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bookish_kristina's review
4.0
3.5 stars - a mystery with potential!
I enjoyed this regency mystery for the most part. It was well written and engaging and had some cool and original ideas. The execution was not quite there though and the middle was kind of plodding and cumbersome.
First off, I really liked the male lead in this, Officer Hugh Marsden, but I’ve gotta be honest, he was low-key bad at his job. As the bastard son of a Viscount, he has a hatred for the aristocracy and a scandalous past (that is never fully revealed to us in this book). He is a witty and somewhat obstinate character and at first I kind of liked that he seemed to be in law enforcement for the money and action and not so much for the actual crime solving. But as the book went on I had a bit more trouble believing that he would completely eschew all detective work until he was forced to by the meddling duchess. I think the author kind of got herself in trouble here and did a bit of an about face halfway through where Hugh became ashamed of his behaviour and quickly got on board with proper detective work. It was a bit too easy that he changed his mind so quickly, and I would have liked him to be more grudging or resistant to having to investigate rather than suddenly being a noble, proper officer.
Secondly, I liked the whole idea of the duchess’ character, her paranormal ability and her being badly treated and victimized for it. I’m eager to see more about her past and her time in the asylum, but again, the depiction of her character was more show than tell here as she seemed to be able to turn her powers on and off in the middle of the book, where at the beginning she was very much aware and reticent to touch anything lest her powers take over her consciousness. I needed a bit more consistency here and more development of her ability and her background.
Thirdly, the mystery itself got very bogged down in the middle and didn’t progress forward quickly enough for me. It seemed to use the same hook - Audrey running off on a tear and Hugh having to catch up and follow her- several times. It got repetitive and I got bored.
Lastly, the budding feelings between Hugh and Audrey are pretty problematic now. The author has written herself into a corner with Audrey’s marriage of convenience with the Duke if she’s going to pursue the romance between the duchess and Marsden. Unless she plans on killing off the Duke -who is entirely likeable - or trying to petition for divorce, this will always just be laborious pining between these two in all future books. Maybe that is her plan, but if it is I will quickly grow tired of it.
That all being said this was interesting and I did like both characters and all the drama and potential for more in future stories. This was a decent first book in the series and I will be reading further to see how this author will build upon this compelling duo.
I enjoyed this regency mystery for the most part. It was well written and engaging and had some cool and original ideas. The execution was not quite there though and the middle was kind of plodding and cumbersome.
First off, I really liked the male lead in this, Officer Hugh Marsden, but I’ve gotta be honest, he was low-key bad at his job. As the bastard son of a Viscount, he has a hatred for the aristocracy and a scandalous past (that is never fully revealed to us in this book). He is a witty and somewhat obstinate character and at first I kind of liked that he seemed to be in law enforcement for the money and action and not so much for the actual crime solving. But as the book went on I had a bit more trouble believing that he would completely eschew all detective work until he was forced to by the meddling duchess. I think the author kind of got herself in trouble here and did a bit of an about face halfway through where Hugh became ashamed of his behaviour and quickly got on board with proper detective work. It was a bit too easy that he changed his mind so quickly, and I would have liked him to be more grudging or resistant to having to investigate rather than suddenly being a noble, proper officer.
Secondly, I liked the whole idea of the duchess’ character, her paranormal ability and her being badly treated and victimized for it. I’m eager to see more about her past and her time in the asylum, but again, the depiction of her character was more show than tell here as she seemed to be able to turn her powers on and off in the middle of the book, where at the beginning she was very much aware and reticent to touch anything lest her powers take over her consciousness. I needed a bit more consistency here and more development of her ability and her background.
Thirdly, the mystery itself got very bogged down in the middle and didn’t progress forward quickly enough for me. It seemed to use the same hook - Audrey running off on a tear and Hugh having to catch up and follow her- several times. It got repetitive and I got bored.
