Same for this audiobook. I was not captured by the narrator and did not finish this audiobook. It is a great concept for a story; it's just not a story that grabbed my attention.

Piper is back in action and she want to be a detective!!

She decides to help a girl who believes her brother was murdered!!

The audiobook was amazing and it picked up in a great spot for me.

The pacing was a little off in spots but other than that, the book was great.

I really love the writing and I am so glad that the development of Piper is moving forward in a natural way!

4 stars

The second book in a series I'm very much loving - the Piper Sail Mysteries! In this book we are reunited with Piper, her family friends and her investigator boyfriend. In this book, Piper has graduated from high school and is figuring out what is next for her life and if being an investigator can be part of it. Stephanie Morrill does a great job of tying together history with very relatable, human characters. Her storytelling is reminiscent of Agatha Christie meets a grown up Nancy Drew and I'm so here for it.

A great audiobook experience with a compelling premise.

I rounded up for this one because the good parts were really good! The narrator's performance was a definite highlight; Megan Trout's character voices were distinct and engaging. The story grabbed me immediately with its intriguing setup and characters I wanted to root for. Although it didn't quite maintain that gripping pace all the way through for me, it was a very enjoyable listen overall. Perfect for fans of YA mystery with a side of romance!

I wasn't a fan of this duology, sadly
I like the idea and the plot and the setting but it didn't come together for me

I received this audiobook from NetGalley. Stephanie Morrill does it again with the second book in the Piper Sail Mysteries series. This book picks up shortly after book one, with Piper still dealing with the grief over losing her best friend. She feels listless and unsure about her future. When Piper is approached by a student searching for answers to the mysteries surrounding her brother's death, she can't help but say yes. In the quiet parts of her mind, Piper dreams of becoming a real detective, and here is a chance to prove herself. With the support of her police officer boyfriend, Piper embarks on the twisting road of Chicago's underbelly. I love this series! Piper is tenacious in her search for answers, all the while navigating the regular life of a young woman in Roaring Twenties Chicago. Megan Trout does a great job with the narration, giving each of the many characters their own voice. I highly recommend and can't wait for Piper's next adventure!

Piper Sail has done it again! I love her! This was a much tougher case and topic to investigate. It was supposedly a suicide, but the sister wouldn't accept that. So Piper was put on the case. She's grappling with the grief of losing her friend in the first book, navigating her relationship, and becoming who she wants to be: a private investigator. She is meant to be more than a wife, and this is her chance to prove it. She breaks rules, uses lies, and stirs up trouble to find the truth. I adore Piper. I'm so excited to read anything else she will be in.

This is exactly the type of historical fiction series that I would recommend to a young adult audience.

There are firm characters embedded in an engaging story, and the book is full of emotions, situations and challenges that this age group is familiar with. The mysteries are complex but mostly do not involve violence, and the family matters and love affairs have as much importance in the plot as the investigation itself.

I like how the relationship of Piper and Mariano is developing, how they are coping with their own separate baggage, and against all odds, can make it work. I hope Walter is coming back in the next book, because I missed him.

The Secret Investigator of Astor Street by Stephanie Morrill
Audiobook

Piper Sail is a recent high school graduate trying to find her way in the adult world. A murder case is presented to her and she finds herself suddenly hired as a private investigator. She has a passion for detective work, and is really good at it, but she’s an 18-year old girl in 1924 Chicago - not the path her family and society expects her to take.

I listened to the Audiobook version. The narrator brings Piper to life, and does a really nice job with the other characters as well. She uses tone and inflection to really help the listener connect with Piper.

This was the first book I’ve read (or listened to) by Stephanie Morrill and I didn’t realize when I selected it that there was an earlier Piper Sail mystery. I loved this book and am going to go back and read the first one! I highly recommend this book for mystery fans.

Thank you to HarperCollins Focus and Blink for providing this book as an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

10/10: 5⭐️’s

Narrator Megan Trout is excellent yet again. (I did think her Minnesotan accent was an Irish accent though!😂)

I LOVED this book! I did not want it to end!

It’s December 1924 in Chicago and 18 year old Piper Sail is on another investigation. And once again, i throughly enjoyed tagging along.

I love Piper. I love Mariano. I miss Walter. I want a dog like Sidekick.

It’s cute, sweet, funny, heartfelt, the grief is so relatable, there’s mystery and mobsters, and a little side dish of romance. None of it is over the top. None of it seems like too much or too little.

I HOPE Stephanie Morrill continues on with this series. I want more of Piper Sail! I am 100% a fan!!! Read/listen to books one first!

A quote that jumped out at me:
Chapter 22: “We have to be so careful of what we allow to define us.”

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this charming book! All opinions are my own.

