lcdmccullough's review
5.0
A charming Victorian lady-sleuth!
Drucilla Winterbourne (love that name) knows something is off with her newly married friend Celeste. Her friend's letters have become increasingly strange and Drucilla is determined to travel to Cornwall to the little village of Morcastle to find out what's going on. She has to drag her crazy old cat-obsessed auntie with her as a companion but she makes the trip only to find out that her friend has been murdered.
I love the lush descriptions of the setting which gave the story an almost gothic tone. The people Drucilla meets are all suspicious in their own way so I wasn't sure who to suspect as the killer. From Celeste's not-even-pretending-to-be-grieving husband, Lord Absalom, to his strangely cheerful brother Southorn (he was creepily interested in befriending Drucilla), to the super bitchy housekeeper Mrs. Portillo.
There are some serious family undercurrent swirling around Blackridge House and the ending was NOT what I was expecting, that's for sure. This is a novella so things are wrapped up pretty quickly but it was the perfect length for me to read before bed.
I hope there's a second installment because I really liked Drucilla. She was plucky enough to be fun but not in a way that's unrealistic for the time period. Hopefully she'll solve some crimes when she gets back home to London too!
Drucilla Winterbourne (love that name) knows something is off with her newly married friend Celeste. Her friend's letters have become increasingly strange and Drucilla is determined to travel to Cornwall to the little village of Morcastle to find out what's going on. She has to drag her crazy old cat-obsessed auntie with her as a companion but she makes the trip only to find out that her friend has been murdered.
I love the lush descriptions of the setting which gave the story an almost gothic tone. The people Drucilla meets are all suspicious in their own way so I wasn't sure who to suspect as the killer. From Celeste's not-even-pretending-to-be-grieving husband, Lord Absalom, to his strangely cheerful brother Southorn (he was creepily interested in befriending Drucilla), to the super bitchy housekeeper Mrs. Portillo.
There are some serious family undercurrent swirling around Blackridge House and the ending was NOT what I was expecting, that's for sure. This is a novella so things are wrapped up pretty quickly but it was the perfect length for me to read before bed.
I hope there's a second installment because I really liked Drucilla. She was plucky enough to be fun but not in a way that's unrealistic for the time period. Hopefully she'll solve some crimes when she gets back home to London too!
appalonia's review
4.0
Pretty good, although you don't get much of the character development with short stories. But this made me want to try one of the author's novels.
melissasbookshelf's review
4.0
This is a short novella, but it was suprisingly well done. I loved the setting and the ending was a bit of a shock.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
2.0
It's not a bad book. It's entertaining enough, even though the mystery is somewhat obvious.
vesper1931's review
3.0
After receiving disquieting letters from her newly married friend Celeste, Drucilla Winterbourne decides to visit her in Cornwall at Blackridge House. On arriving she is told some devastating news.
I felt that the mystery could have been expanded, including the section with Celeste, as there wasn't really any sleuthing on the part of Drucilla.
I felt that the mystery could have been expanded, including the section with Celeste, as there wasn't really any sleuthing on the part of Drucilla.
angielisle's review
2.0
A hybrid of Victorian Romance and a cozy murder mystery series - I hesitate to dub this neo-Gothic romance because of the lack of foreshadowing. The writing itself is fine but the story lacks substance. Clues are thinly veiled and I'd like to know more about the characters, especially the main character Drucilla.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review.
danyspike's review
3.0
I was really liking this book and then...it ended. It was so abrupt it felt as If I had just skipped 5 chapters and Bam! The end. The killer was fairly obvious from the beginning, but that wouldn't have been a problem if the story was well developed. I still rated it with three stars because it was all good for me until the last 20% of the book...
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