I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this a really interesting mystery and the characters are quite engaging. it kept me guessing until the end. I highly recommend.

I absolutely love this series. In fact, I love it so much that it's an automatic 4 stars, but this one I'll give 5. I've been reading this series right along and this one ranks up there as the most satisfyingly and compelling of them all thus far.

So much to love about this one; Mr. Beckler is still around and this time he's attempting to produce spirit photographs and is successful when he captures one during a portrait session for a young woman from a wealthy family. Mina's suspicions are aroused further when it's revealed that Mr. Beckler has been taking photos of the gravesites of prominent people in the community, showing the ghostly occupant clearly standing next to their grave. Despite her reluctance to encounter the creepy Mr. Beckler and the brash Arthur Wallace Hope (who we've met in previous books and has vowed to silence her skepticism) Mina mounts a covert investigation to learn the truth.


I've always been fascinated by the subject of ghosts and Spiritualism and the obviously well researched story line kept me glued to the book, watching Mina wade through the mire until she finds the truth. I loved all of the twists and turns in this one, and really enjoyed watching Mina (with brother Richard's help) re-enact some situations that occurred and how she uncovered the truth. The comeuppance received by one character very worthy of a comeuppance was so gratifying that I nearly clapped, made for such a gratifying ending that left me wanting more.

Another fantastic entry in the Mina Scarletti series and one I definitely recommend for people who enjoy solidly written historical fiction and ghost stories.

Mina Scarletti is involved in mysteries of the unexplained. She is reunited with previous characters in Mr Beckler who is involved in the new medium of photography and Mr Hope who is trying to ruin Mina’s reputation. When Mr Beckler appears to capture photos of dead people, including Mina’s father Mina is disbelieving and endeavours to solve this ghost mystery. Mina is a character you can relate to and route for. The mystery is very much of the Victorian era and even famous stories are referenced.

The Cyanide Ghost is the sixth book in the Mina Scarletti series - cosy historical mysteries which follow the character of Mina Scarletti in 19th century Bath. I have read 2 or 3 books in this series (not in the correct order) but you could read this as a standalone though there are occasional references to storylines in previous books. I really like the character of Mina and its good to have representation of characters with disabilities in historical novels however I have a few issues with this series.

Though the book is well written its also very, very slow and I confess I was quite bored in places and skimming some chapters. I also feel that the storyline is very similar and repetitive in each book. All the mysteries involve Mina investigating fake séances or mediums or something similar e.g. in this story she is investigating possibly fake spirit photography. I don't know if I will read any more books in the series but I do like the characters and the setting - I just wish the story was faster paced and more interesting.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

In Cyanide Ghost, we follow amateur detective Mina Scarletti as she tries to uncover the secrets behind a series of ‘ghost photographs’ taken by Mr Beckler, a local photographer, and promoted by her nemesis Mr Arthur Wallace Hope.

The novel combines Victorian spiritualism, mystery and a look at the developing world of photography, to give an exciting story which is part-Agatha Christie and part-Pride & Prejudice (Mrs Scarletti is so like Mrs Bennett and Mina has the smarts of Elizabeth!)

Although this is book 6 in the series and I haven’t read any of the others as yet, I didn’t feel lost at all as the author sets the scene, recaps on past adventures and reintroduces the characters and their relationships.

I particularly liked the sarcastic humour of the narrator’s commentary and the quirky side story with a hint of Dracula.

Cyanide Ghost is perfect for fans of a good, old-fashioned detective story!

Four stars for a intelligent procedural with an amateur detective who simply wants answers. Mina is an afluent woman of great intelligence and observational skills. A trait rarely used with most women. Cyanide Ghost is actually #6 in the series.It seems her unusual skills helped solve more than one suspicious event.
Written in a style that one thinks of as old timey, the book reads long. Very long. But, in the real world, evidence is gathered at a plodding determined pace. That is this book.
Mina is unmarried because her physical condition deems her unmarraigeable. I am hoping she will find love and happiness.
I will read more of this series

