A Proud Woman (Tabitha \u0026 Wolf Historical Mystery, #1) by Sarah F. Noel

A Proud Woman (Tabitha \u0026 Wolf Historical Mystery, #1) Reviews

• 
  Merry

  I enjoyed it and would rate a 3.75* for a first book of a new series. I enjoy lady detective stories and am reading several series currently and would add this to the list. Light touch of romance with the hints of more to come in later books.
  I liked both of the characters but felt the book could really have been written for any period in time not limited to the end of the Victorian era (just my opinion). The subject matter is child prostitution and abuse so be aware that this is not a light mystery but not graphic.
• 
  Susan

  1897. The Earl of Pembroke is dead and his heir has finally been traced as 'Wolf' Wolfson Chesterton who worked as a thief taker. Soon the widow, Tabitha, (not really that likeable) and Wolf are involved in an investigation. The Duke of Somerset has been discovered dead and a diamond necklace stolen.
  A decent start to a new series.
• 
  Robbie

  The author tried. I don’t like negative reviews. Anyone who can take their thoughts and create a story and transfer it to paper deserves some appreciation. However, to the author, I would suggest more research and attention to details. Syntax, vocabulary, phrasing, decorum, etiquette, etc., is important when writing period pieces. This book lacked all.
  
  To the potential reader, if you like a very cozy Victorian era mystery then read on. If you are more familiar with Deanna Raybourn, Anna Lee Huber, or Andrea Penrose, then I suggest you give this series a miss. There isn’t really a mystery. You can skip entire sections and pick up without missing anything important.
  
  The narrator can, at least, read; however her cadence was awkward and I felt like I was listening to a children’s book. The voice inflections made it difficult to determine if the speaker was serious or joking and every speaker other than Tabitha sounded as though they were 40+ years old; even the children. One character was given in Irish brogue when the storyline clearly stated she was raised in Whitechapal, which I believe is Cockney.
  
  So, in the end my review is only to assist other readers/listeners in deciding if they want to spend their time and money or keep looking. I hope this helps.
• 
  Carol

  Stopped reading about a third of the way in. Plot was tolerable, was starting to be a little disappointed in the character development. Stopped reading when a character used the word, "okay". This word did not exist in the story's time period. Author needs to do a better job understanding her chosen era.
• 
  Margaryta

  Characters’ eyebrows would rise a ridiculous amount of times 🤨
  
  At first I thought I won’t be able to connect with the main character, Tabitha, but it passed, I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to those who like historical cozy mysteries, but I must admit this book wasn’t as lighthearted as I thought it would be, it deals with child prostitution, domestic abuse and violence.
• 
  Szahra

  DNF
• 
  ~Jennifer~

  Different plot from any I read.
  
  This definitely has some major triggers. Usually nothing bothers me, but this subject disgusted me ( as in how can people do that). I would have liked some more conversation with the two MC’s, but all in all it was a decent read.
• 
  Laura J.

  an enjoyable read
  
  This is a mystery being solved by Wolf, the new earl of Pembroke, and Tabitha, the widow of the previous earl. The story is an easy read despite the subject matter (pedophilia and abuse) and the need of a good editor.
• 
  The Blinging Bibliophile

  This book can be summed up with: All tell, no show.
  
  It is difficult enough for me to "get into" a 3rd person omniscient style. Throw in the utter lack of world building and character development and the story just falls flat. The author does not describe a "ball", but tells us they are at one. That's it. We "hear" about characters but we never SEE them as they grow/struggle, etc. They have no presence. They are just "there" and the narrator tells us what they think/feel/did. Our male main character could have been so incredibly interesting. Instead, he was more like... background decor.
  
  It's a serviceable enough story, if not a bit dark of a subject that never quite feels as weighty as it should. The errors/typos were quite prevalent as well. At one point, a boy comes from finishing his supper to needing to leave the scene to go eat with the rest of the staff. Those kind of continuity mistakes throw a reader out of the story. I'm going to pass on the rest of the series as the writing style isn't appealing to my brain.
• 
  Priscilla Waller

  A "New to Me" Series I Look Forward to Following
  
  I love historical mysteries. We take it for granted when murders are solved using today science, but how intriguing it is to see one solved without that help. My only caveat is the number of peers in this story. Keeping them all straight made me want to get a notebook to keep them all straight. I'll look forward to the next book.
• 
  John

  Premise seemed interesting, audio sample was fine, so I bought the book. By halfway, I could manage to suspend any further disbelief to continue.
  
  Abused young bride lucky enough to be widowed early with lots of cash. But, no son, which meant vacating the entailed property. We'll get to the new owner in more detail soon, but he has confidence in running a household, likes our lady, so she can stay on indefinitely as manager. She finds out what he's been up to in the recent past (in London Underworld), there's a murder that's peripheral their lives, so now she's part of a team (quite similar to Penrose's Wrexford series).
  
  I can accept that she's intelligent, wasted on being a wife as fulltime occupation. But, the author gives 21st Century progressive outlooks for both characters that feel forced; she (Ms. Noel) seems to be speaking through them. I gave up when a third urchin was added as a foster child in a short time by Tabitha, though Wolf tried to point out the problem with this.
  
