A review by kaiulathari
A Bespoke Murder by Edward Marston

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

It was well written, but I could not connect with the main characters at all and felt like we were being told how wonderful a detective the protagonist is rather than having this demonstrated. Additionally, having read previous books by this author I was not expecting any form of sexual content only to be confronted with a fairly explicit rape scene in one of the opening chapters, alongside a close examination of the after effects of that and an attempted suicide. While they should be covered and handled with care and attention, I felt rather confronted on a day when I was using books as an escape. If someone else stumbled upon this book in as fragile a state or worse than I was, it could be extremely triggering without prior warning as to what they were getting into. This may have been partly on me as I classify books set during this time period as more cosy reading where I can enjoy a mystery without anything explicitly violent occurring to upset my equilibrium. I did greatly appreciate how it was handled in this story, with the victim being treated with kindness and understanding by the characters around her, including the detectives investigating her case, so I’m very happy on that front. My one complaint is that it was not what I needed to be reading when I did and would have appreciated some way of better choosing when to read this book.