Andrew Taylor (1) (1951–)

In the mid 1930s a young woman, married to a wealthy London social climber, walks away from an abusive marriage. Having been beaten and degraded she takes up residence with her father in a small apartment off of Bleeding Heart square. For the first time in her life Lydia has to fend for herself and make due in a world she had not experienced before. We learn that the previous owner of the house Lydia's father is renting rooms from, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The old landlady most likely met an untimely death at the hands of the current landlord, a 'brute of a man' by the name of Serridge. Joining Lydia in her battle against her former husband, her struggle in her new life and the search for evidence against Serridge is a host of side characters and extras.

Even though Lydia's break with her husband is the introduction to the novel, the book starts with a mysterious narrator who comments on the contents of a diary written by the missing landlady. Every chapter in the novel starts with such a commentary, followed by an excerpt from the diary itself. Within each chapter the point of view rapidly changes from Lydia to Rory, who we know will of course become the lonely and lost's new love. All these points of view combined make for a scattered reading where it sometimes takes a while to figure out who is narrating, and why.

I would not call this book a mystery since the emphasis is more on romance and historical fiction. Considering that there are so many strange coincidences and odd events I would characterize this novel more as magical realism. It must be said that the author manages to portray a rather in-depth picture of the time period and the people in it. Even though there are barely any detailed descriptions of places and people. Most of it is suggested between the lines, which leaves much of the interpretation up to the reader, which in this case is done well and with great effect.

Still, it felt that this book was meant as a tour the force, with much content that does not add to the story. The ending, although indeed unexpected, relies on the fact that some people that turn out to be important throughout the book are barely described or mentioned. I think I will read some of the other books by the same author, mostly because I'm intrigued by the choices made in telling a story and I want to see how that is done in other novels.… (more)

so... this book brings together some interesting threads of history, with the great fire of 1666 as the backdrop. set during the reign of charles II, after the death of cromwell (who was exhumed and posthumously executed in 1661 (!!)), with the plague still a worry, and the religious waters still muddy and dangerous. taylor's novel has some bright moments, but it wasn't a consistent story. this isn't so much a murder mystery, as a a tale of intrigue and royal/royal-adjacent shenanigans (which can be fun). sure, there's a body count but more of the time was spent in the jockeying for position, and trying to stay a step ahead. i liked the characters taylor's created, though some of the secondary players fizzle out or aren't used as strongly as they may have been. i found the flow a bit clunky - taylor alternates POVs (which wasn't an issue), but the pacing was up and down, and i couldn't help wondering how things would have gone had marwood's and lovett's storylines come together more purposefully, sooner. my grumblings aside, this was a quick read, and did entertain - i am curious how marwood and lovett develop in book two.… (more)