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kathleenmcg's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have not read a non-romance that I have enjoyed more than A Dreadful Splendor, in a long time. Yes, there is a romantic element, but that is not the center of the book. What the book is, is a mysterious ghost story, set in Victorian England, when the spiritualist era was gaining momentum.
Genevieve Timmons is caught by police waiting for her at the back door of a house she just perfomed a seance. She ask that the participants put their jewels in a bag, before the seance starts and absconds with. One particular policeman is particularly spiteful, treating her abominably, taunting that she is to be hanged. An elderly lawyer offers to represent her in court, if she woul'd go to an estate in the country, to convince a grieving earl, that his fiancée, who died on the eve of their wedding, is alright He continues to insist that she was murdered. The first night, at the estate, the earl catches Miss Timmons stealing silver candelabra. He knows what the lawyer, who is the family retainer, is doing, so the earl in turn blackmails her into using the seance, in which she is to con the earl, to help him arrange a con to catch the murderer.
The story unwinds with twist and turns. I first thought to compare the story to an onion, a peeling back of layers. An unfurling rose seemed like a good metaphor, but it, too, is in adequate. So we have a good old fashioned yarn that twists and turns, crosses and double crosses, as more is revealed in this book.
The author intersperses the journal of the deceased with the chapters. Due to primogeniture, the lady of the house, the daughter of the former earl, cannot inherit the estate on her father's death. A distant cousin, the current earl, was found before the old earl died, and the expectation was for he and the daughter marry to keep the estate in the family. The, now current, earl is certain that the daughter, Audra, was murdered. There is the ward of the previous earl, who lives on the estate, spooky staff, Genevieve's land lady to round out the characters. The awful policeman shows up on the estate, to add to the mayhem that eventually arises. The elaborate set up, puts Genevieve in close contact with the earl, as they attempt to solve the mystery of Audra's death, with the staff aware of every going on. Eventually, Genevieve finds herself in the crosshairs for murder.
I just loved the story. I had checked it out from the library as an audio book, and soon checked out the ebook, so that I could continue reading in the times I could not be playing the audio. Thankfully, I had the ebook when I finished the audio book, at 2am. My earbuds petered out right in the middle of the epilogue.
The book was cleverly written, and I want to go back over the text to read again how the events unfold to the climax. The book covered many romance tropes; slow burn, proximity, forbidden love, family secrets, and unequal social status. I am sure many mystery tropes are used, as well. Genevieve is the most fleshed out of the characters. The earl is a gentleman, with respectfulness, distance, yet chivalrousness. The relationship between the two main characters unfolds over the course of the book, neither able to fully act on a love relationship with the the burdens and secrets each carried.
I recommend this book without reservations. I wish that I had not taken so long to read it. I want to write more, but to tell more would I tend to think of movies in terms of how much it costs to watch them. In the book sense, A Dreadful Splendor is worth every penny of the hard bound price. I look forward to what Myers does next.
Genevieve Timmons is caught by police waiting for her at the back door of a house she just perfomed a seance. She ask that the participants put their jewels in a bag, before the seance starts and absconds with. One particular policeman is particularly spiteful, treating her abominably, taunting that she is to be hanged. An elderly lawyer offers to represent her in court, if she woul'd go to an estate in the country, to convince a grieving earl, that his fiancée, who died on the eve of their wedding, is alright He continues to insist that she was murdered. The first night, at the estate, the earl catches Miss Timmons stealing silver candelabra. He knows what the lawyer, who is the family retainer, is doing, so the earl in turn blackmails her into using the seance, in which she is to con the earl, to help him arrange a con to catch the murderer.
The story unwinds with twist and turns. I first thought to compare the story to an onion, a peeling back of layers. An unfurling rose seemed like a good metaphor, but it, too, is in adequate. So we have a good old fashioned yarn that twists and turns, crosses and double crosses, as more is revealed in this book.
The author intersperses the journal of the deceased with the chapters. Due to primogeniture, the lady of the house, the daughter of the former earl, cannot inherit the estate on her father's death. A distant cousin, the current earl, was found before the old earl died, and the expectation was for he and the daughter marry to keep the estate in the family. The, now current, earl is certain that the daughter, Audra, was murdered. There is the ward of the previous earl, who lives on the estate, spooky staff, Genevieve's land lady to round out the characters. The awful policeman shows up on the estate, to add to the mayhem that eventually arises. The elaborate set up, puts Genevieve in close contact with the earl, as they attempt to solve the mystery of Audra's death, with the staff aware of every going on. Eventually, Genevieve finds herself in the crosshairs for murder.
I just loved the story. I had checked it out from the library as an audio book, and soon checked out the ebook, so that I could continue reading in the times I could not be playing the audio. Thankfully, I had the ebook when I finished the audio book, at 2am. My earbuds petered out right in the middle of the epilogue.
The book was cleverly written, and I want to go back over the text to read again how the events unfold to the climax. The book covered many romance tropes; slow burn, proximity, forbidden love, family secrets, and unequal social status. I am sure many mystery tropes are used, as well. Genevieve is the most fleshed out of the characters. The earl is a gentleman, with respectfulness, distance, yet chivalrousness. The relationship between the two main characters unfolds over the course of the book, neither able to fully act on a love relationship with the the burdens and secrets each carried.
I recommend this book without reservations. I wish that I had not taken so long to read it. I want to write more, but to tell more would I tend to think of movies in terms of how much it costs to watch them. In the book sense, A Dreadful Splendor is worth every penny of the hard bound price. I look forward to what Myers does next.
chelsylynn91's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
bpdd's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ars410's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Fun! Enough mystery to keep me interested, plus a little light romance. Glad I picked this one up!
cheyenne7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
aliena_jackson's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at page 70. Recently, I’ve been having trouble finding good reads. I should have known better than to rely on historical fiction to capture my interest.
Update: decided to tough it out. This is supposed to be an adult novel, but feels more like YA masquerading as adult literature. Two stars.
Update: decided to tough it out. This is supposed to be an adult novel, but feels more like YA masquerading as adult literature. Two stars.
tessisreading2's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable but certain aspects of the mystery were obvious while others were over-the-top and the denouement was more than a little rushed.
laura_awkward_fox's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
hannahleoni's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75