Publication: 6th May 2025 – Piatkus
Meet Lady Gus and Lady Julia: unmarried, unruly and ready for adventure.
To most of Regency high society, Lady Augusta ‘Gus’ Colebrook and her twin sister, Julia, are just unmarried ladies of a certain age. But the Colebrook twins are far from useless old maids . . . they are secretly protecting women and children ignored by society and the law.
When Lord Evan, a charming, escaped convict who has captured Gus’s heart, seeks their help to shield his sister and her lover from from their vindictive brother, the twins take the two women into their home. But Lord Evan’s complicated past puts them all in danger. Gus knows that if he is to survive the thieftakers who hunt him, they must clear his name of murder. But it is no easy task. The fatal duel was twenty years ago, and a key witness is nowhere to be found.
Caught in a deadly cat-and-mouse game, Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan are thrust into the ugly underworld of Georgian gentlemen’s clubs, spies, and ruthless bounty hunters, not to mention the everyday threat of narrow-minded brothers. Will the truth be found in time, or will the dangerous secrets from the past destroy family bonds and rip new love and lives apart?
I have been waiting to read The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin for two years, since I finished reading the first book, The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies. The adventures of Lady Augusta “Gus” and her twin sister Julia, as they help those in need, kept me completely engrossed and this new book is even better.
Following the events of the first book, Gus is determined to prove the innocence of the man she loves, Lord Evan Belford, accused of murder twenty years earlier. Also, Gus and Julia are hiding his sister, Lady Hester, and her lover, Miss Grant, from their brother who wants to keep her in an asylum. And with Bow Street Runners, ruthless bounty hunters, and insufferable brothers watching their every move, the two sisters are quite busy.
Set in Regency England, the main protagonist of this engaging novel is a witty, strong, and independent 42-year-old woman who, according to society and her own brother, should stay quiet and do what is told. Luckily, Gus has her own mind and she is determined to protect those in need and to find justice for them. She is outspoken and interfering, so that sometimes people, including her own twin, find her controlling, but I liked how she would stop at nothing to get to the truth and protect everyone. On the other hand, Julia is calm and more sensible, always ready to keep peace. They are involved in quite a few adventures, some dangerous and some more exciting, and the sisters both find time for a bit of romance.
Entertaining, intriguing, and well-written, The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin will appeal to those who love Regency mysteries with some romance and humour and great characters. With a compelling ending and teasing of more adventures, I can’t wait to read the next book!
A huge thank you to Piatkus and NetGalley for providing me with a proof of this wonderful novel.
Alison Goodman is the bestselling Australian author of several novels including the reknowned Eona and The Two Pearls of Wisdom.
Book After Book 
I was hoping to get the ARC of this, but I guess I’ll have to buy a copy now. After the first one, I really want to read this.
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