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liseyp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thanks to the author, NetGalley UK and publishers Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read this book in advance.
Caroline Corsham is in trouble. Her husband is abroad in France and she is pregnant with her lover’s child, although her lover is unwilling to face up to the responsibility. She meets Lucia, Italian countess her brother introduced her to some time ago, who figures out Caroline’s condition and offers to help. But, when Caroline goes to meet her in the garden at a society party, she finds Lucia murdered. The police quickly lose interest when it turns out that Lucia is not a countess, she is in fact a London prostitute. Despite her shock, Caroline decides she cannot let this mystery go unsolved.
I didn’t realise until half-way through that this book is a semi-sequel to the author’s first book Blood & Sugar. Caroline Corsham is the wife of the main character from the first book. While the link will no doubt be obvious from the start if you’ve read the previous book, it worked for me as a standalone.
This is historical crime fiction. Set in the reign of King George III it deals well with the challenges of being a woman in this time. The prostitutes have independence and Caroline’s wealth and family standing get her in to a lot of places, but ultimately the men are the ones with the power. Yet even these men are bound by their secrets and forced to do the bidding of the man who controls the purse strings and their lives.
Secret societies, domestic drama, scandal and danger are all key parts of the plot. Unfortunately the most interesting and intriguing character is Lucy Loveless and the reader only gets to know her through the second hand accounts of other people. That’s a shame as I think she would have made a far more compelling main character and I’d have loved to have more insight into her actions and thinking.
Overall this is a good story, but I just felt at a distance from the action or threat of peril because I didn’t develop a sense of being invested in the outcomes for any of the characters. I suspect though that if you enjoyed Blood & Sugar this should be added to your TBR pile.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Murder, Abortion, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
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