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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Helen Scarlett, NetGalley and Quercus for the arc in exchange for my honest review.
A beautifully poetic gothic novel, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I have. The way it details Grace’s experience with grief and war makes the reader experience it with her and I have not seen it detailed so well before in a book about the aftermath of WW1. I struggled at the beginning to be invested, a lot of time was spent setting the scene and seeing as it’s short book and context was already established, it felt a little unnecessary. However, I enjoyed the slow spiral from a typical WW1 novel to a gothic novel dealing with life after mass death.
A beautifully poetic gothic novel, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I have. The way it details Grace’s experience with grief and war makes the reader experience it with her and I have not seen it detailed so well before in a book about the aftermath of WW1. I struggled at the beginning to be invested, a lot of time was spent setting the scene and seeing as it’s short book and context was already established, it felt a little unnecessary. However, I enjoyed the slow spiral from a typical WW1 novel to a gothic novel dealing with life after mass death.
Locations in the novel The Lodger
This was a very interesting case and storyline which I had never heard of before. Political scandal, a lodger who goes missing and then a body is found. Someone is keeping a whole lot of secrets. Luckily for the reader, the author drip feeds these one by one through the novel creating a lovely pace and a gripping case. Throughougly enjoyed this one!
London is very well evoked and it's just after the war so there is a lot of detail in this area - dark alleys, smoke, poverty etc. We go from posh houses to the kind of establishments that charge by the hour. Quite the city tour!
funny
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:
No
The Lodger is a historical mystery novel set in post-World War I London. We follow Grace, an aspiring reporter in her early 20s as she works to discern the truth of the death of her dear family friend and long-time lodger, Elizabeth.
The book has a cast of believable and fun characters, my favourite and a highlight of which is Miss Bunty (a cocktail and gossip loving lady that is a terrible driver). Grace is a nice heroine, and I really liked her drive and empathy. I like how the book explores grief and the everyday trials of mourning the losses of war. I was especially interested when these themes were explored through Grace and her Mother Isobel, and other women who were grieving, such as Bridget. Collective grief in a time of great change was a poignant motif in this book and I appreciated it. Though I was not really a fan of the actual mystery, the way it was slowly unraveled and told was well done, and I found it interesting how our perception of the lodger fluctuates throughout the book.
The romance in this book didn't really resonate with me, and could have been left out. The grief Grace experiences and how she processes her loss would have been enough here. The end of this novel was lacking unfortunately, it was entirely convenient and did not tie up the story or the themes explored in a satisfying way for me. I did not find the dialogue or the plot itself very believable either. The book was also missing a sense of time, and it did not feel very Edwardian in tone or through the descriptions, they were rather simple and ambiguous. The sense of atmosphere was quite strong though, and I liked the way that different areas of London were portrayed. Something about this book was missing, and I was unable to really connect with it unfortunately.
Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The book has a cast of believable and fun characters, my favourite and a highlight of which is Miss Bunty (a cocktail and gossip loving lady that is a terrible driver). Grace is a nice heroine, and I really liked her drive and empathy. I like how the book explores grief and the everyday trials of mourning the losses of war. I was especially interested when these themes were explored through Grace and her Mother Isobel, and other women who were grieving, such as Bridget. Collective grief in a time of great change was a poignant motif in this book and I appreciated it. Though I was not really a fan of the actual mystery, the way it was slowly unraveled and told was well done, and I found it interesting how our perception of the lodger fluctuates throughout the book.
The romance in this book didn't really resonate with me, and could have been left out. The grief Grace experiences and how she processes her loss would have been enough here. The end of this novel was lacking unfortunately, it was entirely convenient and did not tie up the story or the themes explored in a satisfying way for me. I did not find the dialogue or the plot itself very believable either. The book was also missing a sense of time, and it did not feel very Edwardian in tone or through the descriptions, they were rather simple and ambiguous. The sense of atmosphere was quite strong though, and I liked the way that different areas of London were portrayed. Something about this book was missing, and I was unable to really connect with it unfortunately.
Thank you to Quercus and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This is a historic mystery following Grace, a young woman who is desperate to find answers after her lodger, Elizabeth, disappears. Set just after the world War, we also get an insight into the devasting effects it caused to those who fought, and to those who lost loved ones. The writing style is reminiscent of a gothic novel, which made this a very atmospheric read. I was unable to connect with the characters as I felt they lacked depth and personality, but I was so intrigued by the plot and the way we are drip fed little cIues throughout, that I still really enjoyed reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, War
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Suicide, Car accident
Minor: Drug abuse, Abortion
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well this book had me all over the place, it started as a missing person case then turn into a murder investigation. This was not all though it then turned into a story about family secrets and how this is effecting the family and friends of those that they effect. This is set in a time period of when the UK is trying to recover from WW2 and the loses and grief which has swept the country. We follow a main character who has lost her fiancé, her mother is suffering mental illness and she is trying to move on with her life. It depicts not only her investigating the death of her friend however it is her story of recovery.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
London, 1901. Since the end of the Great War, Grace Armstrong feels as if life has passed her by in some respects. She works at 'Nursing World', a small magazine but longs for more. Her fiancé, Robert, was listed as missing, presumed killed in action at the Somme, & she misses him & mourns their lost future. Her brother Edward was badly injured by shrapnel & died undergoing one of several operations needed. Even since his death, their mother has been distraught & is currently in a nursing home after a mental breakdown, & it's just been Grace, her father, & their lodger, the quiet unassuming Elizabeth Smith, alongside the few remaining staff, maid Bridget, & cook, Mrs Watson, at home. Grace is, therefore, shocked when she returns home after a short visit away, & is told that Elizabeth packed up her things, burned everything else including her artwork, & disappeared & has not been heard from since.
