Miss Beatrix Waterbury stars in a story set in 1886, when the divide between haves and have-nots was vast. Having been arrested for promoting the cause of women’s suffrage in New York, the lady is sent to a relative in Chicago. This may be just STORING UP TROUBLE.

On the journey, Beatrix is accosted by a train robber, who is holding up the carriage. She produces a concealed pistol and advises the man to leave. Another passenger takes advantage of the distraction to bop the robber over the head with a bottle. This helpful gentleman is an inventor, Mr. Norman Nesbit, whose scientific and electrical inventions rival those of Nikola Tesla. He decides that the robber was after his papers, and starts taking charge.

In Chicago, the unconventional Gladys Huttleston is delighted to see her only niece, while the Pinkerton’s Agency men are employed to protect Norman. Beatrix takes a job as a salesgirl, at Marshall Field’s fine department store. The rules are strict and pay is basic for women. Along comes Norman, escorting his friend Theodosia Robinson, likewise an inventor.

Nice detail is provided about the working of the store and its tiers of employees. I found, though, that having a rich lady experience the life of a poorer one doesn’t go very far, because Beatrix socialises with other rich people. A butler brings breakfast to her room, she has a ball lined up, horses to ride, and her customers order a few dozen kid gloves at a time.

I always enjoy reading about inventors, especially when a lady is doing some of the work. However, steampunk it’s not. Everyone dresses respectably, talks politely and takes offence in silence. Every conversation takes a long time – which it probably did, back then. The train robbery involves about ten minutes of conversation between Beatrix and Norman between knocking out the robber and doing anything else. We hear about more inventions than we see. The author Jen Turano seems to be aiming for a comedy of manners, which is fine if that is what you would like to read. Forgive me for being a little impatient, and wanting everyone to get on with the plot. If you ask whether this book would be filmed as written, and think the answer is that the dialogue would be largely cut, you’ll see my point. STORING UP TROUBLE does indeed contain trouble in store for the hapless inventor, along with Theodosia and Beatrix. This is the third in a light romance series called American Heiresses.