I love a great cozy mystery and this one did not disappoint. The Pickwick Murders was full of intriguing characters and plot twists and turns that kept the pages flying. What a wonderful cozy mystery. I really enjoyed it and recommend it.

"The Pickwick Murders" by Heather Redmond is a historical mystery set in 1836 London, weaving together the intrigue of an exclusive club, a gruesome murder, and the impending release of Charles Dickens's first book. While the premise is promising, the execution leaves room for improvement.

The novel follows Charles Dickens, who stumbles upon the corpse of Samuel Pickwick, the president of the Lightning Club, during his initiation. The story takes a twist when Charles finds himself wrongfully accused and imprisoned. The burden of proving his innocence falls on his fiancée, Kate, who receives cryptic poison pen letters and must solve a series of riddles to uncover the real killer.

Redmond's choice of setting in Victorian London adds a layer of atmospheric charm to the narrative. The historical details and references to Charles Dickens's life provide an interesting backdrop for mystery enthusiasts and fans of the time period.

The plot, however, falls short in maintaining a consistently engaging pace. While the initial setup is intriguing, the narrative occasionally loses momentum, making it challenging for readers to stay fully invested. The resolution of the mystery feels rushed, and certain plot twists lack the impact that could have elevated the suspense.

The character of Kate, tasked with unraveling the mystery, is a resilient and determined protagonist. Redmond succeeds in capturing the societal constraints of the time and the challenges Kate faces as a woman taking on an investigative role. However, some supporting characters lack depth, and their motivations remain underexplored.

The incorporation of riddles and anonymous letters adds an interesting layer to the mystery, but the execution of these elements could have been more intricate and nuanced. The suspenseful elements of the story occasionally give way to predictability, reducing the impact of the final revelations.

In conclusion, "The Pickwick Murders" offers a decent historical mystery with an engaging premise. While the book has its strengths, such as the atmospheric setting and the portrayal of societal norms, it falls short in maintaining a consistently gripping narrative. Fans of historical mysteries with a penchant for the Victorian era may find elements to enjoy, but the execution leaves room for improvement in delivering a truly compelling and suspenseful read.

The Pickwick Murders
by Heather Redmond
Pub Date 26 Oct 2021
Kensington Books,Kensington
Historical Fiction| Mystery & Thrillers


Kensington Books and Netgalley provided me with a copy of The Pickwick Murders for review:


In January 1836, Charles receives an invitation to join the Lightning Club just weeks before the release of his first book. When he stumbles upon the corpse of Samuel Pickwick, the club's president, his initiation in a basement maze takes a wicked turn. Charles is locked up in notorious Newgate Prison with the victim's blood literally on his hands.
 
Kate must now save her framed fiancé from the hangman's noose. She must unravel a labyrinthine mystery by solving a series of baffling riddles sent to her in anonymous poison pen letters. She must keep her wits about her to catch the real killer-before time runs out and Charles Dickens meets his end...


I give The Pickwick Murders five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

This was was a bit of a miss for me.

I am sure it will find its right audience.

I would have liked to have seen a bit faster pacing through the story. Also, the mystery was bit choppy at time.

I did love the atmosphere and the idea behind it is great!

I will not leave a review on goodreads since this book missed the mark for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading it the plot was interesting and the characters made me want to know more about them. I highly recommend.

An okay read, a little slow at times. I might have enjoyed it a little more had I read the previous books in the series.
I liked the idea of the reimagining of the Pickwick Papers

I tried to read this numerous times. Unfortunately, I did not realize this was a series. I tried to read the first of the series and continued to struggle. I managed about 40% before I had to give up. I liked the atmosphere and idea but for whatever reason it was not clicking for me. (Will not review on GR as I DNFed.)

Rated on the actual writing and atmosphere.

Fans of Dickens and, in particular, of his Pickwick Club Papers would find this story interesting... or not.
Another installment in A Dickens of A Crime series takes part around this famous Pickwick Club (Lightning Club) and a murder... of a very prominent club member.
Charles is happy and proud of the invitation to join famous Lightning Club and is going to the initiation... only to find a body among the labyrinth he supposed to go through to join said club... Not surprisingly, Charles is arrested and it is left to his fiancé Kate to get him out of the noose.
A story is full of puzzles and twists. It is set in gloomy dark London where it always smog or rain. It is full of intricate historical and Dickensian details and... it is a murder mystery after all.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Love the cover. A great Victorian mystery novel. Great weekend read.

DNF. The sinopsis sounded good but the writing wasn't.
No terminado. La verdad que fue complicado seguirlo, pensé que no entendía mucho por el inglés pero después de ver comentarios similares llego a la conclusión de que no era solo yo...

