This book was requested from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review
Genre : Historical Fiction, Mystery
Book Cover : 4 ****
Rating : 3.5 ***
Dowager Countess Dunbridge, on a mission to start a whole new life for herself, disembarks off a ship on the American shores to be greeted with a bloodied corpse instead of the more conventional flowers and welcome band. Most other Countess’ would think this is a matter of severe breach of etiquette on the part of the murdered party, but not so the redoubtable Phil. Not only is she not a dowager in the traditional sense, being only 26 years of age, but she is also given to a propensity towards solving crimes. Also, in this case, the murdered man’s wife is one of her oldest friends and was supposed to also be her hosts.
The cover of this title was what attracted me to this book at first. It is very modernistic and yet very evocative of journeys and adventures. Also, uncannily like the ones on the Jacqueline Winspear series. Well, both convey to the reader from the get go that your protagonist is going to be a female sometime in the early 1900’s.
The author dives into the story from the very first sentence of the book. It establishes the back story to the Countess in a few pages and her reasons for travelling to America. We come to know that she has already solved a murder in England, which did not sit well with her father, that she loves to have flirtations with good-looking men, that she has acquired a lady’s maid at the beginning of the trip in an unusual manner, that she is accompanied by her trusted butler as a chaperone, that she is incredibly loyal to those who matter to her no matter their station in life.
The story revolves around gambling losses, blackmail, horse racing and, of course, love intrigues. In short, the story has almost everything. Just when you have pinned down which way the story is progressing, it takes a new turn. Although I did have my suspicions about a particular character about the murder, it turned out I was not right about it at all. Always a plus point for a mystery story.
The characters that the author has etched are obviously part of a much longer story arc. For example, we know almost nothing about Phil’s new maid, Lily. A mystery that begs to be solved as soon as possible. Also, there are constant references to a mystery man in the story whose identity is not revealed at all. In the beginning of the book the constant references to Phil’s propensity for just looking around for any man of the correct status for a flirtation of the serious kind made her seem a bit too shallow and irresponsible for her age. But as the book progresses you are introduced to the many other qualities that she possesses. She is fun and sharp and quick on the uptake. With her team of Preswick, the butler, and Lily, her maid, she seems up to crossing almost any hurdle that comes her way.
The character of Lady Dunbrige is also very similar to a new series that I just started watching on Netflix – Miss Fisher’s Mystery Stories, or something to that effect. It may also be that the way Western women’s lives were changing in the early 1900’s were reflected in their openness to living life as they pleased – to an extent whether it was clothing, travel or even sexual partners. There are constant references in the book to the conditions for high society women in America being better than those in England at that time. As far as I know, their conditions were much the same in both continents, if not more strict in America. Must check.
All in all, great book for historical fiction fans that combines mystery with a pert heroine and some great characters. A story that is shaping up to be something worth looking forward to. The past month has been good for books that I have read. More than half were ones that turned out to be fun reads.
Wanton Ruminating 