PJ McIlvaine

American history weaves with mystery and a pinch of the paranormal to form a gripping and intriguing read.

After a very adventurous trip with the Titanic, which left her a couple days in a hospital, Violet finally reaches her grandmother to find that they are in the middle of her, Violet's, funeral, since she was missing and presumed her dead. While Violet might have survived the historic wreck, she's wrapped into a deeper scheme, which has followed her since leaving the harbors of Europe. Not only does someone want her mother's jewels, but there's a murderer on the loose. Add a ghost, who may or may not have ill-intentions, and the mystery is anything but simple...as is the danger.

The blurb hooked me on this one, and I'm glad it did. The author does a wonderful job at bringing a historical time period to life, while creating a grabbing tale. The first pages already plunge into intrigue and adventure as Violet makes her way through a city alone, encounters her first dangers, and all of that to end up at a huge funeral. Even with all of this going on, the details of the historical setting are knitted in here and there. These portray life at the time without ever going into wordy descriptions, but rather, bring the details across right along with the quick-paced plot. Add that the characters each have enough back-story and depth to make them interesting, and this read packs quite a bit...especially since it remains under 150 pages.

I was surprised at how well this read rounds everything off while keeping to the length. There are quite a few characters, several sub-plots, and the mystery is definitely not easy to guess. Even Violet has enough personality to keep the reader invested. There was only one aspect which distracted me, and that was by no means enough to ruin the read.

When I picked this one up, I thought it was a stand-alone or first in a new series, but when I started reading, there were always bits and pieces mentioned about Violet's trip on the Titanic, and I was convinced that I'd misunderstood and, actually, was reading the 2nd or 3rd book in a series. I was still going to mention that this one works as a stand-alone, since it still flows well and isn't hard to follow. After reading it, I discovered that there aren't any other books leading up to it, and that this Titanic part of Violet's life really is only mentioned when necessary...which is too bad, since there are attacks, attempted kidnapping, disappearances, ghosts, unexplained happenings, and much more, which supposedly happens during that time. So, it always felt like a part of the story was missing...which, in a way, is positive because I did intend to go back and pick it up. Too bad that's not possible.

This is definitely a well-done read and will thrill mystery fans, who love historical settings. It's quick, hard to guess, and flips time back into a rich setting. I received an ARC and really enjoyed this one.… (mais)