DNF

It's hard for me to believe that there are 4 books in this series by this author.

The writing style is really what got me. It's so choppy and all over the place that I had a hard time following and understanding what was happening in the book.

I was very excited to read this historical mystery involving Charles Dickens!
The Pickwick Murder's is the fourth book in the 'A Dickens of a Crime' series. I am yet to read the first 3 books in this series, so that may have impacted my reading and following the story; however, I still enjoyed the book!

Young Charles Dickens is thrown in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit. His fiancé, Kate, has to solve the crime and clear his name before the release of his first book! The concept seemed very thrilling to me!

However, the book did not deliver as I expected it to. It's a very slow paced book, and the mystery makes it difficult to follow along. I did like the use of riddles, and overall thought it was a pleasant read!

I loved the use of Dickens' Pickwick Papers and how it was used in this modern story. The characters were well done and I couldn't put this book down.

This book started well, with the right amount of intrigue that captivated me. My interest waned when the letters came on the scene. It felt like I was going around in circles. One word comes to mind with these letters tedious. This book started good but lost momentum in the middle.

The Pickwick Murders by @hiestandheather

🔍Genre
Historical Cozy Mystery

🔒My description
When Charles ends up in Newgate, framed by an enemy for a murder he didn't commit, Kate is sent on a wild chase, following literary clues and threats until she, Julie, and Fred take things into their own hands to free Charles.

📚Excerpt
.Charles's head felt a bit dim the next morning, the possible consequence of too much cigar smoke and rum punch at the Epiphany party. It had been a jolly night however, and unlike the previous year, no one had died.

🕵️Favorite part
I loved seeing both Kate and Julie be more involved in the investigation.

😬One word description
Grim

🤔How it made you feel
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

📚Would you recommend?
This series gets better with each entry, although I would suggest starting with book 1 because while each case stands alone, there are lots of references here to past cases and relationships that may make it hard to follow otherwise.

While this is a series on the cozier side, I appreciate that Redmond gives a glimpse of what life is like in prison during these times (Which feels eerily relevant to today). I also like that she has taken some poetic license with Dickens' life (although I did read a little of the background and see that Kate and Charles are not destined to be together for the long haul). Fans of cozy and historical mysteries will find a lot to like here, as will fans of classic and British literature.

Charles Dickens' first book is about to be published and he was invited to an exclusive club, The Lightning Club, which has many well-known, prestigious members. Charles is excited to become a member by easily getting through a maze they created. Unfortunately, he finds the club president's dead body in the the maze and is put in jail for murder.
Kate, his fiancée, goes about trying to clear his name. Soon she starts getting strange letters with riddles that she has to solve within 24 hours to save Charles. I felt that this could have been a story in itself and it took away from clearing Charles' name.
I liked the book but it was very confusing at times and I lost interest in some areas. This is the 4th book in a series and I didn't read the first 3 so maybe that contributed. I did enjoy the details keeping Charles Dickens’ life and career in line with the real man's life and also the details of London's setting at that time.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Interesting historical mystery involving Charles Dickens!
I didn't read the first 3 books in this series, so they may have hurt me a bit with following everything in this one but I enjoyed it!

Young Charles Dickens is thrown in prison for a crime he says he didn't commit and his fiancé Kate has to solve the crime and clear his name before the release of his first book.

There's a mystery and a secondary mystery which kind of slowed the pace a bit. There isn't a ton of action in here, but I feel like the red herrings and riddles Kate receives and has to work through make the plot interesting.

DNF @50%

I really wanted to love this one. I mean, the cover is beautiful, and the plot sounded intriguing. Alas, it just wasn't working for me. I found it SO slow and boring. I finally had to throw in the towel at 50%. They all can't be 5 star reads, right?

**ARC Via NetGalley**

Well now that was different. Charles Dickens is the main character instead of the author. He is a journalist that is excited to be inducted into a club only to find a dead body and be arrested. From that point on there is really 2 storylines. One story follows Charles and what is happening in jail. The other story is following Kate, Charles's fiance. She is working with her family and friends to find out what really happened.
I admit I have not read other books in the series. But I felt this was a pretty good story as a standalone. I liked the old vintage feel of the story. It feels like some of the old books I find in estate sales. Can you imagine wearing all those layers yet nothing stops the wet and cold?

Written like a fan fiction, this was a crafty telling of a whodunit using famous historical figures. I loved the insertion of names of certain characters. I enjoyed the pace of the book as well as amount of reality added.

Thank you #NetGalley and Kensington for giving me the opportunity to read this.