GENRE: Historical Mystery
SETTING: England, 1816
SERIES: Kurland St. Mary Mysteries, book 1
AUTHOR SITE: link
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: C
SYNOPSIS: A wounded soldier and a rector’s daughter discover strange goings-on in the sleepy village of Kurland St. Mary in Catherine Lloyd’s charming Regency-set mystery debut.
Major Robert Kurland has returned to the quiet vistas of his village home to recuperate from the horrors of Waterloo. However injured his body may be, his mind is as active as ever. Too active, perhaps. When he glimpses a shadowy figure from his bedroom window struggling with a heavy load, the tranquil façade of the village begins to loom sinister. . .
Unable to forget the incident, Robert confides in his childhood friend, Miss Lucy Harrington. As the dutiful daughter of the widowed rector, following up on the major's suspicions offers a welcome diversion--but soon presents real danger. Someone is intent on stopping their investigation. And in a place where no one locks their doors, a series of thefts and the disappearance of two young serving girls demands explanation. . .
As Robert grapples with his difficult recovery, he and Lucy try to unearth the dark truth lurking within the village shadows, and stop a killer waiting to strike again...
MY THOUGHTS: I was very excited to read this book by Kate Pearce because I'm such a fan of her Simply series. She's writing in a different genre this time around as Catherine Lloyd. The plot sounded so interesting but the story was incredibly slow and boring, sadly. It was only slightly interesting until around 100 pages in, then the story slowed down even more. On page 170 something involving Lucy happened. That incident should have happened much sooner. Much.
Twenty-five year old brown haired and brown-eyed Lucy and Robert have been friends since they were children. I never once got the feeling that they were true friends. Robert doesn't seem to really like her and was rude to her at least a few times. I sensed no chemistry of any kind between them. I don't really like Robert at all. When Lucy told him about an incident involving her he didn't believe her when he had absolutely no reason to doubt what she'd said. Another time she told him her theory about a stolen item and he thought she was crazy. I just found him to be rude and annoying.
I don't understand why Robert's fiancé was added to the story. She was completely unlikeable and she didn't serve a purpose. I'm just puzzled by why she was added.
I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
