My full review: https://www.mwgerard.com/review-in-the-fog/

I’ve been absolutely devouring the mystery titles being rediscovered from the Library of Congress and the British Library. There are so many amazing tales that deserve new generation of readers. Though short, this one was an absolute charmer.

On a rainy, late Victorian evening in London, a group of men sit in their club. They are bemoaning the fact that a bill they oppose will pass in Parliament before the session closes that night. As they sit there in defeat, they notice Sir Andrew, the bill’s main supporter, is across the room. They hatch a Scheherazade plan to tell him intriguing tales and distract him until the vote is over.

The American ambassador begins the distraction. He tells a harrowing story of being lost in the London fog at night. He quite literally has to feel his way along the fence line of front gardens to avoid falling off the curb. The gas lamps do nothing to dispel the gloom. And just when he decides it’s hopeless, a bright light spills out from an opening front door. He decides he will throw himself on the mercy of its inhabitants and starts to fumble at the gate when an unseen figure rushes past him. The figure doesn’t help him but he crawls up the stoop to the interior of the home. Entering the parlor in search of residents whom he can beg sanctuary, he finds a surprise: two dead bodies and a sleeping servant. He learns it is home to Princess Zichy, a Russian aristocrat, now deceased. But was she really a princess, or simply a talented scammer?