REVIEW:

Since I read the first book in this series nearly two years ago, I’ve grown to adore historical mysteries. When I was offered the chance to read this second Victorian Mystery book, I jumped at it. The previous book featured Nell Hallum, a musician, working along with her brother Matthew Hallum to solve crimes. In this story, art student Annabel Rowe works with Matthew to solve crimes, including the murder of her brother.

Annabel is an art student with a standing weekly dinner date with her brother, Edwin. Edwin has had a troubled past, but he has cleaned himself up and now appears to be living and working honestly. When Annabel doesn’t hear from Edwin about their upcoming dinner date, she goes to his house to see what is going on. When she arrives, she finds Inspector Matthew Hallum inside, searching for clues to his murder. Annabel is devastated, and after taking a day or two to think about her brother, she comes to the conclusion that she wants help the Inspector solve the mystery. Under normal circumstances, the regular public doesn’t really work side-by-side with law enforcement, but Annabel is able to convince Matthew that she will be an asset to his investigation. 

I love that Annabel Rowe is a strong, independent leading female. Ms. Odden’s previous work also has fiery and smart leading women, and I think this is something that she does really well. Annabel has a lot to add to the story and to the investigation, and I appreciate that the author has created a male detective in Matthew that is open to listening to women during a time when women weren’t always considered bright and smart. The fact that this story centers around the art world is so much fun. There is far more intrigue and suspense in the art world than most of us realize, I think, and it is always loads of fun to read stories with art-centered mysteries.

This story is really good at painting the picture of the complicated sibling relationship between Annabel and Edwin, and I was really able to feel Annabel’s complicated feelings throughout the story. I really felt for her when she found out that her brother was gone. The previous book in this series also had a nice sibling relationship and I appreciate that the author brings out some real emotions between sisters and brothers in a way that permeates the story and jumps off of the pages. 

I really hope Ms. Odden is continuing on with this series. I would compare my enjoyment of these books to the way I enjoy Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series. The Victorian London setting is vibrant in a dark, foggy, damp way and it is easy to visualize as the story progresses. Sometimes the female characters in books like this one are stuck in the norms of the time in terms of what they can and can’t do in their society (boo!), but I am finding that Ms. Odden’s characters break with convention just a little bit and assert themselves. I love that. I think fans of historical mystery stories would love this one, especially those that may have an interest in art. I was worried that I would have trouble connecting this book with the previous one in the series since it has been a while since I’ve read it, but I did not! It is easy to make the connections between characters and setting, although I do believe A Trace of Deceit works well as a standalone for those that may not have read the first in the series yet.