A mystery. A dead host, with an enviable collection of curios, invites Lady Cecily Kay to examine his cabinet of artifacts collected on his travels. Sir Barnaby Mayne’s collection is whispered to be a once in a lifetime collection. Lady Cecily is delighted to receive an invitation to spend a week discovering its contents. During her stay the host is discovered dead, a man confesses, but Lady Kay thinks there is more to the story. It’s a manners versus procedure in this look behind the curtain of manners and expectations. A fun read

I was not able to get interested in this book and I did not finish it. The characters and the plot were not able to catch or keep my attention.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the characters in this book so much.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I loved this read! The cabinet of curiosity is always fascinating, and putting this square into that subculture in London is fun as heck. Add 2 brilliant women navigating their worlds in ways thare are rare for women of the day (and being treated accordingly) and you have a book that can't be put down.

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Elsa Hart for free e—ARC in return of my honest review.

In 18th century, in London, Lady Kay found herself mixed up in a murder of a famous curiosities collector, Sir Barnaby Mayne. She happens to be part of the tour of his collection when the murder takes place. His young associate immediately confess but Lady Kay sees few uncertainties. Along with her childhood friend Meacan, who happens to be employed by late Sir Barnaby as illustrator. Together they ask questions and get into dangerous situations.

Overall, it is a nice mystery. I quite enjoyed some parts. On the other hand, I keep forgetting that it takes place in London in 18th century. Even though Lady Kay was intelligent woman, I doubt she would be so bold during that time. Same for Meacan, whose straightforwardness and sometime even impoliteness, are shocking for a woman who is supposed to earn her own living that time. I might be mistaken, how would I know how women behave back then in different social circles, but it just was not believable. I can’t say I was looking for more obidience and docility, more likely I was looking for subtler way of making inquiries about the situation.

Writing style was coherent, and the story line run smoothly. However, neither language nor style did play a role in creating 18th century England. My imagination kept pulling images of more modern era.

The premise of the novel is good, at the same time I believe the execution wasn’t satisfying.

An absolutely wonderful story for those who enjoy a mystery set within the time of great discoveries and where incredible collecting adventures was the order of the day. When science was the way forward, at any cost, and everything had a price.

This is the scholarly, educated world of England, circa 1700, where world traveler and amateur botanist Lady Cecily Kay has recently returned from Turkey.

Lady Cecily will be staying with the renowned collector, Sir Barnaby Mayne. His has a vast collection of rare artifacts; animals, minerals , rocks, books, plants and curiosities from around the world. His collection rivals all- and he has numerous rivalling colleagues that wish to surpass him, and see him ruined.

Lady Cecily wants nothing more than to study the rare plant specimens and books that are housed in Sir Mayne's extensive collection. However another visitor has a different agenda, and Lady Cecily finds herself embroiled in a dark mystery.

The author, Ms. Elsa Hart, continues to create powerful, educated characters who are far ahead of their time. Her previous novels feature the mystery solving sleuth "Li Du", from 18th Century China.

Hopefully this is not the last time we meet Lady Cecily!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author Ms. Elsa Hart, for the opportunity to read this Advanced Readers Copy of "The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne". The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.

This book simply moved to slow for me. The writing was fine but the subject matter of plants was just too esoteric, the only thing that kept me interested was the occult aspect but even that was not enough.

The time is 1703, the dawn of a new century. Amateur botanist Lady Cecily Kay has traveled from Smyrna to London. Her diplomat husband encouraged her to leave Turkey; theirs is not an amicable marriage. Cecily has arranged to stay in London at the house of noted collector Sir Barnaby Mayne. Access to his research tomes and plant collection will help her categorize her personal specimens. Cecily’s first encounter with the Mayne household shows that she’s a proponent of the scientific method, which is “a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.” Translated—practitioners of the scientific method don’t miss much.

When Cecily knocks on Sir Barnaby’s door, “the first sound to reach her from within was of shattering glass.” A maid lets her in and Cecily’s “keen nose” smells a “sharp odor.” She commiserates with the flustered young maid, saying, “A broken specimen jar?” How did she know?

“Spiritu vini,” she said. “I must assume that in the home of one of the most esteemed collectors in England, the smell of strong alcohol at midday may be attributed not to afternoon carousing, but to the project of preservation. That, in combination with the sound of breaking glass—I hope no one has been injured?”

