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happlepider's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Spoilers ahead - this book's big reveal is a lesbian murder cult, because they hate men just that much, and you should feel sorry for them, but not too much, and is filled with both lesbophobic stereotypes and a borderline racist misuse of Hindu mythology. The book's mythology is a nonsensical jumble of witches and flying ointment, maenads, and the hindu goddess Kali, which is justified in book by the murderer herself being 'mentally deranged' and confused by her own existence as mixed race and between the two worlds of white british aristocracy and the suppressed population of the Indian raj, and also a victim of incest from her father and brother, and possibly a product of incest between her father and mother as half-brother and -sister, as if mixed race people, incest victims, and lesbians don't regularly exist in real life without being 'mentally deranged' by their own life circumstances. It's fairly obvious she wanted to go for an unexpected perpetrator and a big surprise, but she really overreached herself in the attempt. Given her wholehearted jump into multiple lesbophobic stereotypes - Batsheba is predatory from the off and repeatedly drugs other women, Jem's first experience is with a woman (the other murderer) who is only pretending to be a lesbian as a ruse - it seems bizarre in hindsight that she ever chose to write a wlw main character in the first place. I was invested in the other books in the series I'd read so far, but she's definitely lost a follower through this one.
wviellevoye's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
marlenewild's review
dark
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
2.5
julia_k's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
star_ember's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
amothersmusings1's review against another edition
5.0
“Nightshade” is the fifth book in author E.S. Thomson’s ‘Jem Flockhart’ series set in Victorian London.
- London, 1851. Apothecary and poison expert Jem Flockhart decides to redesign her physic garden but plans are thrown into confusion when a man's skeleton is unearthed from beneath the deadly nightshade, a smaller, child-like skeleton curled at its feet. The body bears evidence of knife wounds to its ribs and arms, and is accompanied by a collection of macabre objects: a brass bowl, a curious coin-like token, a set of tiny ivory sculls. The police claim the victim is too long-buried but a corpse in Jem’s own garden is something that cannot be ignored. The plans to the garden, laid out some forty years earlier, reveal a list of five names. When Jem and Will start asking questions, the murders begin. Each victim has a past connection with the physic garden and each corpse is found with its jaw broken wide, its mouth stuffed with deadly nightshade. -
Having the whole set of books in this series but not yet got around to reading, I was excited to be able to read “Nightshade” early and was over the moon at how exciting it was from the very start. I did originally think that this was maybe a cosy mystery but it doesn’t take long to realise this is far from it. With an intense gothic feel, dark, gory and gruesome (everything I like in a book) and a plot that is easy to understand and follow as a standalone novel, I devoured the story with fervour and instantly fell in love with Jem and her associate Will Quartermain. The reader is also taken back in time to 1818 when Jem’s mother travelled to India on a botanical expedition. Her intimate journal is recounted between chapters and as it gradually progresses we see how it fits with the main story of the uncovered bones.
Excellently written and full of obviously well researched, natural botanical poisons and along with being set in the dreary streets of Victorian London and exotic India, “Nightshade” has left a lasting impression on me and I can’t wait to read the series from the beginning.
An easy 5 stars!
- London, 1851. Apothecary and poison expert Jem Flockhart decides to redesign her physic garden but plans are thrown into confusion when a man's skeleton is unearthed from beneath the deadly nightshade, a smaller, child-like skeleton curled at its feet. The body bears evidence of knife wounds to its ribs and arms, and is accompanied by a collection of macabre objects: a brass bowl, a curious coin-like token, a set of tiny ivory sculls. The police claim the victim is too long-buried but a corpse in Jem’s own garden is something that cannot be ignored. The plans to the garden, laid out some forty years earlier, reveal a list of five names. When Jem and Will start asking questions, the murders begin. Each victim has a past connection with the physic garden and each corpse is found with its jaw broken wide, its mouth stuffed with deadly nightshade. -
Having the whole set of books in this series but not yet got around to reading, I was excited to be able to read “Nightshade” early and was over the moon at how exciting it was from the very start. I did originally think that this was maybe a cosy mystery but it doesn’t take long to realise this is far from it. With an intense gothic feel, dark, gory and gruesome (everything I like in a book) and a plot that is easy to understand and follow as a standalone novel, I devoured the story with fervour and instantly fell in love with Jem and her associate Will Quartermain. The reader is also taken back in time to 1818 when Jem’s mother travelled to India on a botanical expedition. Her intimate journal is recounted between chapters and as it gradually progresses we see how it fits with the main story of the uncovered bones.
Excellently written and full of obviously well researched, natural botanical poisons and along with being set in the dreary streets of Victorian London and exotic India, “Nightshade” has left a lasting impression on me and I can’t wait to read the series from the beginning.
An easy 5 stars!
_hex_libris's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
scarletaingeal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
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