rebeccatc's review against another edition
2.0
Mediocre. The first half of the book is excruciatingly boring. I got the feeling I was supposed to be snickering about the alchemical experiments in the light of modern scientific knowledge, but I left most of mine in high school. The main character's voice as narrator always seemed dazed and distanced and gave me the uncomfortable feeling of trying to see without my glasses on. The ending felt rushed and incomplete. I'd skip this.
catyalice's review
4.0
Enthralling mystery but there are still some unanswered questions in the end.
jmatkinson1's review
3.0
London in the 1540s and Henry VIII is on the throne. The King has just dispatched his fifth wife and is courting his sixth. In the slums of Southwark people are scraping a living in the only ways they can. A merchant ship, The Cristofur, tries to dock but when the customs officials find dead bodies in the hold and the ship overrun with rats they place it in quarantine. Meanwhile a former muckraker Jolyn visits her friend Bianca in order to find relief from her pains. Bianca makes physics and rat poison so when Jolyn dies she becomes the prime suspect for murder. How is the death of Jolyn related to the Christofur, to the plague of rats currently growing in London and to the mysterious occupants of a former bawdy house?
The rats are a central motif in this story and the descriptions are very realistic and unpleasant. Beyond that though there is nothing to distinguish this book from the glut of mediocre historical mysteries. Bianca Goddard is a quirky enough protagonist and the characters are quite well described but the story didn't really engage. I was left asking to many questions about the holes in the plot. Having said that Lawrence has researched well and her sense of time and place is pretty good.
The rats are a central motif in this story and the descriptions are very realistic and unpleasant. Beyond that though there is nothing to distinguish this book from the glut of mediocre historical mysteries. Bianca Goddard is a quirky enough protagonist and the characters are quite well described but the story didn't really engage. I was left asking to many questions about the holes in the plot. Having said that Lawrence has researched well and her sense of time and place is pretty good.
kbrogden's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book sent in 18th century England. The narrator and main character provides a rich back drop and it has a few twists at the end that kept me engaged.
tasmanian_bibliophile's review
3.0
‘Imagine the worst possible outcome, then work backward.’
It is 1543 in London, and Henry VIII is distracted by many things. He is courting Katherine Parr, is planning an invasion of France and his health is failing. For the ordinary people around Southwark, surrounded by poverty and greed, living in crowded slums with illness and disease constant threats, life is about survival. Bianca Goddard, the daughter of a notorious alchemist, uses her knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants to make her living by making medicines. She sells her medicines to the poor in the Southwark slums.
Plague is a near constant threat in Tudor London, and can spread rapidly. When a merchant ship is quarantined, there are rumours. And when outbreaks of pestilence spread, there’s an urgent demand for rat poison. Bianca’s friend Jolyn seeks her assistance for painful abdominal cramps, and dies suddenly after drinking tea at Bianca’s. Not surprisingly, Bianca is accused of murder. While Bianca believes that someone was poisoning Jolyn, Constable Patch believes Bianca responsible. Can Bianca find out how Jolyn was killed, and by whom?
Bianca, with the aid of her boyfriend John and the colourful Meddybemps, tries to find the truth. Is Jolyn’s death connected to her work for Mrs Beldam at Barke House? And why are so many people after Jolyn’s lucky ring? Bianca needs to investigate carefully and quickly: Constable Patch is determined to bring her to justice. She suggests jealousy as a motive, to which Constable Patch replies:
‘Another lover’, Patch groaned. ‘How pedestrian.’
I had trouble imagining Patch actually saying ‘How pedestrian’, but that’s okay. There are a number of different threads, a few red herrings and a lot of rats in this story. Ms Lawrence depicts the squalor and the hardship well. I can hear the rats(!) and smell the waste. The setting is well described, the story moves at a quick pace and while some aspects are less believable than others, Bianca Goddard is an interesting character. I understand that this is the first novel in a series of mysteries, and I’ll be looking out for the next one.
