This delivered everything I wanted from a quiet Victorian mystery, set refreshingly in Brighton rather than London. Mina Scarletti is an excellent character, intelligent, logical and independent despite her scoliosis. It’s always good to see a female MC in these kinds of books whose immediate concern is not how to get married but is actually pleased by her unlikeliness of making a match. I’ll own up to a great deal of affection for books about the Spiritualist movement which I find endlessly fascinating, and this book basically gave me everything I wanted in that regard. Don’t expect twists and turns and games afoot but do expect to be entertained by a singular and unforgettable heroine. Most enjoyable.

Set in Brighton, England, during the Victorian era, this cozy debut concerns itself with the period's rampant Spiritualist beliefs and the proliferation of mediums and faith healers who took advantage of believers desperate to make contact with their departed loved ones. Our heroine, Mina is a sensible young woman who is determined to keep her mother and friends from the clutches of a medium who is a practiced con artist. The author's research into the era and the tricks and techniques that characterized seances is obvious and fits seamlessly into the story.

Mina, a likable and not easily deterred character, enjoys relative freedom for women at the time as she is a "spinster" and not considered likely to marry because of her scoliosis. This freedom allows her to go places and form alliances that society might have forbidden for a woman who was looking to "make a good match."

Supporting characters are well drawn and, while we know how things are likely to turn out from the beginning, Mina is an agreeable and resourceful heroine, and seeing her unravel the mystery is a pleasure. I am looking forward to book two and getting to know Mina better.

Full Disclosure--Net Gallery and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

I enjoyed this book, both the characters and storyline. It’s very well written and easy to follow. I highly recommend!

Mina Scarletti is a young Victorian woman, living with her mother in Brighton, England. She suffers from scoliosis, but maintains an active and fulfilling lifestyle. The tourist season sees an influx of mediums and healers to the town, which are all the rage in London. When Mina's mother and her friends flock to the sessions, she begins to worry about the small gifts that are being bestowed on the medium and decides to expose Miss Eustace as a cheat. However it is more difficult to divert the attention of these true believers than she anticipated.

I just loved Mina's character. She is the antithesis of the Victorian woman. Because of her physical deformity, she is not expected to marry and have children and is secretly pleased with this fact. And she writes horror stories, although she hides this fact from her family. When she sees a problem, she researches it, seeks advice, and acts. I thought she was terrific. The rest of the characters were interesting and engaging as well.

Overall, the story was quite good. I don't know that it was much of a mystery, as it seemed to me that the medium, Miss Eustace, was portrayed as a fraud from the get-go. But it was entertaining nonetheless.

The book seemed to be very interesting and I liked the main characters, however, the story is so slow that I felt that I lost interest. I would have liked the book much better if the pacing had been faster. Towards the end, I started to skim the story just to get to the end. Sorry, this book was just not for me.