The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
The way this book was described to me: steampunk-ish. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. While there are elements that would lead a person to believe that, there aren't that many. I am more reminded of the early mechanical toys and automatons, which weren't necessarily steampunk at all. This book is more mystery than anything else, and that is what I enjoyed. That, and it was a period piece.
Katharine Tulman lives with her Aunt Alice, and acts as her bookkeeper. Katharine is asked to go to Stranwyne Keep to prove that her Uncle Tully is insane so that Alice can be made custodian of the property until her son comes of age. Katharine goes because that is the only way she sees that she can have any kind of future.
When she gets there, she finds that Uncle Tully is not in his right mind, but she also finds that several hundred people are dependent on him. Katharine agrees to bide her time in Stranwyne Keep for a month and then lie to her aunt about her uncle's mental capabilities so that the people of Stranwyne can maintain their way of life as long as they can. In this time, she finds she cares for the people, and will do what she can to help them. She is also poisoned by someone she trusts, and gets a bit of interesting news.
I enjoyed this one.
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