Category: Victorian Era (1837-1901)

In the history of the United Kingdom, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria’s reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian period, and its later half overlaps with the first part of the Belle Époque era of continental Europe.
Preceded by: Regency era
Followed by: Edwardian era
Monarch: Victoria

No Stone Unturned by Pam Lecky – Review

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No Stone Unturned (The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #1)Barbara’s rating: 4.4 out of 5 Stars
Series: The Lucy Lawrence Mysteries #1
Publication Date: 7/25/24
Period: Georgian
Number of Pages: 332

Oh! What a happy little accident! I discovered this lovely book and author while browsing around looking for something to read, and I think I am hooked. The writing was excellent, the plot was layered, nuanced, and multifaceted, and the characters were fully formed and three-dimensional. My favorite character was Phineas Stone, the handsome, intelligent investigator who was investigating a theft of rare, valuable sapphires. I also liked Lucy Lawrence, but, for me, she didn’t quite live up to the expectations set forth in the book. She leapt to the wrong conclusions much too often and often trusted or mistrusted the wrong people regularly. I’ll be looking forward to seeing whether those flaws continue or if she will become the strong, intelligent, wise, and intuitive person she is touted to be. I also discovered this book had been previously published in June of 2019 by Avon (I think) and is now being published by Storm Publishing. Evidently, it was a four-book deal – but I don’t think four books will be nearly enough for me – there must be more.

Lucy Somerville eloped with Charlie Lawrence ten years earlier because her family was dead-set against the match. They loved each other, but one cannot live on love alone and when her father and family disowned her and refused to provide her dowry, things got tight and tough because Charlie didn’t have money either. Lucy was just happy to escape a vile family. However, lately, Charlie had been away more, moody, withdrawn, and his temper more volatile. Lucy wants them to grow closer again, but doesn’t know how to make it happen – and then – there will be no chance for it to happen because Charlie lies in the morgue and a very bad man has begun to accost Lucy. What in the world had Charlie gotten himself into? There is also another man who makes an appearance at Charlie’s death. He SAYS Charlie was his only lead in the case he is investigating – but can she trust him? Time will tell.

Phineas (Phin) Stone is from a successful gentry family and doesn’t want to go into one of the traditional roles for ‘lesser’ sons. No military or clergy for him – so he read law – but found he liked investigating and was really good at it. With insurance companies paying large rewards for discovering the whereabouts of items they’ve insured and paid claims on – or for investigating and keeping them from paying out for fraudulent claims – Phin is quite a wealthy fellow.

For me, Lucy was all over the place in the book and I had to question her judgment. I know she came from a family that made her distrustful – I can see that – but – after all of the gosh-awful things they did to her, she trusts them again and begins to distrust Phin. Anyway, Phin is searching for 3 stolen sapphires and Charlie was his lead to finding them. As Phin and Lucy work together to find out what happened and where the sapphires might be, they draw closer – until Lucy, again, hares off on her own. Can they solve the case and find the sapphires? What will happen with that nasty villain who keeps cropping up? Is Phin trustworthy? Is her family trustworthy? You’ll just have to read this nail-biting book to find out.

I enjoyed the book and will tell you I am looking forward to the next one. I will also mention one thing that bothered me about Lucy and it probably didn’t bother anyone else, so take it for what it is worth. This may be a tad of a spoiler, so, if you don’t want to see it, stop reading here. (view spoiler)

This was a very enjoyable read and I would read it again. BTW – I loved the play on Phileas’s name in the title.

A Ruse of Shadows by Sherry Thomas – Release Day Blitz

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Historical Mystery, Part of a Series, Release Day Blitz, Victorian Era (1837-1901)2 Comments

A Ruse of Shadows (Lady Sherlock, #8)

Barbara’s rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Series: Lady Sherlock #8
Publication Date: 6/25/24
Period: Victorian Paris and London
Number of Pages: 368

When I purchased the first book of this series eight years ago, I knew I liked the author, but I wasn’t sure how I felt about the description given for Charlotte Holmes or even the series. OMGoodness! There is nothing to worry about there – I still love the author – and absolutely adore Charlotte and the series. Charlotte is smart, quirky, cunning, and brave with few of the social ‘graces’, but everybody comes to love her. Well, everybody except those she outsmarts and brings to justice. I just looked back and I have given every book a 5-star rating so far – and this will get one as well.

I was fully engaged and invested in this story from the very first page and stayed that way until I let out a huge sigh at the last word on the last page. There is never a dull moment as Charlotte masterminds a massive blow to Moriarty and he never sees it coming! While she’s doing that, she’s solving a decades-old case for Inspector Treadles and outwitting Lord Bancroft Ashburton who rears his ugly head again. What does she do in her spare time? She shows some phenomenal character growth from the woman (girl really) we met in that first book.

I thought the author’s way of telling this story was interesting because I could see the events unfolding almost as if it were a movie or an old newsreel. We begin with Charlotte being interrogated by Chief Inspector John Talbot who believes she murdered Lord Bancroft Ashburton. The story alternates between the interrogation with her answers and the actual events that took place. That was an intriguing way to put the timeline together and to help us easily follow all of the events – even though the reader won’t really have it all pieced together until the end.

There is the full complement of recurring characters with integral parts to play and a couple of new characters that we may or may not see again. All of the unique parts of the story work seamlessly together to present the reader with an unforgettable reading experience. If you love complex mysteries with equally complex characters, you will love this book and this series. I can highly recommend this book – especially if you love books by Anna Lee Huber, Andrea Penrose, Ashley Weaver, Will Thomas, or C.H. Harris. Happy Reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.