I received a free copy in return for an honest review.

Now, I didn't read any of the previous books in this series, so I cannot say how good it is compared to those. I did think the book was pretty good though! I enjoyed it, and did not notice I missed some pre-knowledge while reading. I would like to read the other installments though, to know how the characters became how they are in this one.

The characters themselves were a little flat, but it just wasn't the type of book for deep characters anyway. The events were engaging and interesting, and I noticed that a lot of attention and time must have gone into getting the details and facts right. That was wonderfully done indeed, although my visual mind did not always agree on the 'wonderful' part ... It certainly wasn't a book to read just before bed time! Sometimes the writing style seemed a little too bent upon showing the different era, sometimes using 'difficult' words I hadn't seen before - as my English is pretty good, and I studied English, I hadn't had to look up words in a dictionary to understand what I was reading for about 10 years (context does a lot anyway!), and in this book there were several words I had to look up. I didn't mind though, it was good to learn something new too ;-)

Four stars because if the series is good enough to entice me to read all six books it can’t be that bad, but I don’t imagine I’d return to it. It’s almost too much drama and too many outlandish twists. Especially as the story focus comes back to Lydia for this final installment of the series. Her life has more twists and turns than an amusement park.

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When I got this book, I completely overlooked the fact that it was the sixth installment of a series, but honestly while reading it didn't bother me much. Of course, there were moments where things were recalled that I couldn't completely follow, but this isn't one of those series that leave you clueless when you jump in at a later time.

Besides its setting in 18th century England, the story is not unlike that of many other mystery books and it was not able to surprise me or really wow me. It was decent, but I never felt like I couldn't put down the book or that I wanted to learn more about any of the characters, really. (Maybe one should bond with them during the series, but they felt rather flat to me).

It was an okay read but not very remarkable or special.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In India some years back a diamond was stolen and now, people are dying for it. Dr. Thomas Silkstone is an American anatomist in love with the Lady Lydia Farrell. The murder of her father sets in motion a mystery that will claim more lives in London and lead back to a heinous pact some years before in India.

***

This is the first book I have read in this series, I was able to follow the story quite well, but there is a sense that there is a tremendous amount of history surrounding these characters. Given a chance, I would go back to the beginning to play catch up.

When it comes to historical mysteries, I adore this time period when the science of forensics was born. The back and forth between the old guard with tradition and avarice on their side and the scientists looking for clues to the facts is always entertaining. This story is a joy to read as it is filled with evocative descriptions that fill the pages, painting the scenes of the book. “Night coated the city’s minarets and spandrels like melted tar”, “It was an area where the roofs of dwellings slumped like exhausted dockers after a hard day’s work”. So many details make this period piece come alive in the mind of the reader.

It is the rather large and disparate cast of characters that truly make this story. None are one dimensional and all have a part to play in keeping the story moving at a steady pace. Though, if it is anywhere that the book doesn’t stand alone it would be that some of the obviously recurring characters are written as if the reader should already know who they are.

All in all this is a fabulous story that I would enjoy exploring more. I am looking forward to reading more from this author

4 stars

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this sixth episode, Dr. Silkstone falls into the intrigues of stolen diamonds, opium smoking and sequential murders connecting them all. The deus ex machina are a little irritating, but the setting is interesting. I'll look around for more books by Harris.

My thanks to Kensington books and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. It was truly a pleasure to be able to delve back into a Dr. Thomas Silkstone mystery.

The reader is quickly thrown into the first chapter in the middle of a duel between Dr. Silkstone regarding his dear lady's honor. The love story between Thomas and Lydia has never been an easy one and it's about to get a bit harder with the threat of impending death to one of the lovers. (Spoiler alert) Thomas narrowly survives the duel. As he is recovering, he finds himself in the middle of a murder mystery. Unfortunately, the victim is Lydia's father and it was a nasty, tortured way to die. The mystery circles back to the death of Lydia's first husband who was buried with a diamond that perhaps came into his possession via unsavory events. Lydia's father's throat has been slit with a ceremonial dagger from India. It becomes apparent the murderer is on the trail of the diamond that was buried with Michael. Lydia makes the shocking discovery that Michael's corpse has been disturbed and the diamond stolen. A series of horrific murders ensue that eerily follow a pattern of tortured death favored in some circles in India. Thomas quickly realizes this isn't a typical burglary/theft event; the murderer has an agenda. It is up to Thomas to reveal the murderer and bring him to justice; before Lydia becomes his next victim.

Enjoyed the first few books in the series. This one felt endless.