Classic mystery

The Law and the Lady

by Wilkie Collins

Valeria Macallan discovers immediately after her wedding that her husband has concealed both his true surname and an earlier Scottish verdict declaring him not proven in the poisoning of his first wife. Refusing to accept suspicion as the foundation of their marriage, Valeria investigates the old case despite pressure from her husband, lawyers, and society to leave it buried. Her search brings her to eccentric chemist Miserrimus Dexter and evidence that official proceedings misunderstood. Bold, twisty, and driven by an unusually active Victorian heroine, this mystery suits readers who want courtroom aftermath, forensic clues, marital secrets, and a woman insisting that love requires truth rather than obedient silence.