Category: Mystery

Murder in Misdirection by Anne Cleeland

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Mystery1 Comment

Murder in Misdirection: A Doyle & Acton Mystery (The Doyle and Acton Scotland Yard series Book 7)Murder in Misdirection: A Doyle & Acton Mystery by Anne Cleeland

Barbara’s rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: New Scotland Yard/Doyle and Acton #7
Publication Date: 2/8/18

I love this series – mostly because it is filled with quirky, warped and wonderful characters. The story is well plotted, the writing is superb and the characters – well – I just love them all.

Acton, the anti-hero, is up to his antics again. Given his upbringing and what he THINKS is his family history, he has never felt comfortable with where he is and what he has. Since he’s fallen head-over-heels, hopelessly in love with the fair Doyle, he has become obsessed with seeing that she is well cared for and is safe. He’ll do anything, absolutely anything, to assure that all is well in Doyle’s world and now with Edward’s birth nearing, he’s engrossed with assuring there is nobody that can hurt them and they’ll always be financially secure.

Doyle is hugely pregnant, uncomfortable, unhappy to be on leave from work, and she’s absolutely sure Acton is up to something – and that something is not good. Doyle is Irish and a bit fey. She gets visits from ghosts in her dreams, gets tingly feelings when important points are mentioned and can always tell when someone is lying. She’s picking up some strong vibes from Acton and knows that she has to take action to save him from himself. She’s trying her best to be a good influence on him and turn him from his nefarious ways, but she often feels it is pointless. It is a good thing she loves him.

Acton always manages to underestimate Doyle. You would think he would have learned by now, but he always makes the same mistakes in underestimating her. As always, she’s puzzled out his plot and gets herself into a mess while she’s trying to save him – all while she’s in labor. What exciting action!

Reynolds, the butler, is one of my favorite characters. He takes everything in stride. I get the feeling that there is more to him than meets the eye – as there is with all of Acton’s employees – but I haven’t figured out what it is. Maybe we’ll learn more in another book.

Williams is back, of course, but with a smaller role this time. Poor boy, you can only hope his love life will take off one of these days. He’s a bit of an Acton clone – but much more mellow.

One of my favorite scenes is the quasi-reconciliation with Lord Aldwych and Acton. Aldwych is very, very old and won’t be around much longer, but I’d like to know what prompted his visit and what he had to say. I’d think maybe there was more to it than just that he knew he wasn’t long for this world and he wanted to meet his great-great-grandson. I hope there is a full reconciliation before he passes.

I can’t wait for the next book!

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The Woman In The Water by Charles Finch

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Mystery, Top Pick - Highly Recommended, Victorian Era (1837-1901)1 Comment

The Woman in the WaterThe Woman in the Water by Charles Finch

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

WOW! I am in awe of Charles Finch and his writing and I’d give this book more than 5-stars if I could. This has to be the absolute best book of the Charles Lenox Mystery series so far. While it is shown as book #0 in the series because it is a prequel, it is actually something like the thirteenth if you count the novellas. The writing is superb, the characters are fully developed and relatable, and the story is fast-paced, engrossing and detailed.

We are introduced to a young Charles Lenox, just twenty-three years of age and newly living in London on his own. He desperately wants to be a detective, but his few forays into it and his interactions with Scotland Yard have been very disappointing. However, being the tenacious young man that he is, Charles perseveres by honing his knowledge of crimes in London, how they are solved and the details behind them. He does that by buying copies of all of the newspapers and cutting all of the crime related articles out and filing them away.

When one of those newspapers carry the text of a letter claiming that the writer had already committed one ‘perfect’ murder and would be committing another soon, Charles knew he had to be involved. He and his valet, Graham, use the timeline given in the letter and find the case the letter writer must be claiming as his perfect crime. They are off to Scotland Yard to show them their conjecture and to offer their services. Of course, Scotland Yard wants no part of their help, but that doesn’t deter Charles. As he digs and learns more and more – he shares it all with Scotland Yard.

While the murder plot was interesting, detailed and engrossing, I think my favorite parts of the book were the more personal parts. Those are skillfully written and poignant, heartwarming, emotional and sad. We meet Charles’ mother and father and learn of the father, Edward’s, medical diagnosis. How Charles, his mother, and brother Edmund – his father too – deal with that is so bittersweet and lovely. I absolutely adored his father and the efforts he made to ensure that he spent time with each of the family members individually and that they knew he loved them. I loved the descriptions of his fence painting – and I loved that when he finally spoke to Charles about his leaving them he said – “The hardest part of losing a person, Charles, is that grief is only an absence. There is nowhere to go to touch it.”

It was fun to meet the younger, more immature versions of people we’ll get to know and love throughout the series. There is Jane, of course. She’s married to someone else and Charles is heartbroken over that. Graham, of course, is one of my favorite people. Then, we meet a very young and very mischievous John Dallington.

I usually don’t read prequels, especially if I know that someone doesn’t last through the series – especially because of a bad end. I am so very, very happy that I made an exception for this book. It is so well written, so well developed and just such a wonderful read that I cannot imagine having missed it.

Please check out my reviews at:
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/FlippinPagesRev
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbBookReview

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”