Sir Barnaby’s house is more museum than gentleman’s residence. In the room dedicated to the study of stones, “every inch of oaken shelf and every tabletop from corner to corner—was covered in stones.” Each rock is “tagged with a red paper label.” A civilian aka not-a-collector might be daunted by the audacity and breadth of Sir Barnaby’s collections but not Cecily: “The thought of all that awaited her in the rooms beyond filled her with anticipation.” She is sympathetic to Sir Barnaby’s need to display all that he owns.

Their first meeting is less than cordial: she is reprimanded for arriving early. Before she retreats to her room, she sees a foreign visitor accidently destroy a vipermouth, a rare fish. Sir Barnaby shoos her off, not before telling her to return for a tour of his collection at 2:30 pm, saying, “I insist on punctuality.”

Cecily’s bedchamber is highly unusual.

The guest bedroom that was to be Cecily’s home for a week appeared to prioritize the comfort of the collection over that of a person. The laden shelves that lined its wall were free of dust and soot, while the blue velvet curtains around the bed were faded and moth-eaten.

Surrounded by shells, sea urchins and fish skeletons, Cecily is unperturbed: she has other fish to fry. During her exploration of the upper floors, she encounters a childhood friend and schoolmate, Meacan, now Meacan Barlow. Meacan’s father had been “one of the most respected gardeners in England.” He became close to Cecily’s father, a generous philosophical man, when he and his family lived on the Goodrick estate.

So it was that while their fathers sketched parterres and debated the placement of trees, Cecily and Meacan became first classmates, then friends.

Why is Cecily here, wonders Meacan. When Cecily speaks of Sir Barnaby’s comprehensive “repository of dried specimens and botanical books,” Meacan, speaking as only as old friend of twenty-five years can, calls her out.

“So you are one of them.”



“Them?”



Meacan tucked her chin, narrowed her eyes, and pressed her lips together in a caricature of Sir Barnaby. “The collectors,” she intoned. “The noble scholars. Finding God’s Truth in the veins of leaves and scales of lizards and colors of shells. Arranging them all into little piles. Giving them names no one can remember.” She relaxed her expression, returned to the desk, and tapped a finger on a half-finished sketch. “Not that I resent it. You enthusiasts keep the poor artists employed.”



Cecily connected Meacan’s words to the pencil shavings and the paintbrush. “You’re an illustrator?”



“A sought-after illustrator,” said Meacan, with pride. “Currently in Sir Barnaby’s employ. He intends to publish another catalogue of his most wondrous wonders.”

Cecily is punctual for Sir Barnaby’s tour. He and his hapless curator, Walter Dinley, greet the guests—Humphrey Warbulton, Doctor Giles Inwood, Miss Alice Fordyce (a surprise attendee), and Martin Carlyle. Unusually, Sir Barnaby slips away from the tour before it ends. When the collectors go in search of him, they find him tumbled on the floor of his private sanctuary. Holding a knife in his hand, Walter Dinley confesses to murdering Sir Barnaby.

Cecily turned back to the room. Inwood had dropped to his knees beside Sir Barnaby. She watched his fingers move with practiced assurance from the fallen man’s wrist to his lips. The physician’s shoulders slumped. She knew before he spoke that Sir Barnaby Mayne was dead.

Dinley flees and the collective opinion is that he’s guilty. Does Lady Cecily Kay agree? Not necessarily and she employs the scientific method to investigate every possibility, particularly, who will inherit Sir Barnaby’s esteemed collection? Cecily, an 18th century Sherlock Holmes, has a Doctor Watson in the person of Meacan Farlow. To paraphrase, the ladies get the job done, with the assistance of a shadowy figure, Signore Covo. Covo is a trusted intermediary between collectors and those who want to sell their treasures. The London of 1703 makes a dank, dangerous, and exciting backdrop to Cecily and Meacan’s inquiries. The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne is the first of a new series. Brava Elsa Hart.

Postscript: If you visit the British Museum in London (virtually these days), you will witness how one man’s passion for collecting sparked a reverence for scientific knowledge. Sir Hans Sloane is famous for “bequeathing his collection of 71,000 items to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library and the Natural History Museum, London,” Wikipedia.