Note: I was offered, and accepted, an electronic copy of this novel for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
It is 1543 in London, and Henry VIII is distracted by many things. He is courting Katherine Parr, is planning an invasion of France and his health is failing. For the ordinary people around Southwark, surrounded by poverty and greed, living in crowded slums with illness and disease constant threats, life is about survival. Bianca Goddard, the daughter of a notorious alchemist, uses her knowledge of herbs and medicinal plants to make her living by making medicines. She sells her medicines to the poor in the Southwark slums.
Plague is a near constant threat in Tudor London, and can spread rapidly. When a merchant ship is quarantined, there are rumours. And when outbreaks of pestilence spread, there’s an urgent demand for rat poison. Bianca’s friend Jolyn seeks her assistance for painful abdominal cramps, and dies suddenly after drinking tea at Bianca’s. Not surprisingly, Bianca is accused of murder. While Bianca believes that someone was poisoning Jolyn, Constable Patch believes Bianca responsible. Can Bianca find out how Jolyn was killed, and by whom?
Bianca, with the aid of her boyfriend John and the colourful Meddybemps, tries to find the truth. Is Jolyn’s death connected to her work for Mrs Beldam at Barke House? And why are so many people after Jolyn’s lucky ring? Bianca needs to investigate carefully and quickly: Constable Patch is determined to bring her to justice. She suggests jealousy as a motive, to which Constable Patch replies:
‘Another lover’, Patch groaned. ‘How pedestrian.’
I had trouble imagining Patch actually saying ‘How pedestrian’, but that’s okay. There are a number of different threads, a few red herrings and a lot of rats in this story. Ms Lawrence depicts the squalor and the hardship well. I can hear the rats(!) and smell the waste. The setting is well described, the story moves at a quick pace and while some aspects are less believable than others, Bianca Goddard is an interesting character. I understand that this is the first novel in a series of mysteries, and I’ll be looking out for the next one.
Note: I was offered, and accepted, an electronic copy of this novel for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
thechronicknitter's review
4.0
I greatly enjoyed reading this book. Mary Lawrence has created some wonderful characters that are amusing. She is not afraid to give her characters flaws, making them all the more real. Her plot line is exciting and I was only able to set the book down one time and then had to binge read until the end.
For those looking to read historical fiction about Tudor England that is completely accurate this would not be the series for you. Not all of the men, more particularly Biana Goddard's (the main character) boyfriend pretty much allows her to do what she wants, likely because she will anyway. I would assume that this is our of character to men in Tudor England, but who would read a book about a woman constantly being beaten and reamed out by her husband now that feminism is a thing. That said I also didn't feel that Lawrence had taken a 21st century male feminist's viewpoints and behaviors and transported him back in time. Her boyfriend is flawed usually attempts to remain control, he just doesn't usually win (though perhaps this is the way it has always been. I know my mom's in charge in my house!).
There are also some historical and medical inaccuracies, but I would not think one would read a historical fiction mystery novel if you were really looking for a non-fiction read. Lawrence does explain her position on what she changed and her reasoning. For instance, she doesn't have the characters speak the way they would have actually spoken as otherwise it would have read like Shakespeare and turned away a majority of readers.
Overall I found it an exciting and fun book to read.
For those looking to read historical fiction about Tudor England that is completely accurate this would not be the series for you. Not all of the men, more particularly Biana Goddard's (the main character) boyfriend pretty much allows her to do what she wants, likely because she will anyway. I would assume that this is our of character to men in Tudor England, but who would read a book about a woman constantly being beaten and reamed out by her husband now that feminism is a thing. That said I also didn't feel that Lawrence had taken a 21st century male feminist's viewpoints and behaviors and transported him back in time. Her boyfriend is flawed usually attempts to remain control, he just doesn't usually win (though perhaps this is the way it has always been. I know my mom's in charge in my house!).
There are also some historical and medical inaccuracies, but I would not think one would read a historical fiction mystery novel if you were really looking for a non-fiction read. Lawrence does explain her position on what she changed and her reasoning. For instance, she doesn't have the characters speak the way they would have actually spoken as otherwise it would have read like Shakespeare and turned away a majority of readers.
Overall I found it an exciting and fun book to read.
greenbeem's review
3.0
An enjoyable period read with a likeable main character and a decent mystery.