Spiritualism, photography, ghostly apparitions and clever scams are colliding in this charming and very witty addition to the Mina Scarletti Mystery Series. Once again Linda Startmann takes us to the beautiful city of Brighton and its surroundings where we follow the no-nonsense and very perky sleuth Mina Scarletti as she battles the evil shenanigans of her nemesis the loathsome Arthur Wallace Hope as he unscrupulously tries once again to destroy Mina's reputation while settling up an evil scam with the help of a rather weak photographer.....
A delightful and very well plotted novel teeming with well researched historical details, a very colorful cast of characters and perfect dialogues. A masterful portrait of early 1870s Victorian society worthy of Dickens.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sapere Books for the opportunity to read this wonderful novel prior to its release date

Mina Scarletti has a quite justifiable dislike and distrust of Mr Beckler based on their past history, and when he begins taking 'spirit photographs' (photographs that include ghosts), she is suspicious and investigates. But when there is an attempted murder and Mr Beckler's mentor and Mina's nemesis Mr Hope tries to pin it on Mina, she has more to investigate than mere ghosts. Will she find out the truth in time?

This is the second book of this series that I've read, and I hope it won't be the last. The books do refer to previous events but can be read as standalone stories without confusion. For those who either prefer to read books with ghosts in or avoid such books, it should be noted that there are no actual ghosts included - which is my preference! The writing is good, though perhaps of an older style, and the story is clean and well crafted. Strange though it may sound, I hope to see more of Mr Beckler in future books, because I found him an intriguing character. A good read.

Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.

Mina Scarletti is helping prepare for her brother Edward’s imminent wedding when she finds out Mr Beckler a man who previously courted her under false pretences is once more on the scene.

So I don't really know what I was expecting! But I'm being honest here! This book just wasn't for me!
I tried to get into it.... I just couldn't! I will say this it has potential. But the characters just lagged some.

Brighton 1872. While having portraits taken of the family by photographer Beckler, because of Edward Scarletti's forthcoming marriage, one photograph shows the ghost of the late Mr Scarletti. Now Beckler is informing various residents of Brighton of his photographing their dead relations. Then an inhabitant of Brighton has an attempt on their life.
Unfortunately for Mina, her nemesis, influential spiritualist, Arthur Wallace Hope has returned to Brighton. What mischief can he cause. What will Mina discover in her investigation of these ghostly photographs.
Another entertaining and well-written historical mystery story in this series, with iits likeable main character. A good addition to the series.

I have had a bad bought of luck recently with picking books that are just not for me. The writing in this book is very well done, but the 3rd person omniscient POV is not a style I enjoy reading.

Good luck to the author!

*This eARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for an advance copy of The Cyanide Ghost, the sixth novel to feature debunker of the supernatural Mina Scarletti, set in Brighton in 1872.

Photographer Mr Beckler, a man Mina has had run-ins with before, has opened a shop in Brighton and is claiming to be able to photograph spirits. Mina’s brother, Richard, works for Beckler and she is astonished, on taking a look, that her dead father appears in one of the recently taken family photographs. She soon realises that some of the dead appearing in Beckler’s pictures have died in mysterious circumstances.

I enjoyed The Cyanide Ghost, which, as ever, is a clever tale of malfeasance in the popular Victorian preoccupation with spiritualism. I always like Mina’s efforts at debunking the charlatans and greedy who prey on the gullible, or maybe not gullible but rather hopeful. It is easy from our modern point of view to dismiss spiritualism as some kind of con, which it often was, but with the advances in technology and industrialisation it was seen as another form of science, one that could offer relief to the bereaved. It’s well done with the author creating an authentic atmosphere. Mina, however, is having none of it and spends time investigating how Beckler does it. I’ll be honest and admit to skim reading the technicalities which I cannot attempt to understand and didn’t enlighten her. I was much more interested in the information she received from her contacts and interviewees and the questions she asks. That held my interest throughout.

As I have said, the plot revolves around the ghost photos but the solution turns up so much more with old and new crimes being resolved. It is clever the way one thing seems to become more completely naturally.

Mina is a determined protagonist, who despite being disabled with scoliosis, has a wide circle of friends she can call on for information and help. Her fertile mind can link the disparate facts gleaned from them into a credible narrative. Her feud with spiritualism is ongoing and the return of an old foe to Brighton sees things take a nasty turn.

The Cyanide Ghost is a good read that I can recommend.