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pengustorm's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Murder, Body horror, Bullying, Death, and Infertility
shomarq's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
gquintana's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Infertility, Infidelity, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit
holliebye's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Child death
Minor: Domestic abuse
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Vomit
maryshelley's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
3.75
intriguing setup of 'victorian nobility party turns into gruesome murder where a bunch of conceited rich people have to isolate in close quarters and discover which one of them is the murderer"
it truly captured my attention and i finished this 360 pages book in a day. i do love me some murder mystery, throw in victorian era and im hooked.
lady darb has a dark past and reputation as the widow of an anatomist that she cannot escape. specially not when she's one of the first people to stumble upon the corpse of a murdered woman in the gardens of her sister's castle.
as this was the old days telephones weren't a thing, and unfortunately the nearest procurator is four days away. so begins an even more intense quarantine than the one we've been experiencing - or i would hope so at least.
as they have no other option, lady darb's brother-in-law and lord of the castle appoints
mr gage, the son of an inquiry agent, to handle the investigation (while the professionals don't arrive as lady darb would probably tell you). oh, and the brother-in-law also appoints lady darb herself of course. because you see, she is very experienced with corpses, while mr gage is not. neither of them is particular happy with this turn of events.
the initially reluctant detective duo provided entrainment and the mystery kept me interested though nothing mind blowing or particularly brilliant. me having guessed the culprit didnt get in the way of my enjoyment, as i thought the author did a good job in exploring the reasoning. it was more disturbing than i expected and cheers for that.
I think the romance could have been subtler and her interest more slow to develop, though they don't end up together in this first book which was refreshing. even so their interactions are pretty funny and didn't bother me - i would have just written it more background so personal preference really.
even though i would have liked for the love interest to not be a rake or worse, blond, he's not so bad. I'm giving the author an out as this was written in 2012 and we were culturally obsessed with a "lady's man" apparently.
but no, mr gage is not as bad as his name is ugly, he is decent and a good person, but he's not exactly a feminist. he listens to her inputs sure but only as long as they benefit him somehow, and weirdly enough i liked that. historical fiction needn't be all prejudice and hate speech but don't treat your characters as 21th century woke activists either, c'mon. i also liked that the mc noticed that too, and isn't as quick to forget it. he will have to work to gain her trust in the sequel and good.
i can see the writer will work this throughout the series and I'm intrigued to see his development. and most importantly to see lady darb's development as she raises above her past, accepts her own intelligence and interest in affairs 'unbecoming of a lady' such as science and crime investigation. because I can't wait to see what other mysteries she will solve.
it truly captured my attention and i finished this 360 pages book in a day. i do love me some murder mystery, throw in victorian era and im hooked.
lady darb has a dark past and reputation as the widow of an anatomist that she cannot escape. specially not when she's one of the first people to stumble upon the corpse of a murdered woman in the gardens of her sister's castle.
as this was the old days telephones weren't a thing, and unfortunately the nearest procurator is four days away. so begins an even more intense quarantine than the one we've been experiencing - or i would hope so at least.
as they have no other option, lady darb's brother-in-law and lord of the castle appoints
mr gage, the son of an inquiry agent, to handle the investigation (while the professionals don't arrive as lady darb would probably tell you). oh, and the brother-in-law also appoints lady darb herself of course. because you see, she is very experienced with corpses, while mr gage is not. neither of them is particular happy with this turn of events.
the initially reluctant detective duo provided entrainment and the mystery kept me interested though nothing mind blowing or particularly brilliant. me having guessed the culprit didnt get in the way of my enjoyment, as i thought the author did a good job in exploring the reasoning. it was more disturbing than i expected and cheers for that.
I think the romance could have been subtler and her interest more slow to develop, though they don't end up together in this first book which was refreshing. even so their interactions are pretty funny and didn't bother me - i would have just written it more background so personal preference really.
even though i would have liked for the love interest to not be a rake or worse, blond, he's not so bad. I'm giving the author an out as this was written in 2012 and we were culturally obsessed with a "lady's man" apparently.
but no, mr gage is not as bad as his name is ugly, he is decent and a good person, but he's not exactly a feminist. he listens to her inputs sure but only as long as they benefit him somehow, and weirdly enough i liked that. historical fiction needn't be all prejudice and hate speech but don't treat your characters as 21th century woke activists either, c'mon. i also liked that the mc noticed that too, and isn't as quick to forget it. he will have to work to gain her trust in the sequel and good.
i can see the writer will work this throughout the series and I'm intrigued to see his development. and most importantly to see lady darb's development as she raises above her past, accepts her own intelligence and interest in affairs 'unbecoming of a lady' such as science and crime investigation. because I can't wait to see what other mysteries she will solve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Violence
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