We first met Milla Graham and DI Ben Taylor in Murder a Raven's Edge and saw the beginnings of their rather complicated relationship. So we're not surprised that at the beginning of Murder at Ravenswood House, Milla is meeting a friend/ex-boyfriend, rockstar Lorcan Black, in the evening at his house without letting Ben know. And when she runs into a problem, it's not Ben she turns to but rather PI Kieran Drake to help clean up the mess. But when a woman's headless body is found in the pond and Lorcan is discovered asleep on a crypt covered in blood, it will be tough to keep anything secret.
This time around Ben's family and history are at the forefront. Ben has tried for years to distance himself from his rather notorious family, but this case is bringing them all back together. I love the characters, Ben, of course, is dealing with his own past while trying to figure out what's going...
I truly enjoyed Murder at Raven's Edge. Milla Graham has returned to her childhood home for reasons of her own. At the same time, Inspector Ben Graham has a case which may be linked to the death of Milla's mother, Rosemary, 18 years ago. But is Milla really Milla Graham? Milla was presumed to have died in a fire the same night her mother was killed. Things get more complicated when Ben realizes he ight be falling in love with Milla, who lies as easily as breathing but is so likeable. She's a member of a wealthy family but feels very much alone. Ben is a divorced cop who doesn't always play by the rules, but is also uncomfortable straying too far from them. He's also very competent at his job and has learned when to trust his instincts.
The setting was interesting. It's a quirky, small English town, but this one leans into its witchy history.
The book just worked really...
The Highgate Cemetery Murder opens with the discovery of the gruesome murder a young woman on the morning of All Saints’ Day, 1858, who is displayed on a cross in Highgate Cemetery with a pig’s heart around her neck. A journalist who may have witnessed the crime falls under the wheels of an omnibus and is killed. Gemma Tate, a nurse recently returned from the Crimea, is the sister of the journalist and doesn’t believe his death was an accident. Sebastian Bell is the police officer assigned to investigate the murder of the young woman victim in the cemetery. Soon the two begin working together against Bell's better judgement to solve the two suspicious deaths.
This book is a little darker than what I usually read. The details around the murder really are horrific. And this is not a romanticized Victorian London; it's dirty, grim, and harsh for many that live there. The author shows us the prejudices, class distinctions, and...
Murder at Everham Hall had everything I adore in a mystery, but it somehow fell a little short for me. Marius Quin, our amateur sleuth, is invited by an ex-girlfriend, Bella, to a New Year's house party at the home of her friend, actor Cecil Sinclair. As is to be expected, Sinclair ends up murdered and the house is snowed in, so the police can't get to them. Marius, deemed the most likely to be able to solve a crime by virtue of being a (struggling) mystery writer, starts questioning people and hunting for clues. All of the guests are suspects, of course, except Bella who is Marius' sidekick, but some have better motives than others.
I never really warmed up to Marius and had trouble buying into the situation. Marius is struggling with his second book and his childhood sweetheart/friend just happens to invite him to a swanky house party where there just happens to be a murder. It...
