Release Date: August 2, 2016
Publisher: MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, Henry Holt & Co. (BYR)
Pages: 256
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery
*I received this book as a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own. Thanks NetGalley!*
Summary
After growing up on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns. Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life, but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident.
A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There's a rumor, too, that a wild animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother's killer claim her life, too? -Goodreads
The Rundown
Who doesn't love a good ol' tale from Regency England? Plus the cover alone was enough to have me all "yes please!" at reading the ARC!
After finding that Katherine and her older brother, George, are sole heirs to a large estate left to them by a grandfather they've never met, they leave America for England to assume their birthright over Walthingham Hall. One night Katherine is trying to remember all of the dos and don'ts of high society at their first ball held at the estate, and the next morning her brother is found dead in the lake of an apparent accidental drowning.
Nothing about her brother's death adds up to Katherine, and so begins her quest for the truth. But few are who they seem to be at Walthingham, and the deeper she digs for answers, the more she puts herself in danger.
The book does a great job of highlighting just how little rights women had in the early 19th century, and how much of their care made them rely on fathers, husbands, and brothers. Especially husbands, as this was an era where unmarried women of a certain age held little value in the high social circles Katherine now moves in. Fear not modern feminists! Remember, Katherine was raised a Virginia farm girl and is a strong character throughout the book.
Now I don't know about you, but when I dive into a good mystery, I suddenly turn into Sherlock Holmes and try to solve the case right along with the protagonist. I like to think I missed my calling as a detective...off topic! But the plot is fast paced as you cross off suspects and new ones are introduced! And the story doesn't get bogged down with endless descriptions of gowns and tea time and tapestries (and all the other descriptions of finery that can sometimes drag historical fiction to a snail's pace).
I did feel like the romance triangle (even with a plot twist around it) was a little forced to a bit unrealistic, but maybe that was just me being too caught up in wanting to know who killed George. After all that Katherine went through, I wanted the ending to be a bit happier. Not that it was totally unhappy...I guess I just wanted to end the story with more joy. But hey, gray and rainy English manor. What can you do?
Glad I picked this one up just for the classic "who done it" tale. I'd recommend this for mystery fans who don't mind a historical fiction setting!
Rating: 3.5 Stars!
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