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ladyscarlett 's review for:
The Highgate Cemetery Murder
by Irina Shapiro
This is the first book by Irina Shapiro that I’ve read and I can’t wait to dive into her other works after this. Her writing style was easy to follow and kept me interested with the suspense and intricately crafted dark historical mystery. I haven’t picked up a mystery book in a while so this was a sweet treat back into the genre.
The story takes places in a London in the Victorian era. A woman was found dead at high gate cemetery in a gruesome display with a heart strung around her body. A journalist, Victor finds the body and runs franticly away from the scene. His intentions were to report the crime but also to escape from the ominous silhouette that seems to be tailing him. Later on, the journalist is found dead. Gemma, a nurse and Victor’s sister believes his death wasn’t an accident. Victor is too careful of a person to end up run over and the notepad he left behind seems all too suspicious. The police inspector assigned to the murder case of the woman is walking on thin ice. He is plagued by addiction due to grief and will be let off if he doesn’t solve this murder.
I loved Gemma’s and Sebastian’s dynamic as they tackle on this murder case. You get to watch their relationship blossom while following along this mystery filled journey. This isn’t a negative on how the author wants to move the plot but as the story progresses, I hope the two main leads stay as friends instead of love interests showing that two people of the opposite sex can remain good friends and still have a fulfilling life. Its just a preference and I’ll still enjoy the story nonetheless.
I loved that it wasn’t just a mystery book. You get to watch these flawed characters fight their demons and develop with the help of each other. But the story wasn’t really as balanced as I would have liked (character pov wise). Gemma was on the sidelines most of the time compared to Sebastian. I wanted her to contribute more to the case like Watson does for Holmes but I understand that the author wanted to remain authentic with the time period where gender discrimination was heavier compared to present day.
Thank you netgallery, publisher and Irina Shapiro for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review!
The story takes places in a London in the Victorian era. A woman was found dead at high gate cemetery in a gruesome display with a heart strung around her body. A journalist, Victor finds the body and runs franticly away from the scene. His intentions were to report the crime but also to escape from the ominous silhouette that seems to be tailing him. Later on, the journalist is found dead. Gemma, a nurse and Victor’s sister believes his death wasn’t an accident. Victor is too careful of a person to end up run over and the notepad he left behind seems all too suspicious. The police inspector assigned to the murder case of the woman is walking on thin ice. He is plagued by addiction due to grief and will be let off if he doesn’t solve this murder.
I loved Gemma’s and Sebastian’s dynamic as they tackle on this murder case. You get to watch their relationship blossom while following along this mystery filled journey. This isn’t a negative on how the author wants to move the plot but as the story progresses, I hope the two main leads stay as friends instead of love interests showing that two people of the opposite sex can remain good friends and still have a fulfilling life. Its just a preference and I’ll still enjoy the story nonetheless.
I loved that it wasn’t just a mystery book. You get to watch these flawed characters fight their demons and develop with the help of each other. But the story wasn’t really as balanced as I would have liked (character pov wise). Gemma was on the sidelines most of the time compared to Sebastian. I wanted her to contribute more to the case like Watson does for Holmes but I understand that the author wanted to remain authentic with the time period where gender discrimination was heavier compared to present day.
Thank you netgallery, publisher and Irina Shapiro for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review!