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A review by outsmartyourshelf
Blackmail, Sex and Lies: A Victorian True Crime Murder Mystery by Kathryn McMaster
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
In 1857, Madeleine Hamilton Smith embarks on a ill-advised love affair with Pierre Emile L'Angelier. Emile is Madeleine's social inferior and in Victorian Scotland, this spells disaster for all involved. Her parents refuse to allow them to even court so they see each other in secret, where Emile seduces Madeleine who is foolish enough to write down what happened between them in letters. After a couple of years, Madeleine wishes to marry someone else but Emile is not going to let her go without a fight and threatens to ruin her reputation by showing her letters to her father and fiance. Emile then dies, possibly poisoned. Was Madeleine guilty?
I had never heard of the case this historical fiction book was based on and the synopsis sold it to me, after my eye was caught by the cover. I may be in the minority but after reading it, I think I would have preferred a straightforward non fiction telling of the case. For me the factual and fictional didn't work as well as they could have together, however, it was an engrossing read.
I had never heard of the case this historical fiction book was based on and the synopsis sold it to me, after my eye was caught by the cover. I may be in the minority but after reading it, I think I would have preferred a straightforward non fiction telling of the case. For me the factual and fictional didn't work as well as they could have together, however, it was an engrossing read.