Thank you NetGalley and St, Martin's Press for this advance copy in return for my honest review. I feel that I should have liked this book a whole lot more than I did. The plot is pretty good, a private collector of museum type pieces back in the early 1700's is found murdered and his assistant quickly admits to killing him and then runs away and disappears before he could be captured. See, pretty good. We have two ladies who are involved in trying to find the real killer and a whole host of possible murderers. Again, pretty good. But for some reason it does not click for me. The ladies knew each other years ago, and their rediscovered friendship just fall flat for me. I think the book is well written but there are two many red herrings, and it just was not an easy read for me. When the number of pages remaining in a chapter is more important to me that the plot, well that is a problem. Probably a 2.5 stars at most but I rounded it up to a 3 for a really good plot.

I adored this author’s Li Du series (start with Jade Dragon Mountain and prepare to be lost for several days), so when I noticed that she had moved from early 18th century China to early 18th century London for her latest, I couldn’t wait to see how that transition worked.

The fascinating thing about moving from Li Du to Cecily Kay and her former school friend Meacan Barlow is how strangely the two settings resemble each other. Li Du’s China in the early 18th century was a closed world – at least to the West. And Li Du is an outsider, an exiled imperial librarian on his way out of his own country.

The world of the scholarly, acquisitive, obsessive collectors of early 18th century London is just as much of a closed world, albeit in a completely different way. The collectors are a closed society, restricting membership, keeping all of their secrets locked up in their beautiful but often hidden presentation cabinets.

And Cecily and Meacan are also both outsiders to this world, which is exclusively male. They are both barely tolerated interlopers who exist on the fringes of this expensive and exclusive preserve.

Just like so many who are treated as outsiders in the worlds they inhabit, Cecily and Meacan are both keen observers of the situation in which they find themselves. They are ignored but intimate inhabitants of a world they are not believed to truly understand.

But of course they do. And frequently better than the men who are considered to be its prime movers and leading lights. Because they have no vested interest in maintaining the status quo – quite the reverse – they see situations and people with much clearer vision than the supposed cognoscenti.

And what they see is a confessed killer whose confession makes no sense whatsoever, and an investigation that is determined to pin the death of Barnaby Mayne on the most convenient suspect rather than seek out the real murderer – who must be one of the wealthy and influential collectors themselves.

A killer who is content to have the official investigation look elsewhere – but unwilling to countenance two amateurs poking their noses into his crimes.

Escape Rating A+: The world of the collectors was absolutely fascinating, just by itself. For context, this was the time period when the infamous Elgin Marbles were essentially looted from Athens and shanghaied to England.

While Lord Elgin’s looting of the Parthenon was on rather a grand scale, the society of collectors, of whom the late (and fictional) Barnaby Mayne was one of the leading lights, did the same thing, not quite on the same scale, all over the world.

Those that were capable went on their own expeditions of acquisition – or theft if you prefer – while others sponsored, basically, treasure hunters and tomb robbers to commit their thievery for them.

The entire concept manages to be both the start of the great museums we have today and utterly appalling at the same time.

As fascinated as I was by the setting for this story, it was Cecily and Meacan who really captured my attention and held it to the end. The way that their minds worked, and the way that they worked together to solve the murder, felt like it ripped the veil off of the usual portrayal of women of this period – a time period which borders on the Regency. Because in this story we see both how the men of this closed society – and the men of officialdom – see these two women and are able to contrast that with how they perceive themselves and the world around them..

On the one hand, they often play the roles that the world expects them to play. They are quiet and decorous and studying subjects considered fit for ladies – if barely. While on the other hand they see a great deal, know even more, and are caught in the position where they have to pretend to be one thing while secretly being another.

And while earning a living in Meacan’s case or maintaining a fragile independence in Cecily’s. They inhabit their era in a subversive way that allows us to see ourselves in them – and rail at the limitations they face.

The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne manages to be both an atmospheric and immersive piece of historical fiction, every bit as meticulously detailed as the labels on Barnaby Mayne’s cabinets, while also giving us two marvelously drawn female protagonists in Cecily and Meacan. All wrapped around an intricately twisted mystery that holds the reader’s attention to the very end.

