Winner of the Mary Higgins Clark Award One of Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Fall Mysteries Minneapolis Star Tribune’s Summer Reading List One of The Washington Post’s Five New Thrillers & Mysteries for the Beach One of Amazon’s Best of the Month One of Christian Science Monitor’s Ten Best Books of the Month One of LitHub’s Five Books You May Have Missed This Month From the author of the … You May Have Missed This Month
From the author of the acclaimed Li Du novels comes Elsa Hart’s new atmospheric mystery series.
London, 1703. In a time when the old approaches to science coexist with the new, one elite community attempts to understand the world by collecting its wonders. Sir Barnaby Mayne, the most formidable of these collectors, has devoted his life to filling his cabinets. While the curious-minded vie for invitations to study the rare stones, bones, books, and artifacts he has amassed, some visitors come with a darker purpose.
For Cecily Kay, it is a passion for plants that brings her to the Mayne house. The only puzzle she expects to encounter is how to locate the specimens she needs within Sir Barnaby’s crowded cabinets. But when her host is stabbed to death, Cecily finds the confession of the supposed killer unconvincing. She pays attention to details–years of practice have taught her that the smallest particulars can distinguish a harmless herb from a deadly one–and in the case of Sir Barnaby’s murder, there are too many inconsistencies for her to ignore.
To discover the truth, Cecily must enter the world of the collectors, a realm where intellect is distorted by obsession and greed. As her pursuit of answers brings her closer to a killer, she risks being given a final resting place amid the bones that wait, silent and still, in the cabinets of Barnaby Mayne.
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Spectacular. An extraordinary time machine of a novel, transporting us three centuries into the past, when Stuart London roiled with color and clamored with the grinding of carriage wheels. Like Hilary Mantel and Kate Mosse, Elsa Hart applies historical detail with a fine-tipped brush, not a mason’s trowel; like Kate Morton and Ken Follett, she devises plots both intricate and exciting. And Cecily Kay, the supremely winning botanist-sleuth braving hidden dangers in The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, is a hero for the ages ― her and ours. Open this splendid novel and jump back to a vanished world.
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart is an intriguing historical novel that takes a reader back to London in 1703. It is a time when people were intrigued by science and curious to learn more. Rare items were highly prized by collectors. The author created a rich atmosphere with her word imagery. Her descriptions allow readers to imagine Sir Barnaby Mayne’s crowded house. It is filled with his vast collections that are meticulously maintained. I could imagine the cabinets filled with their items of wonder. There are a variety of characters present at the Mayne household when the murder is committed. Any one of them could have committed the deed. Cecily Kay and Meacan Barlow are the two female sleuths. They are intelligent ladies who pick up key details and have a knack for sleuthing. The mystery reminds me of the classic mysteries (Sir Author Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie). It plays out slowly as the two women search for the truth. There are multiple suspects all with motive for doing away with Sir Barnaby Mayne. There are good plot twists with a classic reveal at the end. All those pesky questions that plague us while reading are answered at the end (who, how, and why). It depends on how many mysteries you have read on whether you solve this one before the reveal or not. The language in the book is formal which was how people talked during that time-period. The Cabinets of Barnaby is a good book, but I had trouble getting into it. It is a slow starter and failed to hold my attention. Those readers, though, who enjoy classic whodunits will find themselves riveted while reading this historical mystery.
4.5/5
I was looking for something fun and unique, and boy did I find it in The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart. This author wasn’t on my radar before, but she sure is now. This is my first book in the historical mystery genre, and I quite enjoyed it. I kept forgetting it was 1703 London, but I think the author set the scene perfectly, and I would always be reminded through her writing. The idea of the collectors was just fascinating to me, and although I don’t know anyone like this, I kind of wish I did now. I loved the chance to journey back to this time period through the novel, and the main characters, Cecily and her old friend Meacan, were the best female leads anyone could ask for. I loved their spirited natures, and their sleuthing was a whole lot of fun to read.
And if you are an audiobook lover, The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne is completely fantastic on audio as well. The narrator is Barrie Kreinik and her enthusiasm for her narration and the book made her very fun to listen to. Her accent made me feel like I was actually in the book and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. The mystery was also layered and interesting, and I did not have the killer guessed. I thought the ending left great potential for this to be a series and I would honestly love it if Hart decided to do that. I really want more of Cecily and Meacan, and you will fall in love with their characters and bold attitudes, especially Maecan’s! I also loved the way the book was written and there is no shortage of suspicious characters. I saw one reader compare The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne to a game of clue and I completely agree!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
5 Stars
I liked this book, but have to say I was glad when it was finally over. The premise and history are both interesting, but the solving of the mystery is clumsy. There’s an overuse of suspecting someone, going through some elaborate effort to ask them painfully obvious questions, then finding out they’ve got the wrong person. Over and over. The author could have cut out a few characters and had a much stronger, more engaging story.
London, 1703–Cecily enters the house of famous collector Barnaby Mayne. In a circle of men who store and display wonders of the natural world, Mayne has the largest collection around. Cecily simply wants to use his cabinets to put identifications to her own small collection of pressed plants. Instead, she gets embroiled in a murder mystery when Sir Barnaby is slain. Though one man admits to the crime at the discovery of the body, Cecily uncovers too many inconsistencies to believe his hasty confession. Finding the truth will prove even more difficult than finding any particular item in the cabinets of Barnaby Mayne.
I was initially drawn to this book because of the cover, but I wondered if it might turn out to be a slow, dusty read. While there were a few small spots that dragged when cabinet contents were focused on now and then, overall, I didn’t have a problem with the pacing. The main characters were the highlight of the book, and the mystery itself was engaging.
Cecily is a strong, independent woman who has endured much in this world where women are not expected to participate in the affairs of men. There is also Meacan, who was a childhood friend of Cecily’s, though the two lost touch over the years. Meacan has been employed at Sir Barnaby’s house, and the two make quite the pair as the investigation picks up. For as much as I liked Cecily, Meacan was an even more interesting character. I certainly hope we get to see a lot more of her in the future, compared to the smaller role she had overall in this book.
I had a few theories about who the real murderer was and why, and even about why the confessor would admit to a crime he didn’t commit. While my initial guess on the latter turned out to be true, I had no clue about the murderer, even up to the reveal. Overall, it seemed to me like no one really had much of a motive for the murder, even though just about everyone seemed to have the opportunity. Looking back, the clues were mostly there, but meager enough, and stretched far enough apart, that I wasn’t exactly kicking myself for not solving it.
The writing and descriptions, as well as the dialog, gave the book just the right historical feel without bogging down the story. There is plenty of intrigue in the lives of both Cecily and Meacan to make them characters you want to follow into a series, and the ending definitely hints at more to come, though I see no specific indication that this is the first in a series. I certainly hope it is. My only real gripe is that the entire first chapter seemed completely unnecessary to me. I don’t really understand why it was needed. If it was simply to give us a glimpse at a character that would come into play more later, the scene could have gone a whole different way that would play into the story in this book a lot more. Otherwise, though, I think mystery lovers, especially those who like historical fiction, will enjoy this book.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me a copy of this book to review!
Set in 1703 London, this is a mystery focused around a collection of rare materials and the owner of the collection. Two childhood friends meet again to catalog and document the collection of Barnaby Mayne, but when a murder occurs, they join forces to determine who the murderer is and why the murder was committed.
This tale would be interesting to anyone who enjoys an intriguing mystery set in the past. I thought it was slow getting started, and had some trouble keeping all the characters straight, but in the end, the story picked up and became more enjoyable.
#TheCabinetsOfBarnabyMayne #ElsaHart
I have a weakness for historical mysteries so this one got my attention from the start. It’s set in 1703 London and focuses on the current fad of collecting things of all kinds in nature – shells, fish, rocks, plants, it’s all there in the home of Sir Barnaby Mayne, the creme de la creme of collectors. Every room is full of his vast and varied collection and even the bed chambers are chock full of displays. Each is lovingly kept dust free and the rest of the contents of the house get a hit or miss dusting at best. Cecily, Lady Kay, has arrived to stay a week in Sir Barnaby’s home so she can fill in the names of some of the plants and flowers in her collection. Pressed carefully between pages in three large traveling stacks, she is looking forward to immersing herself in the collections delights.
As soon as she arrives, with some time to spare before her official tour begins, she finds an unexpected person in residence – her childhood friend, Meacan Barlow. Meacan is there to work as an illustrator and they haven’t seen each other in twenty-five years. Little did these two strong minded women know that very soon they would begin their investigation to unmask a killer in their midst. Somebody has killed Sir Barnaby with a knife in his study. Somebody confesses but it doesn’t ring true to Cecily and she and Meacan make a fine team of investigators.
The pace is slow, the mystery a classic cozy a la Dame Agatha Christie and I enjoyed every minute of it. There was lots of misdirection and a satisfying conclusion. If this is to become a series I will most certainly want to read more.
My thanks to the publisher, Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
The title, the cover artwork, and the story description tempted me immediately. I couldn’t resist this murder mystery that takes place in 1703 London, with two strong-willed, clever and independent women partnering to solve this who-dun-it. The cabinets are full of items Sir Barnaby Mayne has been collecting for years. In fact, his entire house is one collection after another – plants, jewels, feathers, taxidermied birds, bottled snakes, skulls and other bones, etc. Author Elsa Hart skillfully describes these items and more, which cast atmospheric shadows amid the candlelight and heavy draperies of Mayne’s multi-storied home. Not only does the interior architecture set the scene, but the garden also creates a mood of suspicion. And the characters are all potential murderers – Hart had me guessing until the suspenseful denouement.
I especially liked the novel’s well-written descriptions of people, personalities, and observations. Hart crafted a variety of unique characters that helped set and sustain the mysterious mood. And I was so pleased at the conclusion of this novel to have the promise of another book. I’ll be on the lookout.
Thanks to NetGalley & publisher St. Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books for a digital advance reader’s copy. All comments and opinions are my own.