Published: October 2022
Pages: 249
Series: The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #1
Summary
For Huntress Isabeau Agarwal, the countryside inn is the last stop in a deadly hunt. Armed with gaslamp and guns, she tracks an insidious beast that wears the skin of its victims, mimicking them perfectly. Ten guests reside within Spindle Manor tonight, and the creature could be any one of them. Confined by a torrential thunderstorm and running out of time, Isabeau has until morning to discover the liar, or none of them—including her—will make it out alive.
But her inhuman quarry isn’t the only threat residing in Spindle Manor.
Gunshots. A slammed door. A dead body. Someone has been killed, and a hunt turns into a murder investigation..
My thoughts
Another indie author I haven’t heard of before that popped up on my suggested Kindle Unlimited and I’m so glad I took a chance. I finished this book and book two of the series over a weekend, I could not put it down!
The best way to describe this is take Agatha Christie but make it supernatural! A classic who-dunnit mystery but with ghosts, monsters and other strange creatures. It’s two of my favourite things combined in one series
Ten little guests. One monster that needed killing.
The characters across this book are brilliant. They are engaging, realistic, and incredibly funny. I was chuckling through this book and all the quick quips and retorts. There’s a good cast that are very unique filled with their own secrets and I was trying to unpick them all and make my guesses as I went through the book.
“Once again I rely on the penny dreadfuls I so ravenously devour to assist the good detective. First we must comb the entire room for pertinent clues. See here, those curtains are blue. Why are they blue? What does that symbolize?”
What I really loved about this book is that we’re taking on the case almost as if we’re the assistant. This gives us a chance to hear the characters and see all the clues that Isabeau sees. I was trying to solve it before she did, I got some things right but not others. It didn’t go down the usual path I was expecting but I was pleased with that. This book was very refreshing in that sense!
“To be a Huntress, one must be a bit mad,”
The thunderstorm was polite enough to provide appropriate thunder in the short silence that followed.
I also adored the supernatural elements, they really added a book of spookiness and although it was bonkers at times, it was so on brand for this book and I really enjoyed it!
“Right, boss,” said Evie, nodding with a grave vigor.
“Can I have a gun?”
“What?”
“A gun. You know, in case one of them tries something.”
“No, you can’t have a gun.”
“Well then. That seems fairly dismissive of my well- being. But so be it.”
Set in quite a creepy, eerie environment. Heavy wind and rain, stranded in a house with a monster, I was glued to the pages to work out this mystery!
Would I recommend?
Yes, this was so delightful, funny and mysterious. I enjoyed every single I read it in an entire sitting. When you find a book that you cannot put down but also don’t want it to end.. that was me with this book and I’m glad I found this little gem!