Lately I have been reading several of the British Library Crime Classics, reissues of golden-age mysteries from the 1920s and later. Martin Edwards writes most (if not all) of the introductions, and one can tell he really appreciates the style and substance of those novels from the past.

So I was keen to read “Mortmain Hall”, the second book in a series set in the 1930s, in which Mr. Edwards takes his turn at writing a classic mystery.

The story starts dramatically, with the protagonist, young beautiful wealthy amateur sleuth Rachel Savernake, trying to prevent a murder on London’s Necropolis Railway (yes, that was a real thing). Meanwhile, we also get protagonist #2, even younger eager reporter Jacob Flint, covering a sensational murder trial at which the accused gets reprieved by a last-minute surprise witness. At the trial Jacob meets Mrs Leonore Dobell, another amateur detective who’s interested in people who have gotten away with murder, who asks Jacob to pass a message on to Rachel.

And those are the basics. The plot moves between these three characters as well as many others, through the seedy underbelly of London’s private clubs, through several additional murders and close calls, through government intrigue, until finally all of the characters are gathered at Mortmain Hall, the country estate of Mrs. Dobell, where a couple of additional murders lead to the final confrontation and discovery.

For the most part I enjoyed this story, although I wish I had read the first book to fully understand the history of the relationship between Rachel and Jacob, as well as the background stories of Rachel and her father, also her loyal servants. The plot is complex and the action moves all over the place, including some murders in the past. I guess I was also expecting most of the action to take place in the titular country mansion, such as many of the golden-age mysteries seem to do, but unfortunately very little time is actually spent at Mortmain Hall. But overall a fun read, I look forward to the next chapter in the series.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

I usually like stories from the Golden Age of Mysteries but this one was soooo long and drawn out. I didn't want to skip parts in case I missed something but eventually I did. The ending was sudden and didn't make sense and after having invested all that time reading the book I expected a better payoff. It's not that this was a bad story....it just wasn't a really good one. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

It was a good mystery thriller but it was extremely long! . The story was dragging at points. The writing style was confusing, the feeling depicted were not easy to interpret. Extremely long for a mystery, disappointed with it.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

A little all over the place, but interesting nonetheless.

I received a copy from Netgalley in return for an honest review. It was my first Netgalley book. I felt both delighted and daunted. After reading it, I felt disappointed.
The best part of the book was the blurb/back cover synopsis. The book did not live up to its expectations.
It was a Golden Age style mystery (complete with the scene at the end where the detective gathers all the suspects in one room and explains exactly what happened, who did it, and why). There was also a clue index at the back, which would have been a fun touch, had it not been so necessary! The ending seemed to come out of nowhere. The "clues" could hardly be called such, and the solution was a real stretch. There was no tension or sense of urgency, and the characters felt flat. I didn't feel invested in either their wellbeing or success.
I also learned, after, that this was the second in a series. I feel like even if I had read the first, it wouldn't have helped to elleveate the problems I had with this one.
Perhaps I was just not the target audience? For me, this was a miss.

London 1930—reclusive criminologist Rachel Savernake is back to investigate a collection of seemingly unrelated murders. In each instance there is a question of whether the individual found guilty is murder the actual murderer, or did someone get away with the perfect crime.

I was blown away by this book! The plot is intricate, atmospheric, and filled with characters who keep you guessing. The narrative alternates between the viewpoint of Rachel and that of Jacob Flint, a crime reporter who has had occasion to help—and be helped—by Rachel (Gallow’s Court, also by Martin Edwards, introduces the characters). Jacob is an engaging character, if a bit more naïve then you would expect. Rachel is a fantastic character with secrets that make you want to keep reading—just to figure out what is going on with her.

Edwards fills the story with striking period detail and intriguing historical features. His backdrops are perfect for a mystery with roots deep in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Beginning with a ride on the Necropolis Railway, through the louche clubs of London’s Soho, and finally to a grand manor house in Yorkshire.
This is a fascinating and very satisfying read; one that I highly recommend.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

In comparison with the first instalment of the series, I thought this was a bit of a mess. There was too much going on, and far too many characters. It had its moments; I enjoyed Jacob's escape from the attic room for example, but mainly it was confusing and not terribly logical. The death toll was high, especially towards the end, but there had been so many characters to keep on top of that there were still plenty left.

