When bodies go missing from the cemetery, Lincoln and the Ministry of Curiosities investigate. But not Charlie. As a housemaid at Lichfield Towers, she doesn’t get involved in Ministry business.
Instead, she conducts investigations of her own. She searches for details about her real mother, and makes inquiries into Lincoln’s background. What she learns has the power to destroy the fragile trust … fragile trust they’ve built, or bring them closer together.
As secrets are revealed, and investigations don’t go as planned, Charlie finds her necromancy sucking her into a whirlpool filled with betrayal, lies and danger.
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Still good Poison Studyish fun. The paranormal case is a little more flimsy this time, but if you’re here for the characters more than fantasy procedural crime drama, you’re in safe hands.
Those body snatchers Charlie witnessed in book one need investigating, according to Lincoln, just in case they’re doing worse than supplying backstreet doctors with dissection material. Turns out they are. And it turns out that Lincoln’s usual methods of investigation aren’t always the best way of getting information. Charlie, now relegated to maid duties, is determined to help in any way she can. She also has a few personal battles to sort out, like the identity of her mysterious mother and trying to work out if that smoulder in Lincoln’s eyes is anger or… something else.
Yes yes yes, it’s kinda paranormal fluff and I’m not much of a romance fan but this instalment dispenses with Charlie’s lusty observations for the most part. I found her habit of getting touchy-feely a bit odd, like she’s coming on too strong given the mixed signals and the Victorian society protocols she should be more used to following (why touch the guy’s face to calm him in public?) There’s a little bit of clunkiness in how repetitive she can be about if she can/can’t read Lincoln’s moods (“OMGYAY I can and he wants me!” – five minutes later – “I have no idea and he must hate me RAGESOB!”), and let’s face it, Lincoln is a complete arse with his hot & cold teenage drama mood swings. I longed for him to act his age (or at least, a bit more subtle and Valek-like about pushing the girl away because reasons). The only other female character in the book is also turning out to be a right horrible person, and the female rivalry is a tad obnoxious (Bechdale test? What’s that?)
BUT (and that needs to be a big but), I actually really enjoyed the story. The paranormal mystery, the fluff, the banter between Gus, Seth and Cook, the little backstory bits about character and the Ministry; it’s all good fun. I love the narration and the pacing is spot on. I do with the resolution/climax of the mystery had felt a bit more climactic (I felt like we should have had another confrontation to find out what was really going on), but the plot still plodded along nicely and was a vehicle for characters to develop and grow.
Fans of Poison Study would almost certainly love this – it even has a similar inebriation scene. The romantic tension and character subtlety may not be as well written here, being dragged out over an entire series rather than tied up more fluidly across one or two books, but it’s still comparable and with just the right mix of fantasy and fluff to make it work.
I was going to take a break from the series after this episode, but I dare you not to plough straight into book three given that ending. I. Dare. You.
Great characters, strong friendships building, investigative, adventurous, page turner.