The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin by Alison Goodman

The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin

Alison Goodman, Kristin Atherton, Penguin Audio

Penguin Publishing Group · Print & ebook · May 6, 2025

A Historical Fiction pick for readers exploring The Ladies Road Guide to Utter Ruin.

We earn from qualifying purchases.

Who it’s for
A playful, edgy historical blend with romance, mystery, and women sleuths in the mix.
Genres
Regency Romance, Historical Mystery, Women Detectives
Published
Penguin Publishing Group, May 6, 2025

About this book

In Regency England, the eccentric Colebrook sisters are amateur detectives who use their wits and invisibility as “old maids” to fight injustice in this delightful and fiercely feminist novel of mystery and adventure from New York Times bestselling author Alison Goodman. To most of Regency high society, forty-two-year-old Lady Augusta Colebrook, or Gus, and her twin sister, Julia, are just unmarried ladies of a certain age.

Continue reading

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 won Gus’s heart—needs to hide his sister, Hester, from their vindictive brother, Gus and Julia take Hester and her lover into their home. But Lord Evan’s complicated past puts them all in danger. Gus knows they must clear his name of murder if he is to survive the thieftakers who hunt him. No easy task—the fatal duel was twenty years ago and a key witness is nowhere to be found. In a deadly cat-and-mouse game, Gus, Julia, and Lord Evan must dodge their pursuers and investigate Lord Evan’s past. They will be 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 dangerous secrets from the past destroy family bonds and rip new love and lives apart?

Sharp-Eyed Delights

A playful, edgy historical blend with romance, mystery, and women sleuths in the mix.

Come here for

  • historical romance with a sharper edge
  • women detectives, collector-friendly

Expect

  • historical atmosphere
  • genre-savvy pleasures

Where it sits

Historical Mystery50%
Women Detectives50%
Regency Romance49%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Women Detectives
  • Historical Mystery
  • Regency Romance
Authors
Alison Goodman, Kristin Atherton, Penguin Audio
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Published
May 6, 2025
Format
Print & ebook
Reading lane
Women Detectives