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jujunutberry's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Gun violence
monica_r_jae's review
4.0
I read this in one day and I am MAD about it. Robins is such a gifted writer and plot/character architect. I'm excited and relieved to have learned she is working on teh 4th Sarah Tolerance mystery at this time...I had to wait a whole 8 years between this 3rd book and the 2nd one.
siria's review
4.0
This third installment in the alt-historical adventures of Miss Sarah Tolerance finds our heroine tasked with tracking down a young woman who's eloped from her father's house. Miss Tolerance's search for the missing Evadne brings her into contact with the seedier side of Regency London. The Sleeping Partner has more grit to it than the previous two books—this is a kind of "Regency noir"—and higher emotional stakes than the second one. Madeleine Robins has a knack for creating a heroine who is independent-minded enough to walk her own path, but is not unrealistically anachronistic in her thinking (i.e., she's not Not Like the Other Girls.)
Given the lengthy gap between publications and the change in publishers, I fear the Sarah Tolerance books are likely to remain a trilogy. However, while Robins clearly sets up some plot points/relationship arcs here which could be picked up in future installments, The Sleeping Partner does also work as a conclusion.
Given the lengthy gap between publications and the change in publishers, I fear the Sarah Tolerance books are likely to remain a trilogy. However, while Robins clearly sets up some plot points/relationship arcs here which could be picked up in future installments, The Sleeping Partner does also work as a conclusion.
edugan42's review
4.0
Seriously, why aren't these books more popular. Great hero, great plots, interesting, well-written. What is not to like? Check them out!
kentcryptid's review
4.0
The Sleeping Partner is the third, and the best so far, in Robins' Sarah Tolerance series. You could also jump in with this book if you felt like it, as it's a fairly self-contained story and past events are briefly recapped at the start.
It's a deliciously detailed and enthralling story of a 'fallen' woman who makes her living as a kind of private detective in a slightly alternate Regency period. The framing of the previous two books in the series sometimes seemed hesitant and like the world didn't entirely gel, but it feels like the author's hit her stride here.
I don't know if there are any plans for Sarah Tolerance #4, but I would very happily read it if there were.
It's a deliciously detailed and enthralling story of a 'fallen' woman who makes her living as a kind of private detective in a slightly alternate Regency period. The framing of the previous two books in the series sometimes seemed hesitant and like the world didn't entirely gel, but it feels like the author's hit her stride here.
I don't know if there are any plans for Sarah Tolerance #4, but I would very happily read it if there were.
aartireadsalot's review
5.0
The Sleeping Partner is the third book in Madeleine Robins' Sarah Tolerance mystery series set in an alternate Regency England in which Queen Charlotte rules as Regent (currently). I am a huge fan of this series because I love the way Robins has played so subtly with the Regency to bring attention to gender roles and sexual power in this historical period. I also love the series because Sarah Tolerance is awesome. She is in the perfect position to straddle all levels of society, from the cream of the Ton that comprise her clients all the way to the young boys that work menial jobs sweeping the streets.
In this outing, Sarah Tolerance is hired by a lady whose sister Evadne has gone missing. She's terrified for her sister's well-being though she's also quite frank about the fact that, now that her sister has been missing for several days, her future even if found safe is pretty dire. Sarah, being a Fallen Woman herself, immediately feels for the missing girl and sets out to find her, embroiling herself deep in a sordid family history that involves war profiteering, re-encountering her own lost family and meeting both Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley along the way (hey, it's an alternate history, so it's possible!). And all the while, she's struggling with figuring out her complicated feelings for her good friend Sir Walter Mandiff and trying to determine if her brothel-keeper Aunt Thea is going insane or just being odd.
This book felt much grittier and sophisticated to me than the previous two books in the series. Sarah's London is not the same one inhabited by Georgette Heyer's characters, with glittering balls, lush silk gowns and fluttering fans. Instead, Sarah lives in a very polarized city, where she confronts people from all walks of life, and consequently the city of London is a vivid and fascinating character in this entire series. Add in the fabulous twist of alternate history, and the series really just satisfies on all accounts.
Sarah Tolerance is a strong, intelligent female sleuth. In a genre often populated either by flighty and flirtatious beauties or unrealistically modern-thinking spinsters, Sarah Tolerance stands out as a woman who is secure in who she is and is willing to use her skills within the boundaries that have been detailed for her. She's a great role model for young adult readers, and I am so looking forward to more in this series!
In this outing, Sarah Tolerance is hired by a lady whose sister Evadne has gone missing. She's terrified for her sister's well-being though she's also quite frank about the fact that, now that her sister has been missing for several days, her future even if found safe is pretty dire. Sarah, being a Fallen Woman herself, immediately feels for the missing girl and sets out to find her, embroiling herself deep in a sordid family history that involves war profiteering, re-encountering her own lost family and meeting both Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley along the way (hey, it's an alternate history, so it's possible!). And all the while, she's struggling with figuring out her complicated feelings for her good friend Sir Walter Mandiff and trying to determine if her brothel-keeper Aunt Thea is going insane or just being odd.
This book felt much grittier and sophisticated to me than the previous two books in the series. Sarah's London is not the same one inhabited by Georgette Heyer's characters, with glittering balls, lush silk gowns and fluttering fans. Instead, Sarah lives in a very polarized city, where she confronts people from all walks of life, and consequently the city of London is a vivid and fascinating character in this entire series. Add in the fabulous twist of alternate history, and the series really just satisfies on all accounts.
Sarah Tolerance is a strong, intelligent female sleuth. In a genre often populated either by flighty and flirtatious beauties or unrealistically modern-thinking spinsters, Sarah Tolerance stands out as a woman who is secure in who she is and is willing to use her skills within the boundaries that have been detailed for her. She's a great role model for young adult readers, and I am so looking forward to more in this series!
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