3.5 stars, rounded up.

Something I've always hated about locked room mysteries (and even, like, Scooby-Doo) is when the investigator(s) gather all the suspects in one room and dramatically unveil the different pieces of totally impractical things that lead them to the suspect - who then confesses everything, filling in all the gaps the investigator didn't answer. And boy was it improbable.

But, it was cleverly done. The pacing was slow, but Evelyn Hardcastle had been that way as well and while this one wasn't quite as consistently engaging, it was a lot less confusing. Sara and Arent made a great pair for conducting the investigation - and I loved the mentions of Lia's brilliance (possibly Autism-spectrum level focus and attention to detail) being seen as witchcraft.

However, there were parts - especially near the end - that got very repetitive. The same little notes being mentioned over and over again in a heavy-handed "hey, look over here" kind of way. But, to balance that, there was also a fixation on loving people despite their flaws - such as how a man who was so kind once and grows hateful and abusive can still be loved by someone who knew the kind man (and how hard it is to be the one doing the loving when the evil is revealed).

I definitely think Evelyn Hardcastle was the stronger of Turton's two books, but that isn't to say I won't be reading more - because I absolutely will be.