Liz Hedgecock

Very lightweight. Lots of very short stories (pretty much none of them take more than a minute or two to read) and the whole thing is like... an hour of reading at most. The writing is fine - it actually doesn't feel super off from Holmes. But so many short stories often with a very weak premise - the mysteries are limited and some are very easy to guess, one I guessed after 2 sentences of description -gets kind of tiring. Can't really say I recommend it although it's a fine enough way to show more waste an hour if you like very short, pretty silly "mysteries". Her writing would probably be better in longer form. show less

The plot of this one kicks off a lot sooner, although magical or not, the bookstore’s turnaround felt completely unrealistic. Still, I wasn’t reading the story for the realism, which is fortunate, because while the first book could have been arguably magical realism, this novella is firmly in fantasy territory, with the introduction of new characters and magical world-building with a loose structure and rules, both of which are tested, which leaves Jemma stumped, Folio diminished, and show more Raphael in an angry panic. I thought the climax cleverly done and overall the story was fun.

There’s a few more books in the series, and I’ve got them on the list for future reads when I want to dip into something fun, frothy, and frivolous. show less

I quite enjoy Holmes-inspired variations, so I was curious about this one (first of a trilogy) by a new-to-me author.

A House of Mirrors comes across as an introduction to a rather different version of “Mrs Hudson” than most. Nell is in fact young. Presenting herself as a widow serves to cover up at least one mystery from her past. Unsurprisingly, given that her husband was a policeman, her investigations intertwine with Holmes’ work. In parallel, their relationship develops.

I found the show more plot quite interesting, though perhaps implausibly convoluted. There’s a dual timeline between the present and a few years previously, so we learn about Nell’s previous life.

Although I’m not a big Holmes purist, the personalities/behaviour of named characters differed from canon to such an extent that I felt the book might have worked better without the Holmes connection, and simply as a “Victorian mystery”.

Perhaps because the characters were so different, I didn’t find myself especially invested in them, other than shaking my head at just how much Nell was gaslit or didn’t notice oddities - especially as she was working as a sort of police analyst. The story ends on a hopeful note, and clearly there is more to come.

Overall, an entertaining historical mystery to start off a series. show less

The first book in the series, I was a little stumped, at first, as to what the actual plot of the story was going to be, as a lot of it was setup: Jemma losing her job, stumbling across Burns’ Books (perversely fabulous name), and finding a job at the quirky and odd bookshop. I immediately liked Raphael, loved Folio (the cat) and found Jemma irritating, as I think she was meant to be. The plot of the story doesn’t come until a bit past the halfway mark, and felt a bit rushed, but I show more enjoyed getting there, and I enjoyed watching Raphael squash Jemma’s constant attempts at being a corporate drone. The ending left off with a cool discovery that’s not properly described to the reader, so I was grateful to have the second one already queue’d up. show less