Reviews

The Picture House Murders by Fiona Veitch Smith

paulbutler74's review

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

alittlemixofvix's review

5.0

I immediately fell in love with strong-willed Clara and her battle against women being in their subservient place.

I really felt like I was transported back in time and I enjoyed watching character relationships develop. I could feel Clara's frustration with certain men and I'd have struggled to keep my cool like she did.

I especially enjoyed all the attention to scientific evidence (without it being boring). There was only one bit where I disagreed with Clara's reaction and thought she should have been able to figure out a possibility.

Book 1 in the Miss Clara Vale Mysteries series and I can't wait for the next one, to see where her detective agency takes her - and what the next beautiful cover shows.

*I received a complimentary copy of the e-book from InstaBookTours and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

rahulricky's review

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

gabisc95's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

3.25

dogearedandfurry's review

4.0

Very enjoyable cosy mystery series, and branching out from the mould a little in that it’s set in Newcastle, and Clara is a trained chemist with some knowledge that she uses to investigate a series of murders. Likeable characters combined with potential romance, and I have a new series to follow!

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

livvvvh777's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

poorashleu's review

3.0

This was fun.

growintogardens's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, and Sexism

Minor: Violence, Homophobia, and Sexual content

ssejig's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Miss Clara Vale is one of the first of the graduating group that includes women getting a degree in chemistry. Unfortunately, she is not able to find a job that will let her work in that field. Even more unfortunately, the one person who seemed to ever support her, her Uncle Bob, has passed away. She hasn't seen him for years but he's left Clara his worldly fortune, including his detective agency. 

Unsure of what to do, she decides to give herself a little bit of time to figure it all out. While she is searching through her thoughts and talking to the people who were closest to her uncle, one of his clients stops by. The woman's case was still open and she is hoping that Clara will  take it on. Alice is asking Clara to go up against an insurance company that isn't paying out for their movie theater. And her husband died in between. When a second fire occurs, Clara gets suspicious.

This was an interesting story and a nice start to a new series. With that, there was a lot going on and one or two threads probably could have been shaved to allow more room for character development.