Imagine playing a live game of clue in 1703 at the grand estate with one of the foremost curiosity collectors in the world, and you’ll conjure up something akin to The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, a light but smart and utterly delightful drawing room mystery.

In terms of theme and setting, Hart gives us everything we want out of a book of this genre, complete with mysterious figures lurking about, a campy but sharp murder investigation led by two plucky women, and a crumbly old estate filled with all things de rigueur in the Age of Collecting, from rare plant and animal specimens to valuable gems to objets d’art to exotic taxidermy.

The story is fun, the characters charming, and the setting close to perfect. How about a sequel?

Thank you to Minotaur Books for an arc in exchange for a review. However, I bought the audible on my own. It was not provided by the publisher. This posted across all platforms on 8/11, including Edelweiss. Fully formatted version on Novellives.Com


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The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne By Elsa Hart

There are... rules to my review of The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne. I'm stating them upfront. Also, a disclaimer: to Elsa Hart, the author of The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne. These rules have nothing to do with you or this lovely novel. It is all about me and those, if any, that follow this website regularly.

First, I WILL NOT BE JUDGED. Do you think I can't hear all of your snickering and side-eyeing? I am very well aware that Elsa Hart's Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne is not a twisted psychological thriller or even a thriller/suspense procedural. I KNOW.

The second rule comes with a story. I know how much everyone loves stories.
This story does not involve mom.

It includes the lovely, if not utterly confused, publicists, at Minotaur Books. After The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne showed up in my mailbox, and I'd uncrossed my eyes, I settled down with it. After reading it, my shock and awe were palpable. I have never read a novel like The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, but I knew I adored it.

It was obviously a mystery, but was it a Cozy Mystery? No. I don't think so. Is there such a thing as Historical Thriller Mysteries? I wasn't sure. And for some unknown reason, I didn't look it up online. Instead, I asked Minotaur. And while they have every right to judge me. You need to refer to rule number one, which applies to everything from me loving Elsa Hart's latest book, to this story, and the review.

Minotaur kindly explained that indeed, it is a Historical Mystery/Detective novel. Yes, I believe they are still talking to me. While we are at it, I'll add this here because truer words have never been spoken.

What is rule number two? This genre is entirely new and foreign to me, and as such, I ask that everyone bear with me. I will give you the summary. If anyone notices any fundamental basics, structures, etc... that are not labeled or spoken of correctly, please let me know. I definitely would like to learn what I need to expand my knowledge of the genre.

Also, it is most definitely not intentional. This is also why I am providing the summary. I want to make sure that in my newbie status, I provide everything needed in a review.
**Summary Provided in Full Review on Website***
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Elsa Hart- Atmospheric Who Done It

There isn't any place more atmospheric than 18th Century London, is there? Elsa Hart plays it up to the tilt. Within the home of Sir Barnaby, the grand home, you often felt like the walls could close in on you. There was this feeling that the extensive collection of unique objects, from around the world were watching characters as they moved. It provided a foreboding sense that clicked with a murder mystery and the unknown that followed.

As characters moved about and into London, there was a perfect vibe of gloominess and a tangible presence of danger. Hart utilized every part of the time period and drew out the creepiness of objects within Sir Barnaby's collection to create an additional character. One that crept right out of the pages as both formidable and perilous.
Also, funny. There are quite a few quirky and deadpanned sarcastic pieces of dialogue through The Cabinets of Sir Barnaby Mayne. Elsa Hart nails them perfectly without losing the tone she works to build throughout the story.

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Cabinets Of Barnaby Mayne: Someone Get Me A Blender

I don't know how else to do this. So, please take this with a grain or a thousand grains of salt. And, also remember that the summary is above. Plus, none of what I'm about to mention is set in 18th Century London. Hence, the section above this one. You need to add that into the blender, too. Lastly, no judging.
Here's how I see The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne boiling down (Lord help me, I hope Elsa Hart happens to take this is as a compliment or has a sense of humor).

1. Take Knives Out

o Exchange the detective for two intelligent, capable, fearless women sleuths that go poking their noses in where no one wants it. Namely, the world of eccentric, male-dominated, competitive collectors that borderline obsessive and even dangerous at times. Well, I mean, uh murder?


