A Secret of the Sea: A Novel. Vol. 1 (of 3)

A crisp December morning finds the bustling office of a respectable Hertfordshire solicitor, where sixteen‑year‑old Podley Piper—sharp‑witted, quick with shorthand, and forever teasing the stodgy routine of the Times—delivers a stack of letters that hint at something far more unsettling than the day’s ordinary business. The lawyer, Matthew Kelvin, a man of habit and meticulous appearance, is suddenly drawn into a secret that threatens to upend his orderly world, stirring thoughts of revenge and a haunting past that refuses to stay buried.

When a mysterious young woman named Olive Deane arrives, the atmosphere tightens. Her presence seems tied to the very secret Kelvin has been forced to confront, and the air of the office brims with unspoken tension. As the characters grapple with hidden motives and looming danger, the stage is set for a tale of intrigue, family legacies, and the dark currents that run beneath genteel Victorian society.