In this absorbing Steampunk alternative setting, Charmian Kittredge makes her way in a man 's world as an investigator, specializing in solving magic crimes and debunking magic. Kit, as she is known, does not believe in magic; even though she lives in a world teeming with wards and magic spells. She believes them all to be charlatans. Unbeknownst to her, the pendant she wears, a gift from her late mother, protects her from the very magic she doubts; and gives her special abilities far above the norm.

Kit is hired for an investigative job by the very rich Lady Diana Walsh. It seems that Lady Walsh is being attacked in her sleep by someone who is cutting curses onto her body. It doesn't take Kit long to discover that much of Lady Walsh's problems stem from a much larger conspiracy involving the loathsome Lord Walsh. During the course of the investigation, she matches wits not only with Chief Inspector Tommy Doyle (grandson of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle); but also a death mage named Lucian Dredmore. The handsome and enigmatic Lucian has a more than passing interest in Kit, an interest that goes far deeper than that of a professional capacity. Each confrontation they have in the line of their work is fraught with the awareness they have with each other as a man and a woman.

The story is set to be told in three parts, so much was left unsettled at the end of this part of the trilogy, and in a bit of a cliffhanger. A great deal of the story was taken up in the worldbuilding; setting up the world and the series. This was done in a quite interesting fashion; not in an info-dump way, but with Kit going about her daily business in the setting. The reader is able to see her world unfold from her eyes, from her point of view in her daily dealings in this world; and from the intriguing characters she meets and works with along the way.

HER LADYSHIP'S CURSE is a fascinating story, and recommended to anyone with interest in this kind of Steampunk/PNR setting. The dilemmas which Kit gets herself in and out of during the course of the investigation are both humorous and innovative. Although short, this captivating little story jam-packed with excitement and an involving storyline. Lynn Viehl has put her own unique stamp on the Steampunk genre.

Book Summary

In a steampunk version of America that lost the Revolutionary War, Charmian (Kit) Kittredge makes her living investigating magic crimes and exposing the frauds behind them. While Kit tries to avoid the nobs of high society, as the proprietor of Disenchanted & Co. she follows mysteries wherever they lead.

Lady Diana Walsh calls on Kit to investigate and dispel the curse she believes responsible for carving hateful words into her own flesh as she sleeps. While Kit doesn’t believe in magic herself, she can’t refuse to help a woman subjected nightly to such vicious assaults. As Kit investigates the Walsh family, she becomes convinced that the attacks on Diana are part of a larger, more ominous plot—one that may involve the lady’s obnoxious husband.

Sleuthing in the city of Rumsen is difficult enough, but soon Kit must also skirt the unwanted attentions of nefarious deathmage Lucien Dredmore and the unwelcome scrutiny of police Chief Inspector Thomas Doyle. Unwilling to surrender to either man’s passion for her, Kit struggles to remain independent as she draws closer to the heart of the mystery. Yet as she learns the truth behind her ladyship’s curse, Kit also uncovers a massive conspiracy that promises to ruin her life—and turn Rumsen into a s supernatural battleground from which no one will escape alive.