Maids of Misfortune-Just what a mystery lover wants

I knew as soon as I started this book that I was going to love it and I was right. A strong female heroine set in the Victorian era with a clever mystery is a recipe for success.

Annie Fuller is a widow who escaped a stifling marriage when her husband committed suicide. She moved from New York to San Francisco where she inherited a house and is now a respectable businesswoman running her own boardinghouse. Her side job as Sybil the Clairvoyant is known only to a few trusted household employees.

When one of her customers dies and it is declared to be suicide, she knows better and decides to prove it. Along the way she meets a handsome lawyer, learns what it's like to be a domestic in the Victorian era and foils an old acquaintance who wants to take everything she has.

The mystery is clever but not overly taxing to figure out. There is some romance but it doesn't overpower the mystery. The Victorian setting adds the perfect touches to the story. I absolutely loved the ending.

This author knows what a mystery reader wants to read. I've already purchased the next book in the series and am excited to read it. I know for me this series will be like comfort food, something I'll return to again and again. 

More about M. Louisa Locke

Would I pay money for it? I've already bought the next one in the series

Would I read more by this author? Yes and I'm planning to

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes, definitely

Purchased as a Kindle freebie December 28, 2012

The Angel of Hever Castle-A bit more melodramatic than I expected

The Angel of Hever Castle

The Angel of Hever Castle is a Christmas novella in the City of Mystery series.  I have been enjoying that series.  I feel they are well researched historical mysteries with interesting characters. I've reviewed them before on this blog,  City of Darkness   City of Light   City of Silence This one didn't quite live up to what I had come to expect from this series.

It's set at Christmas time and the Thursday Night Murder Games Club are planning their quiet holidays when they are beseeched by a desperate mother to recover her daughter from the clutches of an despicable artist who has lured her away to Hever Castle. Hever Castle, as I learned in the book, is the ancestral home of Anne Boleyn.  It's been deserted and a colony of bohemian artist types have taken over, led by the afore mentioned despicable artist.  Scotland Yard detectives Trevor Welles and Rayley Abrams go undercover immediately to see if they can have her back by Christmas.  The events at Hever Castle uncover more evil than they had bargained for.

I found this book to be melodramatic and quite reminiscent of Gothic romances which was not what I was looking for with these characters.  The interaction between the team that I have come to appreciate was not there.  Not a badly written book, it just didn't feel like it fit in this series.

Would I pay money for it?Yes because I am one of those who like to read every book of a series

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a freebie April 16, 2014

City of Light-Victorian mystery in my favorite city

I enjoyed the mystery and the characters in this book very much. I also enjoyed the historical information about the Eiffel Tower and the Paris Exposition. Even though I have been to the Eiffel Tower, I learned things about it in this book that I didn't know before. I did, however, find the topic of the mystery to be disturbing and not something I needed quite so much information on. I also agree with other reviewers that the editing needs to be better. I do enjoy this series and will keep reading them but they aren't as cozy as I usually prefer.

Would I pay money for it?Yes but with a little hesitation because of the topic

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes but again with a little hesitation.  Would depend on the friend.

Purchased as a freebie February 5, 2013

City of Silence-The Victorian CSI team heads for Russia

This story, the third in the City of Mystery series, is very intriguing and the setting, St. Petersburg Russia, is an uncommon one for historical mysteries. Queen Victoria, traveling to Russia to check on her granddaughter Ella and the prospects of her other granddaughter Alix to  marry the future Czar, takes what has become a fledgling forensics team with her.  Of course, they end up needing to solve a mystery and the Russian authorities are not keen on having English help.  The plot is set in the Winter Palace which almost becomes a character in itself. It actually made me want to do further research on the Palace.

I do think that the characters in this series will be much more understandable if you read the series from the beginning, rather than jumping in with this book. They feel very real and by this third story, are becoming good friends to the reader. The story itself will keep you interested right from the first page. I'm becoming a big fan of this series but it would be best to read them in order.

I enjoyed the first two in the City of Mystery series but like many others, I noticed all the editing errors. This one, while still seeing a few, was much better edited.

Would I pay money for it?Yes

Would I read more by this author? Yes

Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes

Purchased as a freebie March 6, 2013

City of Darkness-A Victorian mystery that kept me interested to the last page

City of Darkness by Kim Wright is the first in a series of mysteries featuring prominent European cities from the Victorian era. This first one is set in London.  It features many of the staples you would expect in a Victorian era mystery, crime, family scandal, romance and Jack the Ripper. It evokes the atmosphere that I expect from a book of this location and time period.  I'm very susceptible to atmosphere so I was pleased with that. 

Jack the Ripper is causing panic in London and the police are doing everything they can think of to track him down.  The fledgling science of forensics is just barely being used and many think it is a lot of baloney.  Seeing the beginnings of scientific investigation was very interesting. The officers involved were fighting very hard to make it acceptable and reliable. Even though this is fiction, this is a probably a fairly realistic look at how forensics was treated in the beginning of the science.

I really enjoyed this book.  It is a very character-driven story and the personalities of the people are developed throughout the book.  The action is driven by the characters' reaction to events rather than plot-driven and I find that very satisfying. I'm glad this is a series so that I can revisit these people again.