This book was not a page turner for me, and a bit tough to get through but the mystery was solid and the characters fleshed out nicely by the end. There was simply a lot of detail and not much action for much of the book. If you can get to about the last third of the book it really takes off. I would love to see more of Julia’s character in the future!

A fun historical mystery. Julia Kydd is an intrepid young woman who solves mysteries and works for suffrage. It's not too twisty but it kept me guessing. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Unfortunately, this book was a DNF for me. After 25%, I was still not pulled into the story. It sounded right up my alley. Set in the 1920's with a female suffragette as the protagonist who is investigating the murder of her friend's sister. Sounds like a fabulous premise but it just wasn't engaging enough for me. The writing was fine and the story was fine but nothing about it was grabbing me and saying I needed to keep reading.

But if you enjoy a very slow burn, this might be the book for you.

“Sometimes death is the loudest voice you have.”

Right, so how to offer up my best review of this book – without giving away any (too many) spoilers!

I am already a dedicated fan of traditional / classic mystery stories, however many of these are by their very definition, English centric, so I was interested to see how well the genre would transfer across the Atlantic to the USA. I need not have worried, as in author Marlowe Benn’s expert hands the transition was seamlessly elegant, with a new and vibrant cast of characters, a textbook storyline beautifully executed, together with a satisfying conclusion which would have done Dame Agatha Christie, the great lady of the genre proud, whilst leaving the door firmly open for the expanded series to become the undoubted success I predict.

In fact at one point during the story, my favourite new amateur sleuth, Julia Kydd, is actually likened to someone hoping to emulate one of the protagonists from the books of the great progressive new author, Mrs. Christie. This set me thinking about the great lady’s characters of ‘Tommy and Tuppence Beresford’, with Julia’s “brother” Philip, unwittingly turning out to be a perfect Tommy, as a foil for Julia’s, Tuppence.

A delicious mix of fiction, blended with a little fact, well researched and presented, there is a strong opening chapter to the book, which really helps to set the scene in a no nonsense way. The storyline in which Julia then finds herself embroiled, moves along at a good pace, with a full cast of clearly defined characters, great easy to follow, clipped dialogue and some excellent descriptive narrative. The ending, whilst not perhaps as definitive as I would usually like, is definitely all left to the imagination of the reader, but is certainly going to have me looking out for the next time Julia Kydd crosses my path!

Set in a post WWI New York, with women having recently attained the right to vote and prohibition in full swing, it is all too apparent that for many families, it is still very much a man’s world and the women of the household are perceived both personally and financially to be the chattels of their male counterparts and not to be trusted with even the smallest modicum of independence, freedom of speech, or almost indeed, freedom of thought.

Julia, educated in the US, then leaving for London as soon as she was able, has now returned to New York at the behest of her step-brother, Philip and his lawyers, to try and unravel the nonsense of their late father’s will. It wouldn’t be giving too much away to reveal that Julia is something of a bibliophile, who dreams, with the help of her portion of the inheritance, of running her own small bespoke publishing and book binding house. Well! given what the times dictate and no matter how much more progressive the US is in some matters, than their UK counterparts, at least by Julia’s reckoning, you can imagine what happens next! – Or can you? I certainly didn’t, as the final pieces of the jigsaw puzzle which is Philip and Julia’s life, are only revealed right near the end of the story. Totally unexpected, although it really shouldn’t have been, as once again some excellent research has thrown up a scenario which was completely plausible for the times, I was left a little breathless, but somewhere in the back of my mind, a whole new plan was forming! Is Philip really the dark horse that I would like him to be?

Julia’s wealthy friend Glennis Rankin, contrives to involve Julia in her intense family traumas, where she quickly works out that, to a person, a more noxiously, complex group of pretentious individuals you would be hard pushed to find, with the exception of the lovely Glennis herself. At first she cannot wait to make her excuses and get away from the company of so many people it is almost impossible to connect with in any sensible fashion. But when a double disaster strikes, which involves both Glennis and herself personally, Julia is set a challenge by the ever erudite Philip, which she neither wants to, or cannot afford to, refuse and Glennis is certain that there is villainy afoot in the Rankin household. Thus setting off a chain of events, which through the astute written power of characterisation, showcases the entire Rankin family in all their disturbingly true colours and provides an excellent study of human behaviour and social commentary, completely in tune with the thinking of the times.

