A twisty tale reminiscent of Jane Austen–with a dash of murder–Cindy Anstey’s Deadly Curious is perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Agatha Christie. Some secrets are better left buried… 1834. Sophia Thompson wants nothing more than to be one of the famed Bow Street Runners, London’s most elite corps of detectives. Never mind that a woman has never before joined their ranks–and … has never before joined their ranks–and certainly never mind that her reclusive family has forbidden her from pursuing such an unladylike goal.
She gets the chance to prove her capabilities when an urgent letter arrives from her frantic cousin Daphne, begging Sophia to come look into the suspicious death of Daphne’s brother.
As Sophia begins to unravel the tangled threads of the case–with the help of a charming young policeman–she soon realizes that the murderer may be even closer to her family than she ever suspected.
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More than anything Sophia Thompson wants to be a Bow Street Runner. She knows it is an unlikely profession for a young lady, but after a family scandal leaves her pretty much shunned by society her prospects are nil. When she receives a distressing letter from her cousin, Daphne. You see Daphen’s brother Andrew was killed almost a year ago, the murderer has yet to be caught and now strange things have been happening around the household making Daphne convinced someone is out to finish off the rest of the family. Sophia sees the perfect opportunity to show everyone her capabilities as an investigator, but when she arrives at their Allenton Park Estate, she discovers that a young Officer with the Bow Street Runners, Jeremy Fraser, has been sent to solve the case.
Jeremy is a newer member of the Bow Street Runners and still has a lot to prove. While he finds Sophia fascinating, he’s loathe to put her in any kind of danger. But when it becomes apparent that he needs her help if he wants any chance of questioning the townspeople, they begin a working relationship that could possibly lead to something more, but first they must save her family from a killer lurking in their midst.
Deadly Curious is so close to what I’m looking for in my historical mystery/suspense. Cindy Anstey has been edging ever closer to the perfect formula between historical, mystery/suspense, YA, and romance.
I really thought the balance between keeping the story seated within the YA realm yet also not being afraid to really push things as far as a murder mystery was done really well. I could feel the high stakes kind of edge-of-your-seat feeling while awaiting the killer to strike again. While I kinda spotted the culprit early, the motivations were kept hidden until the end which I liked.
Where I could have used a bit more focus was on the developing feelings between Jeremy and Sophia. It wasn’t balanced out as much as I would like and tended to get overshadowed by the idea of Sophia becoming an investigator. I liked the spotlight on a woman encroaching upon what was considered a “man’s job” and thriving. I just think that the story kind of felt like you couldn’t focus on both at the same time so whenever the story switched between the developing feelings and Sophia’s choice of career, one would falter.
I would love if these characters would get another story. This could have focused more on Sophia showing her capabilities as far as investigating goes with touching upon the possibility of something more developing between Jeremy and Sophia in a later book, but Cindy Anstey tends to write standalones so I’m not optimistic that this could come to fruition – although I will say the door is left open for the option.
Overall, I’m not disappointed. The quibbles I have really took nothing away from me enjoying the story as a whole. Cindy Anstey really satisfies my need for the historical mystery/suspense genre and I will always pick up what she has to write.
I was gifted a copy of this book as part of the Xpresso Reads Blog Tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
At this point, I have read all but one of Cindy Anstey’s books (a Christmas one) and I have enjoyed them all. This story takes place in Regency/Georgian England and is a young adult mystery/romance. I love books based in this time period I think they have become some of my favorite to read. They are quick reads and I enjoy them very much.
Since this is a young adult book I guessed the bad guy fairly early in the story but the ride made the book worth it. Sophia is a very intelligent, strongwilled, and opinionated person, which for this time period is not kind to women. This is what makes characters like Sophia my favorite she does her thing no matter what society thinks. In walks Jeremy a Bow Street Runner to investigate the murder of Sophia’s cousin. Jeremy sees value in how Sophia looks at things especially since it is different than the way he does. This makes them a great team.
The interactions between Jeremy and Sophia were very cute. Everyone saw it coming but them
There is a scene that I loved with Sophia’s dad. Even though her wanting to be Bow Street Runner is not seemly for a Lady of her standing or any job for that matter. He is supportive. If you have read the story its the one in the hallway.
If you enjoy young adult mystery romances than I think you should give this one a try.
That was so much fun to read! 🙂 I felt like I was reading Jane Austin’s novel, but instead, the lead is solving a mystery. 🙂
My favorite thing about the story is the setting, there is something about that time in history, especially if it’s set in the English countryside.
Sophia’s prospects of escaping home via marriage kind of went down the drain when her cousin got murdered. Now she is set on finding a career and she has her eyes set on Bow Street Runners. 🙂 When her cousin writes a letter and asks her to help solve a murder because she is desperate, she jumps at a chance.
There is a young policeman on the case and they start to unravel the mystery together.
It’s such a good book! I flew through the pages and had so much fun reading! 🙂