Reviews

A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers

Only show reviews with written explanations

miss_creant's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was hard to put down. Very enjoyable!

jlturner13's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

steph01924's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

A well-crafted Gothic mystery with likeable characters, a decent pacing, and clear writing. I would definitely recommend if you're on the hunt for a historical mystery with a bit of spookiness and a satisfying conclusion.

amybraunauthor's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

A fun mystery with a few spooks and some great twists, A DREADFUL SPLENDOUR is just the thing a reader can enjoy over a weekend. It’s well written, evenly paced, and more reliant on charm and investigation than actual scare.

The story follows an orphaned young woman named Genevieve who makes her living as a spiritualist—and thief. To get out of her most recent arrest, she is offered a deal to hold a fake seance to find the truth about a young bride’s death, only to wonder if she really has encountered a supernatural situation.

Genevieve is a good character, looking out for herself and remaining charming. She can be a little selfish, yet I still empathized with her tragic backstory and understood her true motivations. There were a host of side characters who were are suspects, though the actual murderer was a surprise to me.

Most of the book is slow, focused on the investigation of the estate’s occupants, particularly the aloof Mr. Pemberton, but I did truly enjoy the big twist at the end. The book had some spooky moments, though not as many as I expected.

It’s fairly well written, though there were sections where the secrets seemed to have odd reasons and there were some leaps in logic that I couldn’t quite grasp. Still, it’s a fun, cozy novel that can be enjoyed over a weekend.