It seems lately like there's a trend for cozy mysteries to have a long list of side-stories that may be or may not be related to the main mystery, usually a murder. This one is no exception. As always, the ol' history buff in me enjoyed going back in time to catch up with Hannah Merrill's life in England during WWI. As we read, the war is still raging. In fact, we learn one co-volunteer at the hospital, Dinah, has not just an injured brother, who lost a foot, but three more still on the lines. It's during their walk back to the bookshop Hannah runs with her suffragette Aunt Violet that she sees jeweler Jacob Cornelis in a heated argument with a young man she doesn't know. Imagine her shock to learn the next day that Jacob has not only been murdered but the unknown young man is the police officer assisting regular character Aiden Farrell as his new assistant.
I won't detail the plot further other than to say there is a lot happening. Such as? Oh, Aunt Violet skipping an evening out with Aiden to go out with the mysterious Emilio Alfaro, from Mallorca, who seems to draw odd reactions when Hannah mentions his name. Stolen goods. Police office Daniel Vane seems to have a ready answer for his intereaction with Jacob but, well, can he be trusted? There has been talk of a leak from the police lately, after all. Hannah's boyfriend Darius is his usual reticent self when it comes to revealing any details of his job with Britain's MI5 intelligence agency. Is it really as safe an boring as he says or, yikes, is he actively spying on Britain's behalf? There's more but that gives you some of the highlights.
Overall, the characters are intriguing and mostly likable and, hey, we can't forget bookshop cat Bartleby. While I enjoyed the story, I have to admit that the pace was slow at times and the many side stories seemed to pull my attention away from the main question, "Who killed Jacob Cornelis?" While the author did a good job of weaving them in and out of the plot, not to mention reminding us we were in the midst of wartime England, I didn't feel as drawn to it as I had expected. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the book, just didn't love it. I did enjoy Hannah's rather confused reaction to feisty, pushy female reporter Tilly, however. Even though Tilly annoyed her, Hannah admitted she admired her ambitions and drive to excel in the then very male dominated news world. Hannah having to go pull out some hoarded wine at one point also reminds us again of the adjustments of life during wartime. The history buff in me always enjoys these little, personal glimpses of real life, I have to admit. Thanks #BoldwoodBooks for letting me take an early peek at how life and war is impacting Hannah's day to day life in England.
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