A review by manureads
The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester

3.0

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story: the concept is original, the murder mystery was interesting and I loved the historical context of the women’s suffrage movement. However, there is a problem with pacing: the start is very slow and the author often over describes what is happening to the point where I would sometimes skim over until the story moved on. I wasn’t fond of the use of exposition by dialogue either, again because it slowed down the story. Lastly, the main character, Frankie, was also very passive at key moments of the story. For example, when she gets jailed, Twinkle swoops in randomly and helps her escape despite the two of them not being particularly close. This happens again at the end when Ebony reappears without Frankie having actually tried to figure out where she was. Despite these flaws, the ending is satisfying and it is worth pushing through the slow start as everything picks up towards the middle. I would recommend reading if you’re looking for a light murder-mystery to start your summer.