Bleeding Heart Square

I don't like mysteries. I really don't like British mysteries. This book is a mystery. It is a British mystery. I loved it. Why? Certainly, it is so well written, but, more than that,like any good novel, it evokes its period and place, 1934 London, vividly and believably. The characters are well-rounded, real people. Taylor even recreates the political scene between the devastations of World Wars I and II, the agitations of both the Socialists and the Fascists, led by Sir Oswald Mosley and his blackshirts. All around, this is a really good read.

Part psychological suspense and part Gothic novel, Bleeding Heart Square focuses on the residents of Number 7 and their mysterious landlord, Joseph Serridge. When Lydia Langstone decides to leave her abusive husband, she turns to the only person in her life with no connection to her husband -- her estranged father, who lives in rooms at Number 7, Bleeding Heart Square. Journalist Rory Wentwood has recently returned from several years in India to find his fiancee, Fenella Kensley, harboring reservations about their engagement. While Rory was away, both of Fenella's parents died, and her only remaining relation, her aunt Philippa Penhow, has disappeared. Miss Penhow formerly owned the house at Bleeding Heart Square that is now owned by show more Joseph Serridge. Rory hasn't been able to find work since his return from India, so he fills his time by investigating Miss Penhow's disappearance in hope of winning back Fenella's favor. Suspense develops as Rory uncovers details about Miss Penhow's life and Lydia learns more than she wants to know about her family's dark secrets.

The author weaves into the plot social commentary on topics ranging from feminism/women's rights (Lydia frequently sits down to read Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own ), abuse, social class and poverty, and the fascist movement in 1930s Britain. Lydia's family is about as dysfunctional as they come. I found it easy to root for both Lydia and Rory as they each found strength of character to face unwelcome truths and endure life's disappointments. Although I guessed some of the secrets before they were disclosed, I was surprised by the revelations at the end of the book. I felt the sinister atmosphere of Bleeding Heart Square and of the house at Number 7. My only complaint is the occasional repetitiveness, such as one of the characters getting into multiple fights and finding a chipped tooth after each one. In spite of a few minor shortcomings, this is a very solid suspense novel that I would recommend to readers who like historical mysteries set in the era between the World Wars.

This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher through the Early Reviewers program. show less

In November 1934, Lydia Langstone left her husband after he hit her - vowing never to return. She packs a few things, takes some of her jewelry and the money she keeps in the house, and goes to stay with her father in his "modest" flat in Bleeding Heart Square in a older neighborhood of London. Rory Wentwood, recently returned from India, is having trouble with his fiance, Fenella Kensley - she seems to have cooled on the idea of marriage. But he must find a job and a place to stay before he can worry about Fenella, so he also takes a flat in Bleeding Heart Square while he looks for a job. Herbert Narton is watching Bleeding Heart Square, trying to get a glimpse of Joseph Serridge, so he sees both these new residents moving in. He show more enlists Rory to assist in the old police investigation into the disappearance of Philippa Penhow, Fenella's aunt, 4 years earlier. Serrridge is suspected of killing Miss Penhow and hiding her body, but nothing has ever been proven. Serridge is also the owner of the building at Bleeding Heart Square - a building previously owned by Miss Penhow. Serridge also owns a farm house that was purchased by Miss Penhow from Lydia's father, Captain Ingeby-Lewis.

Each chapter begins with an excerpt from Miss Penhow's diary written in 1930 - shortly before her disappearance. Each diary entry is introduced by an unknown narrator who is familiar with the situation and, presumably, knows what really happened to the woman. The story proceeds at a deliberate pace, with characters being introduced, and clues being uncovered. The relationships between the different characters are so interconnected that they threaten to become unmanagable but never does. No one person knows everything, except the unknown reader of the diary, and the reader is the first to learn the entire truth from them.

I thought the book started slowly - it took me several chapters to feel comfortable in the setting and with these characters. There are quite a few small intrigues, and by the middle of the book, I was hooked. The political environment in London before WWII was tense - as people experimented with socialism and fascism in an effort to avoid another war. The changing social conventions was also an issue - as shown in Lydia's determination to make her separation from her husband permanent, despite advice from her mother and other older ladies that "these things happen, dear." Overall, an impressive book. Skillfully written. show less

In 1934, Lydia Langstone leaves her husband and moves in with her father at 7 Bleeding Heart Square. Four years earlier, the woman who owned the house, Philippa Penhow, disappeared, and now someone is sending Lydia’s creepy landlord Mr. Serridge animal hearts in the post. At about the same time that Lydia moves in, a young man named Rory Wentworth moves in as well. He’s looking for work as a journalist, yes, but he has an ulterior motive for moving into the house. Compounded on all of this is the fact that the Fascists are coming into power, a party to which Lydia’s husband belongs.

Punctuated by snippets from Miss Penhow’s diary, Bleeding Heart Square is primarily a story of revenge. The story is darkly bizarre and a bit gory, show more to be sure, but it’s well-put-together and left me wanting more. Taylor does a wonderful job with description, too: you really feel as though you’re witnessing a Fascist rally or smelling the hearts in the front hall. Rather stomach-turning, yes, but apart from a bit at the end which didn’t sit right with me, this is ultimately a satisfying, gripping novel. The subject matter reminds me a little of the novels of Patrick Hamilton, but Andrew Taylor has a unique voice. show less

Andrew Taylor’s literary mystery is set in London in the early 1930's, in that uneasy period between the Great Wars.