Lastly, the budding feelings between Hugh and Audrey are pretty problematic now. The author has written herself into a corner with Audrey’s marriage of convenience with the Duke if she’s going to pursue the romance between the duchess and Marsden. Unless she plans on killing off the Duke -who is entirely likeable - or trying to petition for divorce, this will always just be laborious pining between these two in all future books. Maybe that is her plan, but if it is I will quickly grow tired of it.
That all being said this was interesting and I did like both characters and all the drama and potential for more in future stories. This was a decent first book in the series and I will be reading further to see how this author will build upon this compelling duo.
gawronma's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.0
A very nice mystery with engaging characters.
helorenz's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-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
3.0
kebyrne2's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
This was very clever. It took about 3/4 to get an idea who the murder was. Which is always a good point to a mystery novel.
The relationship between the duchess, Philip, and the bow man is not something that is normally seen in historical novels and made it all more enjoyable.
The relationship between the duchess, Philip, and the bow man is not something that is normally seen in historical novels and made it all more enjoyable.
melledotca's review
3.0
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. This is the first in what will be a series, and there were a great many foundations bricks laid here. It will certainly be interesting to see how some of them develop as there are not insubstantial blockers.
Most of the historical female sleuths I read are Victorian, but here we find ourselves in the late Regency. It's certainly a regular enough setting in historical romance, so why not for mystery? In this case ours is a duchess, though she isn't much of a presence in society for assorted reasons, and she also has a gift/curse that throws a touch of the paranormal into things. Devlin was smart in fleshing out the parameters and limits of the duchess' abilities, given there wouldn't be much of a story to tell if she was too powerful with it. She is, however, rather naive and puts herself in enough danger that it makes her look stupid rather than just dedicated to righting wrongs.
Hugh Marsden checks off many boxes for a romantic potential hero. Handsome, dashing job, exasperated with the female protagonist, but decent and dedicated to protecting her, mysterious and scandalous past... We only got started unravelling and building on all that in book one, so there's plenty that can be done there.
By the end of the book, the Duke and Duchess are indelibly tainted with scandal, and it's noted in the text that that sort of thing will cling to them for at least another generation. So it will be interesting to see, as the series progresses, how that's dealt with. Audrey will lack access to certain people, places, and resources as a result. And there are limits to her freedoms in that day and age.
It was a solid start to the series, but very much felt like a first book. The big reveal didn't quite hit for me as the reasoning seemed a bit weak. I'll likely check out Death at Fournier Downs to see how things evolve.
Most of the historical female sleuths I read are Victorian, but here we find ourselves in the late Regency. It's certainly a regular enough setting in historical romance, so why not for mystery? In this case ours is a duchess, though she isn't much of a presence in society for assorted reasons, and she also has a gift/curse that throws a touch of the paranormal into things. Devlin was smart in fleshing out the parameters and limits of the duchess' abilities, given there wouldn't be much of a story to tell if she was too powerful with it. She is, however, rather naive and puts herself in enough danger that it makes her look stupid rather than just dedicated to righting wrongs.
Hugh Marsden checks off many boxes for a romantic potential hero. Handsome, dashing job, exasperated with the female protagonist, but decent and dedicated to protecting her, mysterious and scandalous past... We only got started unravelling and building on all that in book one, so there's plenty that can be done there.
By the end of the book, the Duke and Duchess are indelibly tainted with scandal, and it's noted in the text that that sort of thing will cling to them for at least another generation. So it will be interesting to see, as the series progresses, how that's dealt with. Audrey will lack access to certain people, places, and resources as a result. And there are limits to her freedoms in that day and age.
It was a solid start to the series, but very much felt like a first book. The big reveal didn't quite hit for me as the reasoning seemed a bit weak. I'll likely check out Death at Fournier Downs to see how things evolve.
marysbookinit's review against another edition
3.5
A promising start to a historical mystery series. A few things were a little too easily sewn up for my tastes and the mystery felt a little slow going but I'll probably continue on. Interested to see how some of these larger plot concepts (like the potential for a slow burn romance) are executed throughout the series.
emily38's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
This was great read! It was intriguing and quick. I really like the main characters. They are intelligent and witty.
caterinaanna's review
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5