Edward & Robert's friend, Arthur, comes to visit & brings with him another colleague, Tom, who was injured & had to have several fingers amputated, putting to an end his music career. Tom is bitter about the war & clashes with Grace's father who keeps the quintessential English 'stiff upper lip' about his emotions & believes in the sacrifices made. When the body of a woman is found in the river, the description of what she was wearing is familiar & Grace goes along to the police station with a photograph & gets confirmation that sadly Elizabeth is dead. She cannot believe that the police are going to write it off as a suicide though - the Elizabeth she knew was not in that frame of mind, but as Grace investigates what happened with the surprising help of Tom, she finds that perhaps she didn't know their lodger as well as she thought.
After reading the wonderful 'The Deception of Harriet Fleet' by the same author, I thought it would be a difficult act to follow. I needn't have been concerned, as although this takes place in a different era & a completely different subject, it was just as good. The story takes place just after the 'Great War' (WWI) & Scarlett aptly conveys the grief & the guilt felt by those who survived. The plot gradually unfolds into a story which has many twists & turns & covers blackmail, infidelity, scandal, & murder. There's also a hint of the unknown as Grace is convinced she keeps seeing Robert everywhere but when she chases him down, he has always disappeared. Is Grace imagining things or is Robert still alive? If you enjoy slow burning mysteries in historical settings, or you enjoyed the author's debut novel, then you should give this a try too.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Quercus Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
Edward & Robert's friend, Arthur, comes to visit & brings with him another colleague, Tom, who was injured & had to have several fingers amputated, putting to an end his music career. Tom is bitter about the war & clashes with Grace's father who keeps the quintessential English 'stiff upper lip' about his emotions & believes in the sacrifices made. When the body of a woman is found in the river, the description of what she was wearing is familiar & Grace goes along to the police station with a photograph & gets confirmation that sadly Elizabeth is dead. She cannot believe that the police are going to write it off as a suicide though - the Elizabeth she knew was not in that frame of mind, but as Grace investigates what happened with the surprising help of Tom, she finds that perhaps she didn't know their lodger as well as she thought.
After reading the wonderful 'The Deception of Harriet Fleet' by the same author, I thought it would be a difficult act to follow. I needn't have been concerned, as although this takes place in a different era & a completely different subject, it was just as good. The story takes place just after the 'Great War' (WWI) & Scarlett aptly conveys the grief & the guilt felt by those who survived. The plot gradually unfolds into a story which has many twists & turns & covers blackmail, infidelity, scandal, & murder. There's also a hint of the unknown as Grace is convinced she keeps seeing Robert everywhere but when she chases him down, he has always disappeared. Is Grace imagining things or is Robert still alive? If you enjoy slow burning mysteries in historical settings, or you enjoyed the author's debut novel, then you should give this a try too.
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Quercus Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm grateful to Netgalley, the author of the story - Helen Scarlett, and the publisher Quercus Books for providing me with this free advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest review.
The Lodger is a historical fiction detective taking place in the aftermath of WWI in London. The blurb describes it as "a haunting, atmospheric Gothic tale" but for me, it was full of brooding and grief but also new beginnings and stories of healing. I wouldn't compare it to familiar gothic stories because The Lodger has another feeling to it.
This is a story of a young woman Grace who lost her brother and fiancé in the war. Recently one of her few friends and a lodger, Elisabeth, had disappeared and then was found dead. Grace couldn't believe in her friend's suicide and started her own investigation.
What I liked about this book:
- The initial part(20%) was really slow, atmospheric, and intriguing. Full of hopes for the future blended with grief and inability to move on and created a specific and distinct mood. I couldn't put the book down.
- The atmosphere of London after WW1. There were not that many descriptions, but different small details created the right mood of the city, it felt alive, waking up but also full of ghosts of the past.
- The main detective line had some unexpected but believable turns and it was interesting to follow Grace's investigation
What parts feel neutral to me:
- Side characters and their stories. On one hand, I appreciate the time author took to research the recovery of people after war and wounds that will never be fully healed. I really liked the themes she discusses in the book with the stories of different side characters. But. But for me, there were too many sub-plots and characters, all with their own story, but we didn't have enough time to explore them. So for me, it was a little bit too much. In my opinion, it could be better if we had just one or two side characters, but we could feel their story.
- The finale of the investigation. I don't know. I wanted it to hit me harder, to have a more distinct payoff. It really was just ok for me. But I'm that reader who usually loves mystery itself more than revelation, so I guess it was expected from me.
What I didn't like:
- I honestly didn't get the romance in this book even though I knew from the blurb whom it would include. The characters didn't spend enough time on screen together and I didn't feel the chemistry between them. I saw in other reviews that some readers enjoyed the romance, so maybe it just wasn't for me.
- The middle part felt too slow for my taste and there was a lot of speaking about different clues, but not many active moments. The story lost its atmospheric vibe in this part for me
- The finale scene was a little bit cliché.
So I can recommend this book to readers who want to experience London's atmosphere after WW1 and follow our main character in her investigation.