Kitty Ives has fallen on hard times; from a respectable family to a whore in London’s Convent Garden in 1769. Due to Kitty’s breeding and education, she is well sought out and has climbed the ranks within her house. One particular night, her company is sought by a man who has given the name of Sir William Westman. In the morning, Kitty wakes up to her client dead beside her. With no suspect but herself, Kitty begins a detective mission to clear her name and keep her place in the house that will take her from London’s underbelly to its aristocracy to see how it is all connected to the poor man who was unfortunate enough to be murdered in her bed.
This is a historical murder mystery set in 18th century London with an educated prostitute for a sleuth. At the beginning I was taken in by the mystery of who could have killed the man in Kitty’s bed while she was there sleeping. Kitty’s detective skills began in earnest as she tried to keep her place in the house. The setting was also done well and I enjoyed being taken to different places within Convent Garden and seeing how things worked at the time. The book is written as Kitty’s memoir in telling the strange tale and its outcome. However, the writing seemed to be a little too detailed, I think that Kitty’s inner monologue got in the way at points and muddled some of the clues and plot points to the point that I forgot what was really going on. Also, while I was truly interested in the mystery at first, it seemed to devolve for me with a few too many twists and turns and Kitty believing one minute that William Westman himself is the murderer and then having sex with him the next. Of course, being a book with a prostitute as the main character, there are several sex scenes, which is fine with me, but might bother some. The conclusion of the whole mess brought a little more excitement back and re-sparked my interest a bit. Overall, for me this one was just ok.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )

This is a fun and compelling piece of historical mystery fiction. The writer uses enough period slang to give a feeling for the time, without bogging down the narrative, and without mixing in contemporary slang or expressions to mar the effect. It could be the start to an interesting series, as the characters are not only unusual as crime-solvers, but also complex and dimensional. Definitely a cut above! ( )

A compelling look at London, especially the underbelly of the City, in the late 1760s, before the American War of Independence, as told by a prostitute who wakes to find the body of her latest cully (john) lying across her, his throat cut from ear to ear and his blood drenching her. A good start, but I just couldn't stay interested in the mystery, though it was a pretty good one (if a little convoluted), or the characters, a few of which were just too over the top without explanation. I think it was her character that bothered me most, though I am not quite certain why, except she did the dumbest things that just didn't ring true for a supposedly savvy prostitute. I did enjoy the depiction of London, though, and may look for the second book in the Venus Squared series. ( )

Not a great literary novel, but well-researched and quite enjoyable nonetheless. I enjoyed the colourful historical detail and well-plotted storyline, and found myself cheering for the protagonist - a smart, bawdy, mystery-solving "nun" (i.e. prostitute) in eighteenth-century London. A rollicking summertime read - I'll be looking out for the other books in the series. ( )

The author has a background in historical research and screen writing and this has resulted in a charming look at 18th century London unfortunates. The detective in this murder mystery is a prostitute living in a whore house. She awakes one morning with her evening client in a dead state, resting on top of her. I was having to look up the vernacular language until I realized that the author has includes a glossary at the end of the novel. The topic may offend some. Working girls, madams, pimps, bouncers, thieves, bullying policemen, criminal aristocracy, over-amorous sea captains keep the reader enchanted. An interesting application of the early experiments in electricity show up in the brothel. Prepare to smile. My thanks to the author and LibraryThing for a complimentary copy of this work. ( )