Sweet Nightingale

A Sophie Rathenau Short

Paperback, 62 pages

Published Dec. 21, 2020 by Independently published.

ISBN:
9781090737069

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Vienna, 1773. Camilla has a new maid, as usual. But is Anni Nachtigall as demure as she seems? Uncovering layers of deceit, Sophie is plunged into an adventure which will take all of her ingenuity and diplomatic skill to survive.

A Sophie Rathenau novella from the age of Mozart and Maria Theresia.

Note: This story originally appeared in "Winter's Edge: An Anthology of Historical Fiction" (2017).

1 edition

Enjoyable interlude in the Sophie Rathenau series

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In this short novella, Sophie Rathenau investigates her friend Camilla's new maid. The matter isn't purely domestic curiosity since the request comes from Camilla's husband, who is chief of the Vienna police. Sophie navigates Vienna's seedier elements to find out whether Anni Nachtigall is innocent, dangerous or both.

As we'd expect for a novella, the plot is pretty straightforward compared to the author's full-length novels, but I suspect there may be repercussions beyond this single episode. As usual, I enjoyed how Sophie tells her tale with a combination of cynicism, snark and conscience.