Tony Evans (7)

This collection contains an introduction and eleven stories, not presented in chronological order. Based on internal evidence, they take place between 1881 and about the end of the 1890s. All are narrated first-person by Hester Lynton herself, and all involve her "secretary", Ivy Jessop.

In the first story, dated 1881, Hester and Ivy meet on a train where they proceed to experience an adventure together that cements their friendship. We learn that Hester is a private investigator. They are show more both modern, independent, dynamic, intelligent, and so forth. On horseback Hester rides astride, as she learned during childhood in India. (Sidesaddle is silly, isn't it?) She also carries a .22 caliber handgun in her purse.

With that beginning, they set up lodgings together, with Ivy as Hester's secretary-partner. There isn't any direct hint of romance, they're just good pals who address one another by first names and live together with Mrs Parsons, the housekeeper. (However, in one story, Hester packs some of Ivy's things and sends them along because Ivy has to unexpectedly be away for a few days. And Hester seems to think nothing of rummaging through and packing Ivy's smallclothes and private items, so there is that...)

Oh, one of the stories involves a historic literary personage, which was fun. I won't tell you who.

By the end of the book, I rather wished there were more than a mere eleven stories in the Lynton canon, assuming that this is in fact the "complete" set of mysteries it claims to be. The stories often mention off-hand other adventures that are not included here—in particular a couple that are tossed out enticingly more than once in the book, and which seem to have been seminal cases that made Hester's reputation.

The characters are not what I'd call deeply drawn, and the stories all seem plot-centric, which is fine for mysteries of course. We see very little of Hester-and-Ivy in their own domestic arrangements or personal lives, but the stories typically involve slightly domestic situations, often with significant back-stories.

Overall, I found this collection to be fun. The mysteries were absorbing enough and definitely worth reading. The book left me wanting more of their exploits, hopefully to add greater depth/breadth to the protagonists' back stories.

The book has a few editorial issues, with quite a few typographical and copy-editing errors. (I ran across more than 30 that I tracked.) But the writing is otherwise good. I paid 99 cents for this during an Amazon promotion. show less

Consulting detective, Hester Lynton, and her loyal companion, Ivy Jessop, are back once again. An array of cases challenge their wits and it will take all their skills to catch these criminals.

Having recently finished the first collection of short stories, it was fun to pick up this new collection. The cases are varied with no one like the other. This made for an entertaining read. A few were straightforward and easy to solve, and others were more “twisty” in the solution.

The very first show more case was my favorite because although I am bad at them, I do enjoy a good puzzle to solve!

My biggest complaint for the previous book was that the narrator felt off, being told by Hester. Although that changed in book two, with Ivy being our narrator for the collection, it didn’t feel like a change. There was nothing different about how the stories were told, and I think that’s what bothered me the most. There was no real sense of character. I can’t pin down anything about them beyond Ivy being a secretary and loyal. We are told more details about Hester, that she is kind and intelligent.

Still, this was a fun read. Those who enjoy a Victorian female detective may enjoy this one. I received a free copy through NetGalley and all opinions are my own. show less

As of this writing, this book currently has eight ratings, averaging 3.25. And I just noticed that its publisher, Endeavour Press, gave it five stars. This does not bode well. At all.

Later: It's an interesting idea for a book, picking up after Dracula and following what happens to these people who have had such extraordinary adventures. Here, Jonathan Harker and Mina are married, and he's an up-and-coming lawyer … whose reputation as a slayer of monsters has spread, and who receives show more requests for help from those enmeshed in their own gothic novel plots.

But the language and storytelling style worked for Bram Stoker. It was, after all, his native tongue, so to speak. It's more of a challenge to a 21st century writer to pull it off; when a contemporary writer says someone "thanked G-d", it looks like a typo, not Victorian prissiness. I didn't notice any blatant anachronisms, though, which is saying something – but it wasn't entirely convincing. You need an ear for the rhythm of a period's language – I honestly don't know if it's something you either have or not, or if you can develop it; I begin to think it's the former, because of all the examples of the have nots.

One quibble, which is something I've shaken my head over in things like Sherlock Holmes, is the whole "this is a highly confidential matter which … okay, I'll talk about it in front of Watson" thing; here, though, it's worse, because people keep telling Jonathan things "on condition that the source of my information remained secret: a condition which I am sure you will honour" – and before you can blink he's back home telling his wife and friends everything.

There were other complaints – like the scene where Harker (I think) overhears something but can't identify the speakers … and then a couple of pages he names both people. Or the fact that one story – because this is a collection, not a novel – centers on a man's fear that after his death his collection of antiquities would be broken up and sold off, and so he writes a bizarre will… when I would have thought that a specific and iron-clad will with detailed stipulations would have prevented what he was afraid of. I don't know.

I stopped reading, not because it was so incredibly bad but because I just didn't care anymore. And yes, as another Amazon reviewer said, the ARC needed a great deal of work.

The usual disclaimer: I received this book via Netgalley for review. show less

Several years after his part in the destruction of Count Dracula, Jonathan Harker has settled into a peaceful existence. But his exploits have become known, and clients of the law firm he works for have asked for his help - these are three of his cases - ‘Devil May Care’ and evidence of the occult in Cornwall, - ‘The Deadly Curse’ are the killings occurring in London connected to a Pharaoh find, and ‘Legacy of Evil’ as the Harkers travel back to Transylvania what is behind the show more sinister happenings.
Liked the characters of these three novellas and the style of writing, and will probably read again.
A NetGalley Book show less