (but, granted, I question why the book uses the full title, if we are expanding the “MSU,”so to say. I mean, I'm glad it does, since this book as it as much William's as it is Eliza's).
There's other parts that contain some info dumping for the non-show audience to get some background (which is either occasionally wrong or retconned from the TV show), and other passages have choppy sentences, and describe things and settings that I don't think we needed to dwell on so much. As the "About the Publisher" says, MSL is about character driven stories, and I think that some of the attention to detail to the describing locations should have been used to go further into Eliza's psyche. There's a few missed opportunities to tie things together in a clever bow, and tighter editing could have improved things greatly.
The book is also vague with the timeline. Masterpiece advertised it as being set after S1, which is has to be after the death of Henry, Eliza's father and William's mentor, but characters and some of the relationships appear to be more after 2x04. In fact, it feels like S1-4 have been put in a blender, both with the general timeline of events, but also the characterizations. I will say, not only is the ending, which would be lovely in other circumstances, odd in light of S3, where William dates someone else in an attempt to get over Eliza, but of course S4 and his departure. That's why I lean into believing this is AU, but it's also confusing.
William at times seems to be emotionally very firmly in the first two episodes of S4 in his relationship and feelings for Eliza, but also with his career at Scotland Yard. Of course, though, he is operating without the knowledge of the end of S2 nor any of S3. However, his introduction in this novel reads like variation of 1x03, and is therefore not the same William who developed to who he is in 2x04. The earlier version of him gives way rather quickly, though. With Eliza, the lead showrunner and the writers have always suffered with keeping her consistent and growing her properly throughout the show, so this is par for the course for her. Being inconsistent is one of the few constants with this franchise!
The characters' voices are better in matching the show's dialogue in some scenes than others. Sometimes the dialogue is more or less lifted from the TV series (e.g. there's one scene that contains a slightly edited version of an exchange that appears in 4x01). The attempts at Wiliza’s banter are also a little off for me. Like I am always down for a down-bad-William, but I also feel like there was less repartee than the show. Dowd used the gag of them purposefully misunderstanding each other a little too much. And I could have done with less arguments, even the book itself mentions how repetitive they are.
Of course, the novel also lacks the element of seeing the scenes acted out. And I feel like that would help fill in holes in Dowd's writing. Much like the TV series, it wants to be vague about Eliza's true feelings, which can work better on screen when you see Kate's expressions as Eliza fights with trying to keep her walls up. Here, it's just more of the absence of emotion. It's not the entire book, but it's very noticeable at times when Eliza should be feeling something. I do appreciate though, that William's affection for her is portrayed with a lot more care, and allows him to be the romantic hero. Dowd makes it clear that his reservations over her career choice have more to do with being afraid of her getting hurt or worse, and his protectiveness isn't because she's a woman (helpless or otherwise), but because he loves her. In fact, he is shook when Eliza appears "fragile" after their confrontation with the antagonists. He does not view her as weak and feeble. But he cannot bear the thought of her dying. Even if his concerns for her safety irritate Eliza all the same.
I would be remiss if I did not point out there are some lovely moments and scenes in the book for us Wiliza shippers. Some were a little lacking full impact in text form, namely the final scenes, and of course, I imagined the actors acting it out to achieve the whole effect. But I cannot deny that those scenes were the ones I actually liked the best in the novel. There were times where my shipper heart was squeeing ...but then I was brought back to reality that William is no longer on the show. I will never get to see to see them together again. Am I supposed to think he is still waiting for Eliza across the ocean while she's likely marrying another man? Again, there are positives to this book, but the question is why are they even there?
I'm not saying that emotion is completely missing in this book, but there are scenes where it is glaringly and jarringly absent. Eliza has several scenes of introspection about her loving relationship with her father, for example. However, all that introspection seems to be about the past. It's barely about the present, and when it comes to future, it's only ever wanting to maintain her career and that it. She cuts herself off thinking about William. And worse, scenes were we should be getting internal thoughts often fall into just describing her actions. At least those actions included her being physically affectionate with William.
I did appreciate that Eliza was actually scared when facing danger. The book in many ways proved William's point about how dangerous the job is. TV!Eliza brushes this off almost entirely (other than, ironically, when William almost dies), and I was delighted not only to have Eliza fleshed out in the regard, but also to have William there to comfort her, and that she sought that comfort out multiple times as well. Also her sharing as the same compassion as William for the victims comes across better here than on TV. Despite other inconsistencies, this made Eliza feel more well-rounded.
But because the novel does struggle with conveying Eliza's thoughts evenly throughout the book (and even occasionally William's at times), as it almost comes off as adapting an unused S2 script that has scene directions for the actors. This is very evident in the final scenes, where we get broad strokes of William's emotions, but Eliza's are just not even really there. And it feels like it's on vague on purpose. At first it seems like Eliza is just too afraid to think more about the "uncertainties" that would come if her relationship with William fully crosses the line, but it actually feels more as if Dowd herself was afraid to get further into their heads, perhaps as instructed by MSL (to be fair, the one of the actors has said in an interview that he was directed to be "less emotional" in a very emotionally charged scene). Like the show, William's clearly in love with Eliza, even if she keeps him at arm's length. But also like the finales of S1 and S2, it's set up in a way that it can be easily undone in the next book. Although backtracking William will be a little harder to do in this instance, with his declaration that he will wait for her.