Aristocrat Lydia Langstone leaves her violent husband and having no one else to turn to moves in with her ne'er-do-well drunken Father, Captain Ingleby-Lewis.

Their scruffy, lodging house at 7 Bleeding Heart Square used to be owned by a rich spinster Miss Phillipa Penhow but she has, apparently, gone to America after signing over the house to Joseph Serridge, a mysterious, menacing man. Miss Penhow has not been heard of in four years

Rory Wentworth, a struggling journalist wants to find out what happened to Ms Penhow, his soon to be ex fiancée is her niece. Rory turns out not to be alone in his suspicions about Joseph show more Serridge. A plain clothes policeman, Narton, is watching the house obsessively and strange parcels addressed to Major Serridge and containing rotting animal hearts begin arriving at the house.

The mysterious disappearance of Miss Penhow is the foundation of the novel but it is the strong writing, the almost Dickensian characters and the layer upon layer of subplots, all twisting and turning, till they become interlinked that keeps you turning the pages. The book has a menacing atmosphere throughout, with shady, shifty characters and a threat of violence, either real or perceived.

Intertwined with this is Miss Penhow's diary which is narrated to the reader by a persons unknown and you feel in turns sorry and then angry at this foolish, naive woman desperate for love.

The sense of period is superb and the author has important things to say about the privileged rich and their attitude towards the working class, rural Britain, the legacy of World War One, women’s place in society and the rise of the British Fascist party. The setting of a grim, cold London in the 30s and the gloomy oppressive nature of Bleeding heart Square itself gives the story a sinister,menacing tone.

I loved ‘plucky’ Lydia Langstone as the lady who is now ‘slumming’ it trying to make a new life for herself, her growing friendship with Rory Wentworth as he also moves into 7 Bleeding Heart Square, and her own part in unravelling the threads surrounding Miss Penhow's story. show less

Bleeding Heart Square is the first book by Andrew Taylor that I've read, but it won't be the last. It's a mystery of sorts, but there is no body to speak of when you first start reading. The mystery surrounds the disappearance of a spinsterly lady who the reader comes to know through the pages of her diary. The story is revealed slowly and it takes a while for the action to really pick up and move along at a nice pace, but once you're hooked I found it to be a compulsive read.

"Sometimes you frighten yourself. So what is it exactly? A punishment? A distraction? A relief? You're not sure. You tell yourself that it happened more than four years ago, that it doesn't matter anymore and nothing you can do can change a thing. But you don't show more listen, do you? All you do is go back to that nasty little green book."

That nasty little green book is Miss Penhow's diary. Each chapter of the novel begins with an entry from the diary, and each entry is remarked upon by a character whose identity is unknown. Miss Penhow is an unmarried woman of a certain age who falls under the influence of a charming and slightly younger man who has an eye on her fortune. It doesn't take much wooing to separate Philippa Penhow from her property and money. By the time Miss Penhow realizes that Joseph Serridge's promises are false and empty it will be too late. Only the question is, just what happened to Miss Penhow. Is she dead or alive?

That's the question that will bring together Lydia Langstone and Rory Wentworth, and Bleeding Heart Square is where they converge. Unlikely counterparts brought together by chance in a seedier part of London but probably the perfect place for dastardly events to occur. Legend has it that the devil once danced in Bleeding Heart Square and now someone is sending Joseph Serridge animal hearts to show how much they care. The dilapidated house that stands on the square was once owned by Philippa Penhow, but now Serridge claims ownership.

Four years after Miss Penhow's disappearance Lydia Langstone comes in search of her father and a place to stay. She's left her abusive husband, and while she's used to a comfortable life of nice things, even Bleeding Heart Square is better than being knocked about. She's not really cut out for the sort of lifestyle her father leads, meaning one of poverty essentially, but she manages to find part time employment in a law office. Rory Wentworth is an out of work journalist just lately back from India. Each has a connection to or interest in Miss Penhow. For Lydia it's her father. He has shady ties to Serridge and thus Philippa Penhow. Rory is looking into Miss Penhow's disappearance on behalf of his girlfriend Fenella, Philippa's niece. But will they find Miss Penhow? Each brings different pieces to the puzzle, but will it be enough?

Taylor weaves an interesting mystery with lots of different threads. It takes some unraveling, but I thought he did a fairly impressive job of creating an unusual mystery with a surprising ending that I didn't see coming. Set in 1934 there are signs of the coming times--Mosley's politics are touted by some as the way out of the problems Britain is beset with. There's a clash of classes,as would be expected at this time. And more than a few of the characters are brutish bullies that give an already darkish story and even darker tone. I enjoyed this one and will be looking for the first of his Roth series, The Four Last Things, which I hear is even better. show less

In 1930, Phillipa Penhow disappears after marrying late in life, and eventually a letter arrives to explain she ran off with an old flame. In 1934, Lydia Langstone leaves her abusive husband and moves into her father's apartment in a building once owned by Miss Penhow, now owned by Penhow's former husband. And among other mysteries, someone's leaving dead, rotting hearts for the landlord at 7 Bleeding Heart Square.

Taylor's Bleeding Heart Square is a very good mystery, with interesting twists and turns along the way to a captivating conclusion - one of the few books I've read recently that I actually couldn't put down until I finished the last third or so. The characters are complicated and real, while the period is very well show more represented. The only down-side to the book is a somewhat slow pace to the first few chapters - stick with it and you'll be glad you did. show less