Typical of the tried and tested Agatha Christie case solving formula, Julia contrives to gather all the suspects around her in a place of her choosing, to finally ‘out’ the suspect. However, hand on heart, she only really actually knows half the story for certain, as every single one of them played some small part in bringing poor Naomi’s life to an end. So she throws down some timely seeds of doubt and stands back, as her cast of suspects begin to argue and bicker amongst themselves, unwittingly divulging, a little at a time, pieces of the puzzle which Julia hadn’t really known for certain. Eventually Julia can see the wood for the trees, confidently names her suspect and once again steps aside, a viewer to the most unseemly behaviour which then follows.

Definitely a case of ‘The female of the species is more deadly than the male’ – although only just!

A multi aspect, well constructed storyline, which offered a lovely blend of plot and character driven storytelling. Completely believable, observationally astute and descriptively very visual and tense.

I would have loved to read Passing Fancies, book #2 in the Julia Kydd series back to back, however previous commitments don’t make that possible. I shall definitely be boosting the book up my TBR at every possible opportunity and please keep the stories coming, Marlowe!

A slow burner to begin with this book eventually shone like a gem. A story sent in a fascinating time period and even more so when told from a female perspective. Fabulously descriptive and filled tot he brim with captivating characters I loved this novel. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

I always love books set in the ’20’s, especially those featuring a female protagonist who is solving a crime. So in theory this should have been my perfect read, unfortunately this one just fell a little flat for me.

I wanted this book to be like Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. However, the execution fell flat. There was too much luck in the ending and I felt like the story itself wasn't as good as I thought it would be.

I should have liked this book but it was just slow and plodding and not very interesting at all.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. The start was very slow and it felt like it was trying to be too many things and versions of other stories I have read. I only got about a quarter of the way through and gave up.

It is such a shame as i liked the general premise and the cover was lovely.

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy.

This book was interesting but didn't hold my attention well enough. I did not care for the character of Glennis and and I didn't approve of the overall story.

This was an enjoyable read for me. I loved the era in which the story took place and the historical impacts on the plot. The book did have a very slow start and it took me a little while to “get into it”. I am looking forward to the next installment.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

If a high-spirited whodunnit set in New York City during the 1920s featuring talk of Eric Gill engravings and W.A. Dwiggins letters, appeals, then "Relative Fortunes" (Lake Union Publishing, $24.95) may be just the thing. The author, Marlowe Benn, certainly knows her way around a Kelmscott — like her protagonist, she has practiced letterpress printing. Benn also has a master’s degree in the book arts from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in the history of books from the University of California, Berkeley.
--Originally posted on the Fine Books blog: https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/autumn-2019-crop-books-about-books-part-ii

There was a moment, in the middle of the book, where I really loved the story.

I liked the historical setting very much, especially the exploration of the suffragist world, with insights into the lives of these women, not at the eight of the suffragist movement, but after they had achieved the vote. It was an unusual and interesting perspective, one that shade a new light on a subject that we may think we know.

The mystery was becoming dense. Ever new things about Naomi – the dead person – were revealed, creating a very complex personality. And in parallel, Julia – the protagonist – was going through a personal crises that somehow mirrored Naomi’s predicament.

In the middle of the novel, I was totally invested in it and I had forgiven the very slow beginning, one where I skipped a lot, anxious for something relevant to happen.

But then the ending was a total mess.
It was heavily based on luck, and I never like mysteries handled like this. I want the sleuth to come to the conclusion with wit and reasoning, not with a gamble. There was a confusion of culprits and motives and I found the closing of the mystery totally unsatisfying.
Julian’s fate was also messed up and with multiple endings. It was also quite preachy. Honestly, I wasn’t totally bought by Julia achieving her goal without any real effort (or rather, she did make an effort, she came out victorious… but that didn’t really matter). I also couldn’t embrace the discourse of acceptable privilege, which is what the ending adds up to. I realise this is my personal position, but really it made me totally dislike the conclusion.

