This is a stylish and superbly written fictional mystery written around a real historical framework. The characterization is intricately woven with the characters 'in character' and obeying their internal motivations. The beginning of the story was somewhat confusing for me, with a plethora of primary and secondary characters, an exotic setting, and changing scenes. There were a couple of parts which I had to go back and re-read to get the plot (and characters) straight in my mind. Once the story gelled in my mind though, it was a tense and well written noir plot with lots of dodgy characters and plot twists to sort out.
The story arc and pacing are variable (it dragged in a few places for me), but the dialogue and characterization are top shelf. The language is PG, used in context. Protagonist Cara is intelligent, likeable, and independent. I found no glaring historical errors whilst reading; it has verisimilitude.
Very well written and readable. Five stars for this entry and for the series as a whole. Despite this being the third book in the series, I think it would work quite well as a standalone.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment