Erica Spindler's newest release (February 2015) is set in my neck of the woods. I confess, that's why I read it. Romantic suspense isn't really my genre. Having said that, this is the second 'sweep me off my feet and kill me' book I've read this past month. At least I have something to compare it to now.
Bailey Browne is in the Caribbean recovering from her mother's death when she meets Logan Abbott, the man of her dreams. In just a few days, they're married and she's traveling to his southeast Louisiana horse farm to meet friends and family. What little of them are left.
Tragedy has made itself at home on the Abbott farm. The most recent loss is the mysterious disappearance of Logan's first wife True. And True isn't the only woman in the small village of Wholesome to vanish. (Spindler changed the name of a local village named Folsom to Wholesome. This bugged me throughout the entire novel).
Once I got past the whirlwind romance and got into the mystery, I liked it. A little predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. The characters were well developed, the pacing was great, I found Bailey's reactions consistent throughout, and none of the plot was implausible. Except the insta-love, but I expected that. I do wish she had set the novel in warmer weather. I'd love to see Bailey at her first crawfish boil.
I give it 3.5 stars, which is an exceptional rating for a romantic suspense from me. I imagine fans of the genre would rate it much higher. I'm definitely recommending it to my sister, who used to live down here too. She'll get a big kick out of reading the name of our hometown in the book.
I appreciate Spindler's writing style. I'm putting two of her novels on my immediate TBR pile: Bone Cold and See Jane Die. Is it possible I'm becoming a Romantic Suspense fan? Maybe I just needed to read the right author!
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I'm always excited when some of my favorite things are brought together: Victorian London, murder and conspiracy, Scotland Yard, sexy red-headed Irishmen, and women pushing societal boundaries. Granted, all these things were in the first Thomas De Quincey book and the mystery was better, but this one is still a strong 4 stars.
We first met Thomas De Quincey, aka The Opium-Eater, in Murder as a Fine Art. The series is based on the life of an actual person. Fictional elements are blended with real-life events and people for the highest level of authenticity. I'm not a scholar of the era, but I've been knocked right out of the story in novels where fact and fiction clash. This never happens in this series.
Just as they're leaving London, opium addict De Quincey and his daughter/caretaker Emily are drawn into yet another series of murders setting London and the Yard on their ears. It's important to note that De Quincey is not an ersatz Sherlock Holmes and Emily his Watson. Although Holmes and De Quincey both see the world from a perspective most of us never attain, they are standing across from one another rather than side by side.
I'm giving very limited plot details: the murder victims are aristocrats, and there are hints at a conspiracy that may place Queen Victoria in danger.
Although second in a series, there's no reason this book can't be read as a standalone. Any required character history is given by the author in the forward.
I highly recommend!