2. Add The Golden Girls episode The Case of The Libertine Bell

o Of course, not staged and not that goofy. BUT competent, intelligent women sleuths unite!

3. Throw in Clue

o Quirky cast going to dinner, then there is a murder.
 THIS CAST- Christ on a crouton. I don't even know. They are as colorful, deceptive, and harboring more stories than O'Henry.
Elsa Hart brings them to life effortlessly. And that is not easily done with such a large assortment of individuals in need of backstories, timelines, and secrets that could or could not be of interest.

o Except, take out all the campy. While it is funny, it is not this campy. Not even close. It is clever and funny to the tune of Knives Out.

4. Then add-in the Fraiser episode of Ham Radio.

o Speaking of which, I also bought the audible of The cabinets of Barnaby Mayne. I went back and forth with the book. That is what made me think of the Fraiser episode. There aren't any sound effects, of course.

However, the narrator is fantastic, and it does have the feel of one those old-time (Like back before TVs existed) mystery radio shows.

 Again, the narrator of the audible is incredible, and Ham Radio, of course, has Niles in a pickle. But parody is the best form of flattery.
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Non-Spoiler Hot Takes/End/Wrap-Up

1. I love how the ending is set-up structurally. This is not a spoiler. It has the old-time feel of the guilty party spilling the tea on his dastardly plan.

2. Also, the ending leads me to believe this will be a series. AND I HOPE IT IS. I want more of these two lovely ladies solving more mysteries, together!

3. No romance or ambiguity. Two old-time friends are rebuilding an old friendship and solving a murder.

4. Seriously? Read the book.

The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne reads like a classic Agatha Christie novel. Set in London in 1703, the plot of the book centers around the murder of Barnaby Maybe, a wealthy collector who's house is filled with all sorts of curiosity. He has animal skulls, gemstones, feathers, shells, plant samples, butterflies etc. One night, while giving a tour of his collection to a number of guests, Barnaby winds up stabbed to death in his study. One of the guests immediately confesses to the crime. Mystery solved, right? Wrong.

Lady Cecily Kay, who was working on cataloging Mayne's plant collection, believes that there is more to Mayne's death than there seems. With the help of her childhood friend Meacan, Cecily unwinds the mystery of Mayne's death and what's in his locked cabinets.

Overall, I enjoyed this read although it had a slow start for me. But, my interest increased at around 25% through the book and I found it harder to put down. I liked the classic feel of the story and I could totally picture Barnaby Mayne's house...wood paneling, taxidermy animals scattered about and hanging on the walls, shelves loaded with stuff. The book was definitely atmospheric. I also liked that the lead investigators were two smart females who bucked the norms of their time.

<b>What to listen to while reading...</b>
Open Spaces by Jonny Greenwood
The World Spins by Julee Cruise
Mystery Man by Terje Rypdal
Not in Blood, But in Bond by Hans Zimmer
Music Box by Philip Glass
Beautiful Crime by Tamer

The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne is a period murder mystery by Elsa Hart. Released 4th Aug 2020 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 352 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

This is an extremely well written and entertaining historical murder mystery set in the early years of the 18th century. The protagonist is an intelligent, determined, and logical amateur sleuth who has a deep and abiding sense of justice and wants to see the truth revealed about the murder of a renowned collector of ephemera.

The disparate plot threads intertwine more closely as the book progresses until they merge about 3/4ths of the way through. The beginning of the book was slow for me because of the necessary framework-building and background setup. It more than repaid my diligence for sticking with it. The world building and settings along with the interactions and societal background are all on point and well rendered. One of the biggest standouts for me with this book was the expert way the author managed to explore perception. Motivation from one character's perspective which seems perfectly logical to -them- may not appear so to characters from other classes or backgrounds and the author's ability to highlight both viewpoints was exemplary. The dialogue is well rendered and pitch perfect (and will be fairly archaic and formal to readers who prefer more modern mysteries).

The clues are found and sifted and the denouement is satisfying and well written. The ending of the book strongly suggests that this is the first book in a series. I'm looking forward to more adventures for Cecily and Meacan.

