Julia Grey's husband Edward, collapses and dies at a dinner party they are hosting. While she is ready to accept his death because of an ongoing family physical infirmity, she is outraged when Nicholas Brisbane introduces the possibility of murder. Brisbane, a detective to the wealthy Victorian class, claims to have been working for Edward, employed to discover the author of some very frightening letters. Having no physical proof, Julia dismisses the charge completely, until she finds the proof in the form of a letter, and sets off determined to find Edward's killer placing herself in the path of a murderer.
To try and delineate the good and evil or right and wrong in this novel is difficult. Love and lust mingle with revenge and tolerance creating quite a surprising ending. Definitely a murder mystery over a romance, readers need to be prepared for just about anything. Even though it was bit slow to start, I really liked Rybourn's style including the mix of suspense and drama as well as the exquisite atmosphere. Occasionally, the characters come off a bit modern, but overall they are complex personalities that progress and develop throughout the story.
Readers should be aware that the complexity of relationships include all aspects of sexual preferences dealt with in a very Victorian manner.
No comments:
Post a Comment