In any normal novel series with more books to come, Eliza's character's growth would be developed during the future installment(s). However, with S7 looming in the distance, and no idea when a second novel will appear, the next book might drop after Eliza's married another character on TV, and that's the happily ever after presented in the original canon. And if the idea is to keep of the pattern of the early seasons were she took one step forward and two steps back with William constantly, what is the point of the book series?
I do not know if the book is meant to be a consolation prize, but what is does to do provide me with evidence of just how important The Duke was to Miss Scarlet & The Duke. Not only in his relationship with Eliza, and with her father, but in how he was vital as his own character who had overcome so much in his life to get to where he is, and his teamwork with solving the cases. And perhaps instead of charging ahead with the show, if it really came down to Stuart Martin wanting off, then they should have ended it with S4 and then pivoted to books in the first place. He was the other titular character. It would have saved them some money television production wise, and maybe made them some money book publication wise, as the fans wouldn't face any uncertainties purchasing it.
There's multiple instances where the book discusses that Eliza's taking William for granted, and I frankly, I had too. Given the original title, you only only assume that both Miss Scarlet and the Duke are gonna be in the whole show, and that eventually they would indeed get together in a proper romantic relationship by the end. And I don’t know if I can do that again in book form. I still feel very deeply about these damn characters to write this long of a review, but I also still feel betrayed by what happened to the show, and how being that much emotionally invested backfired.
This seems like MSL is trying to have their cake and eat it too, but I’m not exactly sure many people want to be taking a bite at this point in time. As huge fan of the original show and ship, my initial reaction to the book announcement was a punch to the gut than extending an olive branch to those of us who love the character of William. Instead, I felt used, the same way I felt after they taunted us with S4. There's also several parts, including in the final scene (but also the aforementioned "taking for granted" scenes, among others), where Dowd herself seems to be taunting about his departure in the TV show. Maybe it's just poor word choices, but they seem rather pointed to me as a super fan. Maybe she's agreeing with me that it was out of character to have him leave? I don't know, and that uncertainty colors my reaction. Especially when MSL and everyone related to the project just doesn't address just how baffling it is to bring back William at this point.
I have no idea how this book comes off to people who haven't ever watched the show, as I would assume they would feel quite dropped into the middle of things, especially not just Eliza and William have known each other 10 years prior to the start of the show, but also the vagueness of the timeline within the novel. You aren't reading about two characters falling in love with each other, as you would in the first installments in other series in this genre. It's William who already is desperately in love with Eliza and trying to protect her, and Eliza who too concerned with her career to actually even think much about her emotions towards another person.
If she’s taking him for granted, and thinks that they can just push those conversations to later, then let’s cover that instead of making him wait for how many ever books. Let’s actually go AU then for the next one, if there is to be one. Let Eliza have the character growth she needs and deserves. Actually follow through with the original premise of the show.
Again though, in the grand scheme of things, what is the book trying to achieve? Other than preying on the heartbroken Wiliza fans? Because it's odd they did not sub in her new man and explain why she caved to him and never to William (I haven't seen S6 but I got the gist of it). But I have to assume it's because they know William sells better (and yet, ironically, they are already promoting S7 co-currently). And he is literally the center of all the positive feelings I do have about the book.
So, I only recommend this to fellow Wiliza fans are prepared to have their feelings jerked around (and/or can block out all existence of where the TV show is likely headed). You have to decide if the more overt romantic scenes here (which again, do make my shipper heart sing!) outweigh reading about Eliza's ambition (I too can make pointed references!) and her refusal to voice her feelings. Which I know are there. Otherwise... AO3 is free if you need a fix-it fic.
Five stars for: inclusion of William; portrayal of William and his love for Eliza; the romantic/shippy scenarios; high stakes case/climax; Eliza actually feeling fear and having compassion
Minus five stars for: Me having to question the intentions of this book even existing; the vagueness and sometimes straight up lack of Eliza's emotions/thoughts in important scenes
3 stars: for Dowd's writing style, the choppy sentences, and poor POV choices
Overall: 3 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2026
I wasn’t completely sold at first. Since I’ve watched the television series, it took me a little while to stop comparing the audiobook to what I’d already seen on screen. Once I let it stand on its own, I found myself enjoying it more and more.
The mystery was engaging, but one of my favorite surprises was Fitzroy. I loved seeing him step into the spotlight and become a hero in his own right. I could easily picture this story as an actual episode of the series.
The narration by Helen Keeley was exceptional. She captured the tone and personalities beautifully, making it easy to settle into Victorian London and the world of Miss Scarlet.
If you’re already a fan of the series, this feels like spending more time with characters you’ve come to know and love. I sincerely hope there are more audiobook adventures to come.
The mystery was engaging, but one of my favorite surprises was Fitzroy. I loved seeing him step into the spotlight and become a hero in his own right. I could easily picture this story as an actual episode of the series.
The narration by Helen Keeley was exceptional. She captured the tone and personalities beautifully, making it easy to settle into Victorian London and the world of Miss Scarlet.
If you’re already a fan of the series, this feels like spending more time with characters you’ve come to know and love. I sincerely hope there are more audiobook adventures to come.
July 19, 2026
Just like watching it.
I though I was watching an episode only better. The book vividly told the story so TBE reader was caught up and felt like one was standing off to the side watching it in person.
I though I was watching an episode only better. The book vividly told the story so TBE reader was caught up and felt like one was standing off to the side watching it in person.
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