  Had to truly suspend disbelief that aristocratic Wolf was thrown out of the family penniless as a young man, so turned to a shady life in London's Underworld to survive. Must have really been good at disguising his upper class voice and mannerisms to fit in, no? Also, they located him fairly quickly as the new heir when no one had any idea what had happened to the toff? Guess he read the society pages regularly to learn of his cousin's death, thus his own good fortune? Whatever romance there was went over my head. They act more like ... well ... distant cousins thrown together.
  
  Anyway, that's it for me. I tried, so you don't have to.
  
• 
  Rosemary Bointon

  The first of an excellent series. What I love about these books is that they are so well researched. They deal with a lot of social issues, such as domestic abuse, the position of women, marriage customs, property laws, poverty and destitution, prostitution, child labour, education plus lots of stories about life as an aristocrat in 19th century Britain. I loved the way that she has managed to tie her characters in with the customs and culture of the time. She includes historical figures. I like looking them up to find out more about their lives.
  
  There is romance and there is mystery. The characters are all too human and very well drawn, so you will want to know how they get on. The romance isn't all dresses and dancing as so many historical romances are. It's a much fuller type of romance, about getting on together, working together, getting through the differences, getting annoyed and retreating, standing up for your values and then finding the common ground.
  
  The mystery part is exciting too. The twists and turns of the story keep your interest and you'll want to read the next one.
  
  I love the titles too, picking out all the virtues of heroines. It is well worth binging on the whole series as I have just done.
• 
  Carina

  Another Kindle Unlimited book that is best described as not my cup of tea. I really enjoy this genre of book, but unfortunately I didn't get on with this author. The writing was far too much telling me what I was reading, it never really showed me a picture of the houses or the people, or the ball. It just told me "it's a ball".
  
  The characters also felt very flat, there's definitely some potential here don't get me wrong, but I just felt like it wasn't fulfilled. Tabby Cat I am told time and again is intelligent, but I rarely saw it in their actions, Wolf was boring as anything, Bear was stereotypical for this genre as was Rat.
  
  It's very obvious that Wolf and Tabby Cat are meant to fall in luv with one another but whilst they start to feel some attraction in this book I didn't buy it for one bleeding second.
  
  I don't want to seem harsh as this book was still entertaining, it's just not what I was looking for and isn't a series I will continue to read.
• 
  Kim Power

  A Proud Woman
  
  This well structured novel, the beginning of a series, integrates well back stories of Tabitha and Wolf with the first mystery investigate. Trigger warning: the crime was committed in this murder mystery involve the abuse of innocents and women. Although the descriptions are not graphic, there is enough detail to horrify the reader.
  The plot has several twists, and although the clues that generous, it is it is difficult to identify the perpetrator Until the end.
  The characters are well drawn, the dialogue is realistic, but the romance takes second place to the mystery. Although one can see a growing friendship, these little evidence of affection and none of courting.Overall, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoy the mysteries of Rebecca Connolly and Lynn Messina.
• 
  Larry

  I literally loved this book and look forward to the next one! The characters are brought to the reader full of life and compassion. From the years I have been reading (well over 60 years) I know this is no easy task to accomplish and is a rare talent among authors. ALL of my favorite authors (numbering over 40, now days) have this talent. This "new to me" author definitely has it. The plot is straightforward and easily followed and the premise is finding out who killed the duke and why. I most definitely approve of the outcome and strongly encourage my fellow readers to read this author's works. I strongly doubt you will be disappointed. I certainly wasn't and it was far above my initial expectations.
• 
  Kurt Cagle

  A Proud Woman: Show, Don't Tell
  
  Overall I found A Proud Woman a good freshman effort, but lacking in key story telling elements. The story overall was heavy in exposition, where to much of the story was described rather than "acted". As such, it read far more like a detailed outline than a novel. There was little in the way of sexual tension, Wolf in particular seemed to be fairly shallow as a character, and the plot was predictable and derivative. There are seeds of a better writer here and there, so I will likely read the next in the series, but only with the hope of seeing the writer bloom.
• 
  Debbie Lacey

  I am always on the lookout for a good cozy historical mystery, and I just found this gem. I am already in love with Tabitha and Wolf, and look forward to getting to know both of them so much better, as they pursue their investigations and gently snub their noses at London society. That said, this may sound like your run of the mill historical cozy mystery, but this book manages to deal with both disturbing and challenging matters, whether in 19th Century London or 21st Century America, and still maintain its cozy status. That is no small feat. Who knows what awaits these two, and their unorthodox but growing household.
  
  The narration is excellent.
• 
  Karen Soriano

  This author is new to me.
  I very much enjoyed this new first in series mystery.
  This story take place in the late 19th century. The characters are well developed and the story line is out of the usual historical romance/history. The focus is on the mystery.
  Tabitha is a very strong heroine and she can match Wolf in every way.
  If you enjoy in depth mysteries you will enjoy this one. I was captivated until the very end!
  
  There are triggers. Particularly about children.
  
  This book was an ARC and this is my honest review.