Four stars. Very well done.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

It was basically a small group of eccentric people who began the collections of museums. It is a closed society and this historical mystery is a good way to glimpse the closed society. Its also a look at a couple of off-beat detectives, an illustrator turned spy, Meacan Barlow and her friend, Cecily, a plant collector. Mayne, who keeps his collection behind locked doors has been murdered and Meacan and Cecily must find out who did it. I was somewhat apprehensive when I saw two women taking such an active role in a time when women weren’t allowed into these societies, but the story is well done and they move through the world they are not meant to be a part of with intelligence.

Set in not so merry old England, the year is 1703 and the curtain of the story opens on a group of British collectors. Collectors of what you might ask – everything and anything that might be considered out of the ordinary, one of a kind, “rarities of art and nature”. Amazing sums of money were spent, much like a gambler’s addiction to the desire to win – collecting was considered a “serious pursuit.”

Lady Cecily Kay, after upstaging her diplomat husband, has been shipped home to London from Smyrna and has landed on the doorstep of the great collector, Barnaby Mayne. She has arrived for a tour of Sir Barnaby’s rooms with bundles of pressed plants which she is studying. She quickly encounters a childhood friend and, in a fashion, reminiscent of Agatha Christie, death and pandemonium are about to take over the premises. To borrow a few words, “the pathways …warped by distractions and obfuscations” meander while these women trip over a myriad of uncouth and dangerous thugs until they eventually untangle the mystery.

While the wording was a little heavy handed it evoked the period and further while not a fast page turner it was a very satisfying bit of writing. Collection = preservation = immortality. Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books / St. Martin’s Press for a copy

I am a reading fiend. I can read book upon book upon book upon book. Summer holidays usually offers the opportunity where I make up for the lack of time I had during the work year. But this year was different. You would think that with a quarantine one would have more time to do what one loves. For me, this was not the case. I’ve been finding it really difficult to concentrate on reading for long periods of time. Short Stories? No problem. Poetry? Easy. But novels, no. And I’ve been crestfallen because of it. Luckily I was given an advanced copy of Elsa Hart’s The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne, and my reading drought has thus been ended.
I started reading this novel one early evening after dinner, and I was pretty my all the way through before the sun rose the next day. I could not put it down!
What magic did Elsa Hart conjure to break me of this stifled reading curse? First off, an intriguing setting London 1703 where most of the action is centred around the home of a “collector”l Barnaby Mayne who is in possession of THE most extensive collection of wonders. This collection includes everything from skeletons of exotic animals from across the world, to strange fish preserved in chemicals, to gemstones, and rare flower and much much more. Secondly, memorable characters. Our protagonist, Lady Cecily Kay, has come from Smyrna to access Baraby Maynes “plant room” in an attempt to identify the various plants she collected in her travels. There is also an assortment of other characters who live within Sir Barnaby’s walls, all of whom have a different interest in his collection. Unfortunately, upon her first night, the house Cecily’s host is murdered, but why? The man who confesses to the crime cannot possibly be capable of the atrocity? Or can he?
This novel is a wonderful murder mystery that keeps the reader captive with each secret revealed. And thirdly, I loved, loved, loved, the plot. The portrayal of the female characters, both Cecily and the character Meacan are smart and independent and interesting. I also really appreciated the fact that they were older and therefore approached situations with the wisdom and foresight that comes with age and experience instead of “learning as they go”.
I was also charmed by this novel because a couple of summers ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Dublin. While there, I explored the museum that housed an extensive collection of all sorts of wonders. This book reminded me of that visit and how entranced I was with all the wonders that I saw.
The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne went on sale yesterday! Buy it! You'll love it! Plus its a sure-fire remedy to the frustrating curse of a reading drought.

I really enjoyed this historical mystery set in London in 1703. Sir Barnaby Mayne is found dead in his study during a tour of his collections. Mayne is famous for his collections. His whole house is taken up with them and he bought the house next door and connected it to his first house in order to provide space for his growing collections of curiosities. I love this aspect of the story. It is different and interesting. I enjoyed reading about the understanding of science and, in some aspects, religion at the time and people's fascination with the unknown, exotic, and unusual.

The choice to center the mystery around cabinets of curiosities meant fascinating characters, conflicts, and motives. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy for review.