Quite a pity. There were a lot of potential here. But as far as I’m concerned, they were totally betrayed in the end.

I was expecting this to be a slight, fizzy but enjoyable concoction but I got more than I bargained for. A lot of nice period details and a pace that felt slower than I was expecting, and Julia was a lovely character - with a passion of her own, and some modern (but not too modern) for the times ideas.

The details of the case itself were quite brutal once it got right down to it and the underlying themes were well introduced and not too didactic.

I'd be interested to read more in the series and discover what becomes of Julia, and to see if the wonderful Glennis also makes another appearance.

1920's New York was not a good place for women. Independence was scorned on, working for a living was considered not quite right, a woman's inheritance passed from her father to her guardian (brothers who were tyrants) and then to husbands who could squander the whole thing away and no one questioned the right.

When Julia is thrust into the Rankin's life through the sudden death of Naomi, she little knew that by befriending Glynnis whose character and personality are totally different to Julia, that she would raise the antagonism of the entire Rankin clan who close ranks against Glynnis and in turn Julia for raking over this sudden death. Within a couple of days, with no post mortem and a death certificate issued by an ancient family doctor, Naomi is cremated.

Unraveling the sordid story of Naomi's death was sad. A life lived in penury, all because her brother did not let go of the purse strings, his need to dominate and get his sisters to acquiesce to his strict standards of how society viewed them and the need to maintain the showmanship amongst high society in New York was uppermost in all their minds. If getting rid of someone who proved to be over and over again an embarrassment, so be it. Even murder could be excused because what was important was the family name.

This was not an easy story to read. You felt the hopelessness and the huge odds against which Julia was fighting for. Not just for Naomi but for herself personally in her war with her guardian brother who refused to acknowledge that she was part of her father's will. For women of today, this is not an easy read at all. This was a good story and however hard it was to accept women's role in society at the time it depicted it very well.

This book is difficult to get into in the beginning because it lags, but if you can be patient and read through it, I promise it's worth while. Anyone who is a fan of historical crime fiction, I recommend this book to you. The writting flow is fast paced, and keeps you curious to what's going to happen next.

Rating 3

What a great debut novel ! An accomplished letterpress printer, Marlowe Benn holds a master’s degree in the book arts from the University of Alabama and a doctorate in the history of books from the University of California, Berkeley.
Her protagonist, Julia Kydd's desire is launch her own private press in New York City. But first, she has to secure funds from her impending inheritance. The only things in the way are a feud with her older half brother, an insistent suitor imploring her to sail back to Europe & marry him and a murder mystery to solve!
The setting is the 1920's, after the 19th ammendment granted women the right to vote in the US, but most laws still treated women as their husband's possession, even allowing another male relative to control her personal finances. Julia strikes up a wager with her brother to get her fair share of the inheritance, if she can solve the mysterious death of a wealthy friend's sister, who was an active suffergist.
The story is taken partly from actual events and people in the news at the time and feels accurate.
Julia and her half brother Phillip are both sharp witted and their dialogue is entertaining, as well as the many other well thought out characters.
I am so glad to see that this engaging story may be a series - looking forward to the next installment!

I thinks this series has potential but this book has all the issues of a first book in a series.
On a general level the book is entertaining and engrossing, after a very slow paced beginning.
The first part introduce the characters but some more action would have helped.
The historical background is well researched and interesting, it was one of the part I liked best.
The cast of characters is not always likeable but interesting, the mystery keeps you guessing.
I'm curious to read the next instalment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I found this book was slow going at the beginning but it got better as it went along. I think the mystery part was a bit of a let down but I liked Julia the main character and I like that it was set in the 1920's as that is a period in time I enjoy reading about. This is the first book in a series so I feel the next one will be better because lots of background had to be set up in this one and the following one should be slicker and easier to get through. All in all this was a pretty good read and I will definitely read the remaining two in the series.

Thanks Net Galley for allowing me to read this arc.

This book was really hard to get into at first but once I pushed on I enjoyed it more. I did find my self very frustrated with the book at times.

Huge Thank You to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this opportunity!