Abandoned by user

This was a KU offering. On the whole, it was just really not very good.

I love historical mysteries - some of my favorite series are historical mystery series set in various time periods. Specific mention goes to Deanna Raybourne's Lady Julia series, as well as C.S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr.

This one was in the same vein, and is in direct competition in my mind with those two beloved series. It is not even close to them in terms of quality. The mystery itself is far-fetched. There comes a point in the book when the plot just completely jumps the shark. If eye-rolling were an Olympic event, I would have won gold for Team America. I audibly snorted in irritation.

The writing is at best serviceable, and at times is really pretty terrible. The dialogue is frequently just uncomfortably bad. The romantic subplot is utterly unconvincing.

I was pretty excited to see that this was available to read for free, along with books 2 & 3 of the series. I know that frequently the series gets better after the first book, but I'm just not sure I am up for a reprise. It is on book 4, though, so it must either get better, or my opinion is well out of the mainstream.

This is a pass for me.

***

Note!

Don't confuse this one with the Lady Darby series, first book The Anatomist's Wife, by Anna Huber. They aren't the same, and Anna Huber's series is far superior.