Original rating and review posted: 9/7/25

I liked this book even more than book one in the series (which I also, REALLY liked)! It was nice to jump in and already understand who the characters are and what the world is that they lived in.

I did struggle at times remembering that this book was supposed to be taking place in the 1920s, not the 2020s, but I LOVE the premise of the book and am willing to overlook that.

This book did have a few little twists that I didn't see coming and I was unable to solve the mystery before Piper did!

I hope we see more Piper Sails, Private Investigator books in the future!

The narration was great and I found myself not wanting to hit pause at all.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an audio ARC to review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Secret Investigator of Astor Street was a great second book in the series. I did find this book a little better than the first. It was a solid book with great characters. Loved the story and great narration.

I liked this one even better than the first one. I feel this had more mystery and intrigue and as a series book it was great to jump right into the story and already know the characters. I'm not a huge fan of historical fiction but I feel this one leaned more towards mystery and suspense and was lighter on historical fiction than the first. I appreciated the epilepsy representation and how the author highlighted the importance of transparency. This reminded me of Finaly Donovan in that both the main characters were struggling with imposter syndrome as non-traditional detectives and also struggling with two different love interests--who they love and who other people want them to end up with. This one kept me reading and turning pages to see how they mystery unfolded (in ways I didn't see coming) and who won out romantically. This would be a great addition to any library looking to serve secondary readers who are interested in mystery, suspense, or historical fiction. Highly recommend! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This book had me hooked in a way the first sadly did not, I found the case piper was investigating so interesting and it definitely had me questioning who our perpetrator was, at one point I thought it was Louisa who had hired piper to look into the case, because of how strongly she was coming across.

Definitely recommend, looking forward to more books

Young adult Piper Sail is at it again–investigating a suspicious death for a classmate in Chicago in the 1920s. This time, the death has been called a suicide, however, the sister of the deceased is adamant that Clarence would never have done that. Piper gets to stretch her investigative abilities as she goes undercover in order to find out the truth. This story has less of a romantic side to it than the first in the series as Piper and Mariano are together the whole time. Piper’s dad and Jane have married so there is a small bit of family drama as family dynamics shift, but the best part of the book is the mystery and investigation itself. 3.5 stars

I was recently introduced to this author and this world that he has created. It has quickly become a favorite series. I love how well developed the characters are, the glimpses into a different simpler time and all the twists and turns in the stories. Just when you think you have it figured out you get new information and start making theories again. Completely engaging.

I really enjoyed this audiobook.
The narrator was excellent. The story was good, well paced. The characters were well developed.
Solid little easy listening audiobook. I look forward to book 3. 💙 #netgalley

The second installment of the Piper Sail mysteries was fantastic. Stephanie Morrill knows how to engage the reader with a mysterious crime that finds the detective. The clues are small enough throughout the book that you can’t stop hypothesizing and reading on. I love the historic details the author sprinkles throughout the story, keeping it as accurate as possible to the time period. Megan Trout continues to portray Piper and the other characters in a believable and distinguishing way. I am eagerly awaiting (or desperately hoping) for another book to be released soon.

This book was so good! I liked it more than the first one. Thank you to the NetGalley, the author Stephanie Morrill and the publisher for this audio copy of The Secret Investigator of Astor Street. The narrator Megan Trout also did an amazing job and so entertaining to listen to and easy to listen to. This book was so easy to follow as well.
We follow piper again in 1920 Chicago on another crazy case! She is making a name for herself self as an investigator and even going under cover! She was hired to find the killer of someone’s brother. Piper takes the case! She follows clues to figure out if this young man Clarence really did take his own life or if it was something more.
The things piper has to do for this puts her in danger. But dean she get her self out of it? Did someone else kill Clarence? Find out! But read the first book first! It has all the back stories to all the characters. And how she got sidekick!

Set in 1920s Chicago, The Secret Investigator of Astor Street is the second in the Piper Sails historical YA mystery series by Stephanie Morrill and takes place shortly after the events in the first book, The Lost Girl of Astor Street. Piper has graduated high school and is unsure of what to do next. What she really wants is to become a private detective but that is an unsuitable job for a woman. But then a girl approaches her and asks her to look into the death of her brother. It’s been ruled a suicide by the police but she is convinced they’re wrong. Piper hesitates for only a minute, then jumps into this new mystery that will take her into Chicago’s underworld of gangsters, speakeasies, and ever present danger.

This a well-written and enjoyable read with an interesting mystery that kept my attention engaged throughout. Piper is a likeable, smart, and resilient protagonist and the descriptions of the period are realistic especially as they show the restrictions women still faced. A definite fun read for anyone who enjoys historical mysteries but I would recommend reading the previous book first because it is referenced quite a bit. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Megan Trout who does an excellent job.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins Focus for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review