Finally, for today, another Sisters In Crime review that missed the deadline! Enjoy!
This is set in the London of Charles Dickens, who was editing a
magazine, All The Year Round, at this time and has a walk-on in one scene where
the heroine visits the magazine's
offices.
Millie Osborne is the daughter of a theatre manager. The theatre
has been her life, but her real ambition is to become a writer and journalist.
Now, with the arrival of mysterious Oliver Parry, an actor auditioning for a
production of Hamlet, she sees a story
in the making, but also finds that there is a mystery in the life of the
company's leading actors and owners, James and Lily King, who married soon
after the death of James's overbearing brother Robert. Lily had lost a son, but
is he really dead? And if he isn't, is there a real-life Hamlet story happening under Millie's nose, with the danger
of a similar ending? Millie and her friend Seth, a courier for Charles Dickens,
are determined to find out before a new tragedy can happen.
The novel brings Victorian London to life, with all the dirt and
noise and the Victorian passion for seances. Some of it is seen from Seth's
viewpoint, when Millie has been knocked unconscious (but apparently has escaped
concussion). Seth is a likeable character who can improvise when in trouble.
Millie is also a strong, brave character. It is easy enough to believe she
might make it as an investigative writer. There is a touch of fantasy here, but
otherwise it's just good historical fiction with a mystery involved and clues
that can be put together.
I have enjoyed Sophie Masson's historical fantasy before and I
was not disappointed in this one.
Recommended.
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