Katharine Schellman’s debut historical mystery, The Body in the Garden, was one of my favorite books of 2020. Her second Lily Adler mystery, Silence in the Library, is even better. She manages to include topics of racism, classism, women’s independence, and neurodiversity while never losing sight that this is a mystery meant for entertainment.

Lily Adler, a widow, arrives home to find a commotion in front of her house. She doesn’t get along with her father, George Pierce, who disapproves of her choices in living alone in London in 1815, but he’s shown up with the intention of staying for a while while he visits doctors. In order to escape from him, she offers to pay a visit to his old friend, Sir Charles Wyatt who has just remarried. Lily is accompanied by Captain Jack Hartley, her late husband’s best friend. Lily’s father doesn’t approve of him, either, because his father was British while his mother was from India.

Lily and Jack notice an undercurrent of tension in the Wyatt household. Sir Charles’ oldest son, Frank, even seems rude at times to his new stepmother, who is close to his own age. And, everything erupts when Frank’s cousin, Percy, is discovered to have stolen money from his uncle’s desk, after a servant was accused of the theft. Even that scene is minor compared to the explosion when Sir Charles is found dead the next morning. Although the family tries to say he fell, it’s obvious to the Bow Street constable, Simon Page, that the man was murdered. The shrewd man enlists the help of Lily and Jack because he knows the Wyatt family may confide in them while they don’t have to answer to Bow Street.

Although Lily’s father only causes difficulties, disapproving of everything from her cook’s food to Lily’s choice to work with Simon Page and Jack in investigating the murder, in the end, she’s forced to turn to him for help. As a trustee of the Wyatt estate, he’s the only one who can help her set up a confrontation with the killer. Even then, she questions whether he’ll assist her or block her attempt.

There’s so much to praise about this mystery. Lily Adler has an interesting circle of close friends; Captain Jack Hartley, Simon Page, the young Ofelia, Lady Carroway, daughter of a wealthy Englishman and a West Indian woman. Lily trusts a maid and a housekeeper more than she trusts members of the Wyatt family. And, she and Jack both support Jem, an urchin whose employer was murdered. Jem now runs errands and assists them.

I do want to mention the neurodiversity, something you don’t often see represented in historical fiction. I can’t reveal too much without giving away plot points, however it was not unusual for families to hide away family members who were different. They either hid them within the house with caretakers, or sent them to institutions. Schellman exposes that in her mystery.

Although there is so much going on in the background, there’s never any doubt that Silence in the Library is a fast-moving mystery. And, the final confrontation? Rex Stout or Agatha Christie would be proud.

Katharine Schellman’s website is https://www.katharineschellman.com/

Silence in the Library by Katharine Schellman. Crooked Lane Books, 2021. ISBN 9781643857046 (hardcover), 352p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.