by Mary Lancaster
Lord Petteril Mysteries series book #1
My rating: ★★★☆☆
3 full stars, which bodes well for the next books in the series
I couldn't get into it until after 50% through the book.
This is a long short-story ( only 157 pages ) and I know that I always find short story unsatisfying ( except those by Agatha Christie ), because there's no enough time to develop characters making them impressive and then the topic ( be it a mystery or a romance ) is always solved very fast without many details.
However after the first half of the book there has been an unexpected twist that finally took my attention and being this the book #1 in a series, I suppose all characters and events will get more interesting and captivating in the following short books.
____ THE PLOT ____
In the spring of 1812, Piers Withan is dragged from his beloved Oxford to be the new Viscount Petteril.
Burdened by responsibilities he doesn’t want and the remnants of a family who don’t want him, he is saved from an irredeemable mistake by Ape, the small thief burgling his house.
The former Viscountess Petteril, Piers' aunt and wife of the late Lord, is now looking for an important family heirloom, a gold necklace with rubies that has disappeared.
However, the necklace was not among Ape's stolen goods, so who was it?
Are the culprits other criminals or someone within the greedy and indebted family?
----> clean language
----> suitable for cozy mystery lovers and young adult mystery lovers
_____________________________
____ ABOUT THE MYSTERY ____
the mystery is really light and not at all challenging, which is obvious in a short story, however there could have been a little suspense at least for two or three pages.
Usually this disappoints me, but the writer concentrated a pinch of suspense on another topic:
the private sphere of the characters and therefore I never thought of abandoning the book, I wanted to know the solution to "their problem"!
____ ABOUT THE CHARACTERS ____
I suspect Mary Lancaster was inspired by a classical mystery, none other than "These Old Shades" by Georgette Heyer, but while I didn't like that book, I've found the same topic here interesting, but I need to use a spoiler to better explain :
___ WARNING: SPOILER____ As in Heyer's book, a rich nobleman finds a boy living on the streets, takes him home and takes care of him by giving him a job on his staff.
In the course of the story the boy turns out to be a young woman, who, having lived for many years as someone of the male sex, no longer wants to go back to living with a feminine lifestyle, made up of clothes with petticoats and a bodice and behaviors more suited to the female sex (as well as different types of tasks within a staff of servants).
-----> While in Heyer's book I couldn't stand the girl, because she was in love and obsessed with her savior and I couldn't stand the fact that despite the huge age difference, they eventually became a couple, in Lancaster's book the girl feels grateful and attracted to her savior , but not in an obsessive and mean way towards the other characters.
Furthermore, the age difference here is acceptable, given that Petteril is also a young man and above all he is a lovable and kind-hearted guy. ___SPOILER END ____
As I have already said, the characters do not have much chance of being well developed in short stories, but Mrs. Lancaster, the author, managed to define each of them so well with just a few descriptive traits (of their way of being and thinking). This is what convinced me to continue with the story, also wanting to read the next books...
I have read several books by Mary Lancaster, I usually love her writing style and I know she will manage to develop the characters and their backgrounds, book by book, making them more and more interesting.
__ THE MAIN CHARACTER ____ Piers Withan, the knew LORD PETTERIL:
what I like about him is the fact that not being destined to inherit the title, he was able to follow his nature as a lover of books, dedicating himself to study and teaching.
However we discover that he is not just a bookworm, but having grown up with a brother and two older cousins, he has learned to defend himself both verbally and physically.
He is an intelligent and kind young man ( handsome too ) and relates to his new staff in a very friendly way, offering to help them with "a certain thing" in which humble people at that time were usually lacking (find out by reading the book!)
___ THE SECOND MAIN CHARACTER __ APE, the young thief and street urchin:
despite having to look after himself from an early age, stealing under the directives of dangerous criminals, we immediately see his desire to have an honest life.
This character immediately won me over for his inner wisdom despite his young age and will be the character who will give you the most surprises in this first book and in the next one and perhaps even the ones after (yes, I have already peeked into the plots of the back covers !! )
___THE OTHER SIDE CHARACTERS __
some amiable and some unbearable, but I'll be happy to meet them all again in the next Petteril's adventures.
humor and ironic jokes !
What I usually like in cozy mysteries, where obviously the mystery is light and the suspense is minimal, is the humorous atmosphere that usually permeates the whole story: funny moments, ironic jokes every now and then... that playfulness , which makes the reader smile and laugh and keeps him glued to the book because he is having fun, even though there is no complicated puzzle and no love story.
So: no complicated mysteries, no love stories (but who knows in the future...), no humour.
This explains my miserable 3 star-rating.
I'm confident though, the series will improve.
THANKS FOR READING my opinion and please be lenient with my English, it's not my mother tongue.
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