berenikeasteria 's review for:

Lady Helena Investigates by Jane Steen

3.0

---

I had two main thoughts upon turning the final page and finishing this book. First, the writing style feels absolutely characteristic with what I've come to associate with Jane Steen. Quietly meticulous, thoroughly researched social mores and values, and with a focus on those social nuances and relationships to drive the plot. I compared Steen to Jane Austen once - what I meant at the time was that both write with a focus on the details of polite society life - which for some creates a sublime, perfectly pleasing romance, and for others creates a frothy concoction of inconsequential, trivial daily routine they'd rather not read about. Of course it's worth noting that Steen's work would be considered far more scandalous - writing about unmarried young mothers, and here, murder - but she is writing to a modern audience where we no longer have the same attitudes of two hundred years ago. Perhaps a better comparison might be Downton Abbey. It too tackled a few storylines of scandal and the darker side of 'society', but it was also the kind of show where you were never really worried that there was going to be a happy ending. 'Gentle period drama', I've heard it described as.

I'm not sure if that sort of thing is really my cup of tea - though obviously the legion of Austen fans and Downton Abbey adherents prove there is a considerable demand for it. I prefer my stories a bit more hard-hitting and dramatic than that. Nevertheless, I dabble from time to time, just to see if I can find a series I like, or perhaps when I feel I need a break from more intensive reading. I just don't feel like this one captured me, though I have nothing particular against it either.

The second thing was that I felt the mystery resolved itself with very little investigating on the part of our sleuths... which felt wrong for a book that is intended as a murder mystery. Perhaps too much deus ex machina. When I do consume historical mysteries, I've noticed that I enjoy an active sleuth with plenty of danger and drama to be had. I'm not much one for the quieter, pleasant series where it's all quaint country villages and sipping tea while unravelling a murder mystery at a leisurely pace.