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3.06 AVERAGE
3.06 AVERAGE
stacielynn's review against another edition
3.0
This is the first in ahistorical mystery series, so i am willing to give the author some leeway. I thought the premise was pretty decent. The characters were a tad shallow and their actions a tad predictable, but I can see room for growth! I will try the second book and see.
Update in September 2022. Tried it again and was more pleased with it. Sometimes it's your mood or whatever. Looking forward to the next installment
Update in September 2022. Tried it again and was more pleased with it. Sometimes it's your mood or whatever. Looking forward to the next installment
annnniecat's review against another edition
2.0
I feel that with this juicy of a premise, I should have liked the book better. But I felt just "meh."
Too much was attempted, I think. It's the sort of book that makes me wish they would make a really good PBS series out of, just saying "loosely based on the book."
Too much was attempted, I think. It's the sort of book that makes me wish they would make a really good PBS series out of, just saying "loosely based on the book."
jenul13's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
3.0
kimrader111's review against another edition
3.0
A fast and fluffy(for crime fiction) read. The writing isn’t up to what I usually read and I don’t think the historical aspect was super accurate, but if you need a quick read and like being able to figure things out before the end, this is your book.
aeschwarz's review against another edition
3.0
After finishing this novel it took some time for me to decide how many stars to give. I decided on three for a couple of reasons. First, I was disappointed with the romance that became a major motivation for Dr. Silkstone toward the end of the novel. I found the attraction between him and Lady Lydia to be implausible. Thomas Silkstone seemed much to intelligent and rational to be a good match for Lady Lydia who is portrayed throughout much of the book as "delicate" and "fragile." Also, Lady Lydia is pursued throughout the novel by multiple men, despite being married, then is more than happy to take up with Thomas at the end as if none of the other unpleasantness even happened. That made her seem even more shallow to me. Really Lydia, you aren't even a little traumatized and wary where men are concerned?
The second reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4 was the mystery itself. Throughout the first half of the novel I as very engrossed in the mystery and puzzling out who killed Edward. But near the end the bodies began to stack up and the author began a series of events that made the mystery feel a bit like musical murderer instead of musical chairs. It became a bit too much of a melodrama for me at the end, which was disappointing since it had such a promising beginning.
I will still be interested in reading the next book in the series, however, because I really liked the main character and will be intrigued to see what other mysteries he becomes involved in. Hopefully in the next book he won't be as swayed by romantic attachments that seem destined for failure and disappointment in the long term.
The second reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4 was the mystery itself. Throughout the first half of the novel I as very engrossed in the mystery and puzzling out who killed Edward. But near the end the bodies began to stack up and the author began a series of events that made the mystery feel a bit like musical murderer instead of musical chairs. It became a bit too much of a melodrama for me at the end, which was disappointing since it had such a promising beginning.
I will still be interested in reading the next book in the series, however, because I really liked the main character and will be intrigued to see what other mysteries he becomes involved in. Hopefully in the next book he won't be as swayed by romantic attachments that seem destined for failure and disappointment in the long term.
neeuqdrazil's review against another edition
3.0
This book was ok, but not great. I didn't adore it.
heykk01's review against another edition
4.0
I genuinely enjoyed this book. As a murdery mystery it had me guessing until the very end and the bawdiness in the book wasn't overkill. It fit my tastes quite nicely and as a professional in the health field the anatomy of the case intrigued me. I liked the characters and found them to be real and interesting. For a fun, quick read pick this book!
erica_o's review against another edition
3.0
This amused and entertained me throughout several workdays.
Good Ol' King George is on the throne and we get to follow Dr. Thomas Silkstone, Philadelphia transplant, as he traipses about England, doctoring and solving mysteries.
The story starts with a murder because what good, old-fashioned mystery doesn't? This particular victim winds up being murdered by pretty much everyone in the book, himself (the dead guy) included. I'm still not actually sure how he died; I think it was an amalgamation of attempts on his life along with some help from STDs. But that doesn't actually matter. What matters is that one death was caused by another death and begets another and then another and yet another and most-lovely but personality-bereft Lydia is at the heart of it all. She's the one whom all the men want. She's got good milkshakes, I suppose. And yet, there's not much to her; she's mostly demure, she is easily distracted, she is somewhat vapid and mostly, she's boring. But she's really good at getting Death to come knockin' at her door!
You know, now that I think of it, I didn't like any of the characters in the story. What I liked was the melodrama of it all. It's old-fashioned in that you just nod your head and let all the people do their preposterous things and everything winds up tidily put away in the end. It reminded me a bit of an old Agatha Christie novel (you know, as opposed to those new ones...) but without the cleverness.
I think this is what's known as a cozy mystery, though if you're offended by pre-marital sex - and let's face it, Lydia's a wanton hussy, really - or people constantly dying via one violent fashion or another, this may not be the book for you.
Good Ol' King George is on the throne and we get to follow Dr. Thomas Silkstone, Philadelphia transplant, as he traipses about England, doctoring and solving mysteries.
The story starts with a murder because what good, old-fashioned mystery doesn't? This particular victim winds up being murdered by pretty much everyone in the book, himself (the dead guy) included. I'm still not actually sure how he died; I think it was an amalgamation of attempts on his life along with some help from STDs. But that doesn't actually matter. What matters is that one death was caused by another death and begets another and then another and yet another and most-lovely but personality-bereft Lydia is at the heart of it all. She's the one whom all the men want. She's got good milkshakes, I suppose. And yet, there's not much to her; she's mostly demure, she is easily distracted, she is somewhat vapid and mostly, she's boring. But she's really good at getting Death to come knockin' at her door!
You know, now that I think of it, I didn't like any of the characters in the story. What I liked was the melodrama of it all. It's old-fashioned in that you just nod your head and let all the people do their preposterous things and everything winds up tidily put away in the end. It reminded me a bit of an old Agatha Christie novel (you know, as opposed to those new ones...) but without the cleverness.
I think this is what's known as a cozy mystery, though if you're offended by pre-marital sex - and let's face it, Lydia's a wanton hussy, really - or people constantly dying via one violent fashion or another, this may not be the book for you.
timwolfe's review against another edition
2.0
As a mystery: slow-moving but eventually engaging; I think we ended up with four different deaths with at least as many perpetrators, which is fun until it starts feeling overdone... especially when a character actually points out in-story that the final murder was completely unnecessary, and in fact contrary to the murderer's admitted goals.
(One could also wish for a world-class scientist to be a little quicker on the uptake when, say, a servant child's shocking death is followed a fortnight later by the master's murder, or when he)
As a romance/period drama: fairly stilted -- and the early indications that the the female main character would have initiative quickly atrophied until she became a helpless basket case, who was nevertheless sought after by every male main character in the book.
As an adventure in 18th-century scientific experimentation, exhumation, and corpse dissection: great? I guess? If you like that sort of thing? Except almost none of it had any bearing on the plot.
*sigh*
Simon Vance, I trusted your honeyed English tongue to read me good books. Please do better.
(One could also wish for a world-class scientist to be a little quicker on the uptake when, say, a servant child's shocking death is followed a fortnight later by the master's murder, or when he
Spoiler
notices a supposed senile purposefully collecting mushrooms in the woods.As a romance/period drama: fairly stilted -- and the early indications that the the female main character would have initiative quickly atrophied until she became a helpless basket case, who was nevertheless sought after by every male main character in the book.
As an adventure in 18th-century scientific experimentation, exhumation, and corpse dissection: great? I guess? If you like that sort of thing? Except almost none of it had any bearing on the plot.
*sigh*
Simon Vance, I trusted your honeyed English tongue to read me good books. Please do better.