The Ashes of London (James Marwood & Cat Lovett, Book 1)

A well written historical murder mystery. At times I found it a bit slow going but always enjoyable. There are some huge cliches in there: orphaned (but spirited) rich girl, cruel, selfish & deceitful relatives, cruel, selfish and deceitful rich people, loyal servants and people not always being who they seem. All in all, though, it was a jolly good romp and a ripping yarn.

Good book for historical fiction lovers as there is lots of interesting, well written historical detail. However, not great for those looking for a good suspenseful crime novel. It was a bit too slow going for some of us. We didn't feel that the female lead character was very convincing. In fact, none of the characters had been that engaging.