The writing was good enough that I wanted to keep reading and managed it in just a couple long sessions, and the tension was pretty strong. But the bad guy was exactly who I thought it was from the very first moment he was even mentioned. I kept waiting for a plot twist, and it wasn't there, except maybe for one detail about him.

HOWEVER, I'm happy to report that no kittens were harmed in the narration of this book. When one reads a murder mystery, one agrees to have certain expectations about what may befall the human characters, but one does NOT want fluffy animalkind to be involved. Considering the dark nature of this story, I had the gravest fears when a scrappy little kitten was introduced, but all was well. ( )

Ms. Wilde has created this story in London's east side which in the reign of Queen Victoria was a hell hole, during the day, it was relatively safe, at night evil reigned supreme, from young bucks looking for fun to the new evil of the murderer called the Ripper. The Ripper kills silently, efficiently and very brutally. Ms. Wildes descriptions of the east side were so vivid I could see each street and the activities taking place; I could see the trash and offal, I could almost smell the odors.

The heroine of the story is Susannah; she lives in the east side with her Aunt Marietta until she is violently killed. Susannah moves in with a distant cousin of Marietta's, our hero Nicholas Craig, who is wealthy, sullen, cold, distant, and has a strange occupation of creating statistics and temporarily lives with his Aunt Margaret until he completes his book of statistics. Aunt Margaret also has a strange boarder, Mr. Lord, in her attic. The stage is set for this murder mystery. The Ripper is running a muck in London's East Side and Susannah is trying to solve the mystery of her guardian, Ms. Margaret's house on Nine Buck Row and fighting her attraction to Nicholas and that attraction runs both ways.

Ms. Wilde created anticipation in solving the mystery of the dark and brooding Nicholas and the mysterious boarder, Mr. Lord's part in the Ripper story. Mysterious noises in the locked storeroom and hallways, and Nicholas relationship with the Yard were intriguing. The plot has many twists and turn, and keeps you guessing and keeps your attention throughout. Just when I thought I had solved the mystery, a new tidbit and twist is revealed. I couldn't put the book down, I had to know what was going on, what would be revealed, is the Ripper, what happens in that locked room, just who was Nicholas, and will Susannah and Nicholas realize their love and have a happy ever after. All are answered in time with an explosive ending.

I would recommend this book to anyone that like a mystery romance.

I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review. ( )