The Crimson Cavalier — Mary Andrea Clarke

Regency London: a hotbed of robbers, ruffians and imposters… A girl might as well put her faith in a highwayman! Georgiana Grey is a sore trial to her upright brother Edward: independent, outspoken and determined to follow her own path regardless of the cost to her social position and reputation. But the early 18th century is a dangerous time. Sir Robert Foster, a prominent but unpopular citizen, is murdered close to her home, apparently by the Crimson Cavalier, a colourful and infamous highwayman. Georgiana has her own reasons to be certain the Cavalier is not to blame, and to Edward's chagrin, sets out to track down the real culprit.Help comes from unlikely sources: Emily, her energetic, sometimes disapproving but always loyal maid; Tom the cunning urchin, whose greatest ambition is to become a highwayman himself; and the deceptively observant Max Lakesby, guardian of one of the Cavalier's recent victims. Georgiana discovers plenty of people with good reason to wish Sir Robert dead, but her quest for the truth is obstructed on all sides. As the net closes on the Crimson Cavalier, her own life could be at stake.