Bella Wallis is the title character in Brian Thompson's The Widow's Secret; in 1870s London, she is able to make her independent way in the world by dint of her alter ego, Henry Ellis Margam, and the sensational novels that "he" publishes, in which the author skewers members of society whose bad behaviour has brought about Bella's opprobrium. If she cannot bring them to justice outright, she can at least shame them among their peers, many of whom read Margam's novels and most of whom can pinpoint the real individuals whose characters are being so pointedly shown up. When a young prostitute is brutally murdered, Bella gathers her friends Captain Quigley (a dubious character), Murch (most mysterious) and Urmiston (a former middle class official of the railroad fallen on hard times), and together they resolve to reveal the brute behind the savage attack. But that person has more resources than they know, and soon the friends find themselves fighting for their very lives.... This is the first in a series, the second of which I actually read before finding this one; I like the characters and the plotting, but most of all I like the very gritty Victorian England that Thompson portrays. Bella and her friends are not the sexually stultified creatures we expect from that historical period, and the poor of the city are shown neither as villains nor victims, only as human beings struggling in a very dystopian reality. I hope there are more novels to come in this series, and would recommend it to anybody who likes the genre of historical mystery and who doesn't mind some grime in their reading! ( )

Bella Wallis writes books under a male pseudononym that expose some of the scoundrels of high-society. When a crested cigar-case is found near the body of a murdered prostitute she investigates with the help of her friends. This gets her into a lot of trouble and provides her with a lot of material for her next books.

It's not a bad read but it was overshadowed by the Braun & Books story that I read soon afterwards. There were moments when the research showed and often I was quite confused as to the location of the happenings or the era, things seemed to be very piecemeal.

It's not a bad read and I would be interested in reading more to see how she develops as a character but she just didn't come to life for me enough to make me want the sequel immediately. ( )

Interestingly,for me,although there is one completely evil character in this book,the rest (even those on the side of the angels as it were) are shaded in grey rather than in pure white.
The protagonist,who lives in Victorian London,is a seemingly respectable widow, Bella Wallis who writes blood & thunder novels under the name of Henry Ellis Margam. Together with a group of somewhat unconventional friends,she decides to investigate when the body of a prostitute is found with her throat slashed. The murderer and his accomplices are soon discovered but are difficult to bring to justice due to their status. There are several quite violent episodes and this violence comes from both sides,which as I say makes the story a more interesting one than is usual with this type of book.
I congratulate the author of this unique beginning to this series and I look forward to the next one with keen anticipation. ( )