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whatyoutolkienabout's review against another edition
5.0
Blackstone Fell is the third of Martin Edwards gripping historical crime novels and was one I thoroughly enjoyed. In 1930 Rachel Savernake investigates a bizarre locked-room puzzle while following the trail of her journalist friend Nell Fagan. Having stumbled upon an intriguing mystery and case of history repeating itself Nell is investigating the disappearance of a man from a locked gatehouse, the very same mystery that happened in 1606. Barely a week after Nell started her investigation she disappeared and Rachel is left to piece together the puzzle herself.
With a case to solve and a friend to find Rachel travels to Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire. The perfect gothic setting with its eerier and lonely moors and a sinister tower. With the help of her friend Jacob Flint, Rachel intends to bring an end to the disappearances and the truth to light no matter the cost.
I honestly felt this book had everything I could want from an historical mystery fiction. A story rich with character and imagination with elements of gothic and potential supernatural all swirled together in a beautifully eerie setting to keep the tense and suspension going. I particularly loved the little parts of the narrative here and there that strongly placed the novel in its time such as the reference to Arthur Conan Doyle in regards to his belief in spiritualism and the views of some of the characters all helped transport the reader back to 1930. On top of this the characters have amazing depth. The mystery was also done in such a way it did keep you guessing and it wasn’t easy to see how it would all end.
All in all Edwards has masterfully woven together a tight crime plot which keeps you guessing and engaged. All this blends together in a beautifully gothic setting that would make the Brontes proud.
With a case to solve and a friend to find Rachel travels to Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire. The perfect gothic setting with its eerier and lonely moors and a sinister tower. With the help of her friend Jacob Flint, Rachel intends to bring an end to the disappearances and the truth to light no matter the cost.
I honestly felt this book had everything I could want from an historical mystery fiction. A story rich with character and imagination with elements of gothic and potential supernatural all swirled together in a beautifully eerie setting to keep the tense and suspension going. I particularly loved the little parts of the narrative here and there that strongly placed the novel in its time such as the reference to Arthur Conan Doyle in regards to his belief in spiritualism and the views of some of the characters all helped transport the reader back to 1930. On top of this the characters have amazing depth. The mystery was also done in such a way it did keep you guessing and it wasn’t easy to see how it would all end.
All in all Edwards has masterfully woven together a tight crime plot which keeps you guessing and engaged. All this blends together in a beautifully gothic setting that would make the Brontes proud.
atsundarsingh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Better than book 2. I liked the remote setting and thought it added to the story. Good mystery.
1mpossiblealice's review against another edition
4.25
I'm really enjoying this series, it's brilliant. Will be getting the next one in the series asap.
snikelfritz's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
kverdon's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
melissa_who_reads's review against another edition
3.0
The plot is fine and interesting; but I've come to realize there is a point in Martin Edwards book about half way through when I struggle with it - I don't know if the pacing is off, or I don't like the secondary characters perspective that much, or what it is: they drag for me. In this one, Rachel (the main character) stays in the background for much of the first two thirds of the books, allowing her minions to gather evidence. Two points: the book picks up when she comes to the foreground and takes control of the narrative, as she is an interesting character, and two - it's a bit odd that after being in Truman's head for the middle part of the narrative, once she shows up on the scene we never get his perspective again. Which would be interesting, because she utterly destroys his cover and we don't see him face any consequences from those who learn that he was not who they thought he was .... maybe those awkward scenes wouldn't move the plot forward, but the narrative also seems incomplete without them. She just drops his real name during the denouement and no one reacts with "who?" or "what the ...?" as if they all knew all along that he was using a fake name. At any rate, an interesting plot and characters, but for me it dragged a bit.
neville_lvr_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
jammersbookstacks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Blackstone Lodge is set in Yorkshire in 1930s. It is a tail in involving a locked room type mystery, a spooky tower, seances, dangerous caves, precarious cliffs, a small hostile village, and a very suspicious sanatorium.
There’s a huge number of characters to keep track of which did make it more difficult on audio. I liked all the breadcrumbs along the way to help me solve the mystery, and to throw me off track.
All of the characters were well written and I liked how smart the character, Rachel Savernake, was. She was not that likable to me, but I did enjoy her thought processes. I think if I would’ve read the first two books I may have felt different about her. It’s always best to know the backstory and about the character development when you read them in order.
A few things that stand out to me and made this book more enjoyable is I really appreciated there isn’t excessively graphic violence and there was no belittling of the women’s intelligence. I did not feel like this book had a lot of terror or horror on it. So I classified this book as more than a cozy, but not a bloody thriller.
The audio was done well and I enjoyed the narrator Helen MacFarlane
I really enjoyed the end and there was a good shock factor at the end. It was very well done and I would highly recommend this historical fiction mystery. As well as I’ll be reading the first couple books in this series.
There’s a huge number of characters to keep track of which did make it more difficult on audio. I liked all the breadcrumbs along the way to help me solve the mystery, and to throw me off track.
All of the characters were well written and I liked how smart the character, Rachel Savernake, was. She was not that likable to me, but I did enjoy her thought processes. I think if I would’ve read the first two books I may have felt different about her. It’s always best to know the backstory and about the character development when you read them in order.
A few things that stand out to me and made this book more enjoyable is I really appreciated there isn’t excessively graphic violence and there was no belittling of the women’s intelligence. I did not feel like this book had a lot of terror or horror on it. So I classified this book as more than a cozy, but not a bloody thriller.
The audio was done well and I enjoyed the narrator Helen MacFarlane
I really enjoyed the end and there was a good shock factor at the end. It was very well done and I would highly recommend this historical fiction mystery. As well as I’ll be reading the first couple books in this series.
kleonard's review against another edition
1.0
Appallingly fatphobic and bigoted. How do things like this get published, much less win prizes? The characters are flat and dull, the plot predictable and boring, and have I mentioned the fatphobia?