Disappointing in comparison the "Gallows Court", but nicely written with touches of humour.

Mortmain Hall has multiple threads and multiple characters. The threads are tied together at the end, but the narrative is disjointed, skipping around from one seemingly unconnected crime to another.

The characters have little depth, which is not atypical in Golden Age Detective novels, but usually there is something likable about the main characters and a hint of more in their personalities. Rachel remains distant, aloof, detached from the other characters (with the exception of the Truemans) and undisturbed by the many deaths.

The events are often disconnected, and only at the end are the links all untangled. There are hints, some obvious, others subtle, but still a stretch of the imagination.

Despite Martin Edward's love of the time period and the novels of the Golden Age, neither book was as entertaining as I had hoped.

NetGalley/Poisoned Pen Press
Detective/Crime. April 2, 2020.

Mortmain Hall

When a renowned criminologist and author brings together four separate murder suspects who she believes have each gotten away with “the perfect murder”, you’d expect things to become interesting. What you get, however, is a book that is ⅔ focused on relating the stories of each of these people - the background of how they came to be collected under the roof of the dreary and all but abandoned Mortmain Hall. The remaining ⅓ of the book details the events at the Hall. These events pay off in the form of murder, suspicion, and intrigue. All along the way, crime-obsessed Rachel Savernake, journalist Jacob Flint, and Rachel’s collection of servants-come-friends guide an investigation into a collection of crimes that couldn’t possibly be related - until it becomes obvious that they are, and that there’s more to come.

The book begins with an Epilogue, which I initially thought would be strange, but it sets the story up from the beginning, and I immediately wanted to know more. I’ve not yet read anything from author Martin Edwards, and noticing this was the second book in an apparent series, had some apprehension about whether I’d feel lost as a reader. Within the first few pages, however, the attention to detail and description was so well done that I could see the railway and detective Rachel staking out her POI, and felt comfortable that I would be able to immerse myself, even if I’d missed some things from the first book. As I delved further and was introduced to the character Jacob, a newspaper writer, I realized I was indeed missing some things that had likely come before, but this didn’t put me off as I continued reading, too interested to find out how everything would come together. At this point I will mention that I did indeed begin to wonder, around Chapter 6, how and when exactly everything would come together, as the true story hadn’t seemed to have started yet. This waiting for the story to actually start continued for quite some time. I don’t think things really came together until after Chapter 20 or so. The beginning just seemed to work too hard to build quite a lot of connections and interrelated characters, which honestly could have been done A LOT quicker. The end brings everything together beautifully, but it took some work to get there.

The writing is descriptive to begin with, but then seems almost procedural through the middle of the book - again, this could stem from the desire to cram too much background and connection-building into the book. As I was reading I encountered a few instances of wording issues, where word choice in general was weird and took away from the flow of reading, or where the sentence structure was a little odd. These instances were few enough that I didn’t mind, overall. On occasion I was left wondering just exactly when this story is supposed to take place, getting mixed messages as I read. One point in the later chapters solves this with a nearly specific year, but I still felt my time/place references to be muddled.

The characters are an interesting bunch. I spent the majority of the book being told how horrible and distant a person Rachel is, but didn’t actually see that play out in any real way. She was rather detached from those around her, discounting her servants, but she wasn’t really fleshed out enough to present anything other than the picture of an amateur detective of means with secrets of her own. She didn’t seem to mind using people to her own ends, a trait the author shares when it comes to his characters. Jacob Flint, Reggie Vickers, and even Leonora Dobell and her motley collection of murderers are introduced, used to some degree, and then discarded/picked back up without any real development of character, but rather as means to an end. As it appears Rachel and Jacob could be sticking around for more adventures, developing them further and giving readers a reason to connect to them would be beneficial.

As a reader, I am beyond a fan of British crime and mystery novels. They are among my favorites to read, especially historical ones, which I originally took this book to be. It doesn’t quite fit that mold, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. It was a pretty good read, although it takes quite a long time to really get going, and often becomes disjointed from attempts to accomplish too much. I would definitely recommend reading the first book before picking this one up, however, since I feel you’d have a better understanding of several of the characters. The ending leaves room for another installment, and I enjoyed this enough to give another book a chance.

Overall, a solid 4 stars