The Music Makers is the second Victorian timeshift mystery by Alexandra Walsh. Released 8th Nov 2021 by Sapere Books, it's 352 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The first book in the series, The Wind Chime, is also currently available on KU.
This is an engaging and well written dual timeline story with tie-ins to the first book in the series. It's self contained, so it works well as a standalone, and it's not necessary to have read the first book to keep up with the plotting or characters here. The main protagonists are young women, one living in the Victorian London, and the other in Wales in the current day. The former was a diarist and reader of tarot, and who is connected to the modern day by her photos and theatre playbills.
The author is quite adept at the necessary background research for historical fiction and setting and characterizations feel organic and natural. The dialogue in the Victorian timeline was a trifle anachronistic and modern in feel, but it didn't yank me out of my suspension of disbelief or cause me to stumble. There were a number of twists which I didn't see coming and the climax and denouement were surprisingly satisfying.
For anyone who loves to go to jumble sales, antiques malls, and estate auctions, this book is full of the thrill of the chase and the letdowns which occur during treasure hunts from yesteryear. The author's powers of description are put to very good use on the many antiques, costumes, pieces of jewelry, and bric-a-brac contained in the story.
Four stars. It's a diverting read. For fans of the author's oeuvre, there are cameo appearances and tie-ins to her other books.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment