Category: Historical Mystery

The Gilded Shroud by Elizabeth Bailey

On By BarbaraIn Audiobook, Barb's Reviews, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Historical Mystery1 Comment

The Gilded Shroud (A Lady Fan Mystery #1)The Gilded Shroud by Elizabeth Bailey

My rating: 2.5/3 of 5 stars

Series: A Lady Fan Mystery #1
Publication Date: September 6th, 2011 by Berkley Trade (first published January 10th, 1992)
Number of Pages: 368
2.5 Stars rounded up to 3

I loved the synopsis of this book when I read it and immediately purchased it. I loved the mystery itself, but the rest seemed more like a script for an over-the-top stage play with cardboard characters than it did anything representing real life. The relationships and conversations between servants and upper classes were so far off base that it was more fantasy than reality. Then – the view of the Bow Street Runners – absolutely ridiculous. In that period Bow Street couldn’t touch the peerage in any way, shape or form – they couldn’t even enter through the front door of the home, they had to go to the servants entrance and if the peerage didn’t want to allow them in or to talk to them, they didn’t have to. Members of the peerage would be tried before the House of Lords and they almost never, ever convicted each other of anything. So, a peer could, literally, get away with murder – especially against someone who ‘belonged’ to him – such as a wife.

According to Goodreads, this book was first published in 1992, so I’m hoping that it was a ‘learner’ novel for this author and the subsequent books (written over twenty years later) will be much better.

The book opens with the discovery of the murdered body of Lady Emily Fanshawe, Marchioness of Polbrook. Her husband is nowhere to be found and the only family member in residence is his brother Francis. Therefore, it is up to Francis to take charge and one of the most onerous things he has to do is to tell his mother that Emily has been murdered and Randal is missing.

When Francis arrives at his mother’s townhouse to tell her the news, he finds her having breakfast with her new (temporary) companion (Mrs. Ottilia Draycott) that she has only met late the night before. Ottilia offers to withdraw, but Francis invites her to stay since it will soon be all over town anyway. As Francis is telling his mother this distressing news, Ottilia is constantly interrupting with questions that are clearly none of her business. Instead of rebuking her, both the Dowager Marchioness and Francis let her continue, tell her how clever she is, and then she goes with them to the crime scene and she actually examines the scene and the body, etc. in the most intimate way.

Francis immediately gives Ottilia carte blanche to conduct the investigation because she is so smart, intuitive, and clever and he and his mother are just so dumb. Then she does really clever things like determining that someone could have entered the house through one of the doors – duh! She is so clever because – wait for it – she raised her brother’s two sons. Given that criteria, I should be a genius!

Ottilia rocks along with her investigation and ropes Francis into helping with parts of it until the mystery is solved and the murderer is revealed. In the meantime, everyone is constantly telling Ottilia how very clever she is and allowing her to ask the most intimate questions. The servants have the most casual of interchanges and relationships with the Dowager, Francis and everybody else. It is all just so very period inappropriate.

Then, there is the relationship that develops with Francis and Ottilia. I just didn’t see or feel it. They were like two cardboard characters and I couldn’t see where an attraction would be. There just didn’t seem to be any real passion.

There is also Ottilia’s propensity for giggling and making inappropriate jokes and comments during very serious, emotional, trying times. There were times when I was thinking that someone ought to give her a slap to show her that things were serious.

It is my intention to read another book in this series because the later ones have been released in the last few years and the author has had some time to grow in her craft. I’d like to see a more likable and relatable Ottilia. If Ottilia does have that growth, I’ll look forward to more books in the series.

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A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Victorian Era (1837-1901)Leave a comment

A Treacherous Curse (Veronica Speedwell #3)A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Veronica Speedwell #3
Publication Date: 1/16/18
Number of Pages: 320

This is the third book the late-Victorian Veronica Speedwell series. It features lepidopterist Veronica who is bold, unconventional, outspoken (to the point of being overbearing) and the handsome Revelstoke Templeton-Vane (Stoker). I read the first book in the series and loved everything about it except Veronica, so I decided to skip ahead in the series and see if she had mellowed any at all. She is still arrogant, superior, condescending and overbearing, but she’s not quite as bad as in the first book, so I’ll definitely try another one – hoping that she continues to mellow a bit. This author’s mysteries and writing are always top-notch, it is only the female lead for which I haven’t been able to work up any enthusiasm – I don’t hate her, I just don’t care for her very much and we’d never be good friends. I am excited to see where the series heads from here!

I am not going to complain because I dearly wanted to learn more about Stoker’s past – and I was delighted to learn a lot more – but that knowledge did come at the expense of the mystery. The mystery was still excellent, just not as intricately complex as the others in the series. We didn’t learn all about Stoker, but we did learn a lot more than we knew before. We meet his ex-wife and find out some of what happened between them – and it wasn’t pretty.

Veronica and Stoker are summoned to the sickbed of Sir Hugo Montgomerie of the Special Branch. Sir Hugo wants them to look into the disappearance of Stoker’s former best friend, John de Morgan. De Morgan had been working as a photographer on the Tiverton expedition in Egypt. The expedition made an extraordinary find and de Morgan disappeared with one of the priceless artifacts. Veronica and Stoker have to take on the investigation because of Stoker’s past with de Morgan – and it won’t be long before the newspapers track down that past and bring Stoker’s name into scandal again. Stoker might even be blamed for the disappearance and/or death of de Morgan.

The mystery rocks on and I began to wonder if they would ever get the clue to solving the case, but when they get it, things just explode and it is non-stop action from there on out.

I know I have said, repeatedly, that I don’t care for Veronica, but I do absolutely love how she protects and defends Stoker. No matter what she hears about him or from whom she hears it – she absolutely never doubts Stoker. She will look out for him even to her own detriment. (BTW – the author has really toned down the “Hey look at me I’m unconventional” rantings that were in the first book and I’m so very glad). Their relationship isn’t all one-sided though. Stoker is the same way about her.

One thing I find very entertaining is the role reversal in this series. Veronica has had liaisons and is very free with admitting them, speaking about sex, etc. and isn’t the least bit embarrassed about it. Stoker, on the other hand, is almost prudish. Not that he hasn’t had liaisons, but it just isn’t something he speaks about with ladies and he embarrasses so easily. So, in this series – she is uninhibited and he is missish. They are two societal outcasts who are absolutely perfect for each other – can’t wait until they realize they love each other.

I definitely recommend this author, this book and this series.