Having read Elsa Hart’s Jade Dragon Mountain, the first of her Li Du series set in China, I jumped at the chance to request The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne. Opening in a 1703 London coffee house during Queen Anne’s reign, the historical mystery first introduces us to a rival, Simon Babington. Babington is angry that Sir Barnaby Mayne, a renown collector of curiosities, has recently purchased a book Babington coveted. What’s more, Babington is convinced Mayne did so for no reason other than knowing Babington had set his heart on buying the book. When Babington’s confidante, Italian coffee house owner Signore Covo, suggests Babington might ask Mayne to borrow the book, Babington replies, “And take my place among the toadying supplicants begging for access to his cabinets? It would please him too much. No, Covo, What I want is revenge.”

Babington’s planned revenge is appropriate for the crime, not murder as Covo suspects, but a plan to find out what Mayne sets his heart on when a recently deceased collector’s lifetime accumulation of rarities is auctioned in Sweden. Babington persuades Covo to find out exactly what Mayne desires.

The scene shifts to Sir Barnaby Mayne’s London home as people arrive to tour the many rooms packed with tables, shelves, and cabinets housing Mayne’s swords, coins, rocks, plants, insects, feathers, eggs, pelts, horns, claws, bones, skeletons, rare stuffed birds, and various specimens such as fish and reptiles preserved in bottles—all labeled, categorized, displayed and open to select admirers. Among the visitors are a Swede come to study the serpents, the wife of the consul to Smyrna come with her collection of rare dried plants to compare to Barnaby’s collection in hopes of identifying her own, a young woman visiting her nearby aunt, a man wanting to break into the gentry by collecting and cultivating the favor of the highly esteemed collectors, and Barnaby’s old physician friend.

As elderly Sir Barnaby Mayne begins the tour, other occupants of the house include a young woman recently hired to illustrate items for a new catalog of Sir Barnaby’s collection, Sir Barnaby’s curator, and several servants. Well into the tour, Sir Barnaby receives a message that he says he must immediately answer. His curator briefly tries to continue the tour but soon exits with one of the visitors who cut her hand on a shell. The other visitors scatter to peruse the collections on their own. When dinner is ready and the host is nowhere to be found, three of the guests discover his body in the study, one of the characters standing over him holding a bloody knife and confessing to the murder but then fleeing the scene.

The book has barely begun. Did the confessor kill Sir Barnaby Mayne? What clues are waiting to be found? Why did two of the characters leave the house unexpectedly before the body was discovered in the study? Who can and cannot be trusted? And how will Simon Babington and Signore Covo come into the story now that Sir Barnaby is dead and Babington no longer able to take his planned revenge? The author leaves readers guessing until the end and looking forward to a sequel.

The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne is a charming historical mystery packed with period detail and multiple suspects. Elsa Hart transports readers into a peculiar 1700s collectors' world few knew existed and into a mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie or Arthur Conan Doyle. While reading the first few chapters, have a pen and pencil at hand to keep track of the characters.

Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books/St. Martins Press, and Elsa Hart for the advance reader copy. Having read Jade Dragon Mountain, I need to backtrack to Hart’s other Li Du novels as I await this one’s sequel.

The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart is an intriguing historical novel that takes a reader back to London in 1703. It is a time when people were intrigued by science and curious to learn more. Rare items were highly prized by collectors. The author created a rich atmosphere with her word imagery. Her descriptions allow readers to imagine Sir Barnaby Mayne’s crowded house. It is filled with his vast collections that are meticulously maintained. I could imagine the cabinets filled with their items of wonder. There are a variety of characters present at the Mayne household when the murder is committed. Any one of them could have committed the deed. Cecily Kay and Meacan Barlow are the two female sleuths. They are intelligent ladies who pick up key details and have a knack for sleuthing. The mystery reminds me of the classic mysteries (Sir Author Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie). It plays out slowly as the two women search for the truth. There are multiple suspects all with motive for doing away with Sir Barnaby Mayne. There are good plot twists with a classic reveal at the end. All those pesky questions that plague us while reading are answered at the end (who, how, and why). It depends on how many mysteries you have read on whether you solve this one before the reveal or not. The language in the book is formal which was how people talked during that time-period. The Cabinets of Barnaby is a good book, but I had trouble getting into it. It is a slow starter and failed to hold my attention. Those readers, though, who enjoy classic whodunits will find themselves riveted while reading this historical mystery.