Nero's Fiddle
4 Stars

Series note:The events of the novella, The Unicorn's Tale occur in parallel to this book, which contains spoilers for it. Nevertheless, the storylines are unrelated and it is possible to skip the novella.

When several seemingly random people become victims of spontaneous human combustion, Inspector Fraser believes that there is more to the deaths than meets the eye. He reluctantly joins forces with Cara and Nate, who soon realize that another deadly artifact is being used as a murder weapon and the next target may just be someone closer to home.

One of the most appealing aspects of this series is the manner in which Exley incorporates actual historical elements within the storyline. In this case, Exley weaves a clever tale around the real-life mystery surrounding the question of hemophilia within the royal bloodline and the suspicion that Queen Victoria was not the biological daughter of Edward of Kent - a theory that has been thoroughly debunked.

The narrative structure in this installment is different from the first two books as it includes several flashback chapters focusing on Cara's grandmother. These episodes provide considerable detail and insight not only into Nan's character but also into Cara's traumatic ordeal (see book #1) as well as the twists and turns of the current plot.

There are also some new developments in Cara and Nate's relationship as Cara learns more about his notorious past and must decide whether or not she can live with it. Although the romance takes a definite back seat to the mystery, it is clear that Nate's past and present are on a collision course and it will be interesting to see where Exley takes this.

Overall, an exciting and entertaining addition to the series and I look forward to listening to the next one.


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*Book source ~ A review copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Spontaneous human combustion is so rare it’s not even considered as an option even when a person has obviously burned to death. Until Inspector Fraser is called in on one that fits the profile where the body has burned to ash and yet the surroundings have not. However, one death, two deaths, three deaths, oh, boy…this is stretching the bounds of believability by quite a bit.

Cara and Nate are settling into married life and the Queen’s new position for them as Artifact Hunters quite nicely. And then Inspector Fraser comes along asking for Cara’s help in solving these strange deaths, deaths he believes are murders. Fraser and Nate’s hatred for each other will not stop Cara from finding Nero’s Fiddle which she believes is the instrument of the deaths. Follow the fiddle, find the killer, hopefully before there’s a victim #4.

Oh, sweet, sweet steampunk! I love this series! Murder, mystery, intrigue, humor, romance, steaminess (without being graphic), mythology, fantasy and spine tingling creepiness, I love it all. This story picks up not long after Hatshepsut’s Collar and the layers keep on building. Told from several POVs, I learned more about Fraser and his reason for hating Nate and when Cara visits with Nan I learned more about her mom & dad. Then Nan gets her own POV and I learned a lot about her and Nessy’s younger life and got to meet Cara’s grandfather, Gideon. The mystery surrounding the murders is sufficiently twisty to have kept me guessing and that ending? Wowzers. Secrets are tricksy things. Oh, must not forget the Curator. Holy shit! That guy is totally creeptastic, so, of course, I can’t wait to see more of him in the next book. And Cara gets a new bodyguard, Brick, who is quite the character and a new friend, Skittles, the famous courtesan. Jackson, Amy and Loki don’t get a lot of page time, but what they get is memorable and there are appearances by Helene and Malachi, the bookseller.

I am totally looking forward to Moseh’s Staff though the blurb fills me with dread. *shudders* ( )