Death Among the Ruins — Susanna Calkins

Midnight assignations, dresses fit to meet the queen . . . and murder most horrid! Printer's apprentice Lucy Campion investigates a puzzling death in this thrilling historical mystery set in seventeenth-century London.

London, 1668. Printer's apprentice Lucy Campion is suspicious when she meets a young ragpicker who claims to have fine clothes to sell from a lady of quality. Are the garments stolen . . . or a sign of something worse?

Her suspicions are soon realized when the clothes are identified as belonging to a recently deceased elderly aristocrat. Young Mercy Sykes has robbed a grave! Mercy is arrested, and it's only thanks to Lucy's intervention that the ragpicker, who's struggling to support her family, isn't locked up.

Lucy doesn't expect to see Mercy again, but their meeting soon has unexpected consequences. For when Mercy finds a dead woman in the ruins of Christchurch, dressed in unexpected finery, it's to Lucy who she turns for help . . .

Lucy Campion is a feisty working-class heroine, plying her trade as a printer's apprentice in Renaissance London. If you're new to the series (it's safe to jump right in), we can't wait for you to meet her in this twisty, puzzle-packed historical mystery, brimming with authenticity!