jmills01

This book came to me highly recommended, but I walked away from it very disappointed. I'll start with the good. Several of the supporting characters were very well drawn, particularly the narrator's sister, Portia. I would have happily read a novel from her point of view, an incorrigible gossip living an unconventional lifestyle. I enjoyed some of the historical tidbits - for example, the notes about the role physicians played in society during the victorian era.

Unfortunately, I had to go back and check that the novel was indeed set in Victorian times - it reads very much like a regency novel. The main character was a mass of cliches - of course she's more enlightened than others of her era, she's impulsive, gets in trouble etc. I didn't feel any sympathy to her plight. But the male lead - my goodness! He apparently is good at almost everything, and is also secretly half gypsy, a fact I figured out ages before the book chooses to reveal it to the dense heroine.

The characters didn't seem to have any real chemistry, and indeed I disliked Brisbane so very much that I hoped he would succumb to his headaches. But then, of course, it turns out he has "the sight." Right. The identity of the murderer is far too clear, leading to a very unsatisfying conclusion. I cannot really recommend this book - it has neither enough mystery for mystery fans, nor enough romance for those who love romance.