Reviews

Sister Beneath the Sheet by Gillian Linscott

tessisreading2's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Really nice mystery starring a suffragette in Biarritz to try and claim some money that was left to the women's suffrage movement - by a courtesan who died a day later. It's one of those mysteries that is more slice of life than mystery, as our heroine unravels the various friends, lovers, and enemies of the late Topaz Brown, but Nell herself is relatively personality-free - or maybe a better word is "restrained." 

nocto's review

I didn't think this was quite as good as the later books in the series that I began with but definitely well worth going back for. Nell has just returned from a spell in Holloway for chucking a brick through the window of 10 Downing Street (I'd guess that that is covered in another book) when Mrs Pankhurst sends her off to investigate a legacy of fifty thousand pounds that has been left to the Women's Social and Political Union (aka the suffragettes). The money has been left to them by a high class prostitute who has suicided and Nell thinks everything is not as straightforward as it looks (and lets face it that's not very straightforward to start with).

Most of the story takes place in Biarritz on the French Riveria but I didn't think that the setting came quite to life.. Once again though the characters were excellent and I enjoyed seeing more of Bobbie Fieldfare, a bit of a firecracker in the suffragettes arsenal who took a brief role in A Perfect Daughter. I'm impressed that Linscott includes some defiantly anti-feminist characters among the women as well as the men in these books. It all adds up to an interesting picture of life before the first world war and as I think I've mentioned before I get the feeling that Linscott gets historical accuracy into these books without pushing research down the readers throat. This is rapidly becoming one of my favourite series.

wealhtheow's review

3.0

A really good murder mystery. A dead prostitute leaves a suffragette society most of her fortune. The society sends a representative to find out why--and she, in turn, becomes intrigued by the dead woman and seeks to discover the truth about her death. I was really impressed by the historical accuracy--most writers are content to get the clothes and vehicles right, but Linscott concerns herself with the attitudes and unwritten politics of the time as well.