This is the second book I have read from this series and I was impressed by how Martin Edward's has continued to build the readers' knowledge of the main characters including the lead protagonist, the enigmatic Rachel Savernake. In this story, we meet Nell Fagan, a journalist looking to restore her reputation and therefore desperate for a good story, who is investigating two separate disappearances from the mysterious Blackstone Lodge which occurred centuries apart. The story is mainly set in Yorkshire with a terrifying landscape of marshes and deadly waters. Nell's attempt to persuade Rachel and her friend Jacob Flint to assist her is initially unsuccessful, leading to deadly consequences. The eventual solution is complex but very satisfying. Martin Edwards plants clues that the reader can follow so they have a fair chance of finding the right solutions - a device that was popular in the golden age of crime when this story is set. This is a must for fans of Agatha Christie, John Bude and other golden age authors.

Reporter Nell Fagan isn’t exactly down on her luck, but a good scoop would definitely put her back in control of her career after a combination of her own indiscretions and the influence of wealthy recluse Rachel Savernake put her on the outs with the editors of Fleet Street. As such, she’s staying under an assumed identity in the rather grim Yorkshire town of Blackstone Fell, as she explains to her younger colleague Jacob Flint while on a short jaunt back home to London:

QUOTE
“So you’ve never traipsed around Blackstone Fell?”

“Am I missing much?”

She ticked items off on stubby fingers. “An abandoned cave dwelling, a dangerous stretch of river, a sinister tower, an asylum on the moors, and deadly marshland. Not to mention a history of mysterious vanishings from a Jacobean gatehouse.”

“Blimey, I’ll catch the next train. Remind me, where exactly is Blackstone Fell?”

“Ten miles from where the Brontës hung out. Makes Wuthering Heights look like Blackpool beach.”
END QUOTE

She’s taken lodgings in that same gatehouse where, a decade prior as well as three hundred years before then, two men disappeared separately but in similarly mysterious circumstances. When her own life is threatened during the course of her investigations, she determines to invoke Rachel’s formidable brain once more. Never mind that their last interaction ended poorly: she’s sure that Rachel won’t be able to resist looking into the locked room vanishings. She only needs Jacob, whom she knows to be friendly with Rachel’s unconventional household, to put in a good word for her.

Jacob is reluctant to go to bat for a woman whose relationship with the truth is often slippery at best, but he does know that Rachel would be interested in the historical mystery. Besides, Nell is happy to sweeten the pot with a coveted invitation to an exclusive seance. Her ailing Aunt Eunice has a private audience with renowned medium Ottilie Curle, and Nell can get Jacob into the same room. Jacob’s editor at the <i>Clarion</i> is on a crusade against spiritualists and the like, deriding them as con artists. A scoop like this would very much help Jacob’s career. But as he witnesses the performance Ottilie gives, he can’t help but feel a twinge of misgiving:

QUOTE
Jacob hated the idea of giving an unscrupulous medium any credit whatsoever, but you didn’t have to be a True Believer to admire Ottilie Curle’s professionalism. She’d prepared thoroughly, and so far, her performance had left nothing to chance. Her methods reminded him of a line from a poem by Browning. <i>Less is more</i>. [...] A plain cook she might be, but despite her determination to eschew fancy garnishes and seasoning, Ottilie Curle served up an appetizing dish. How could he deny to the <i>Clarion</i>’s readers that Eunice Bell was getting her money’s worth? You only needed to look at the poor deluded woman’s eyes, unnaturally bright even in the gloom, to see that she was in a state of ecstasy.
END QUOTE

With Nell holding up her end of the bargain, Jacob gets her an audience with Rachel, who asks only that Nell be completely honest with her. Nell, of course, has trouble doing exactly that. While Rachel swiftly dismisses the other woman, she can’t help but be intrigued by the facts Nell has imparted about Blackstone Fell, and soon enough arranges to travel north herself. But the historical murders aren’t the only deaths befalling those living in this lonely place. Will Rachel be able to figure out who’s behind the growing body count before she becomes the next victim?

There was a surprising amount of murder in this classic mystery set in the 1930s, bringing a definitely modern edge to this otherwise impeccable pastiche of the genre’s Golden Age. While this is the third installment of the Rachel Savernake series, it reads well as a standalone, and only whets the appetite for new readers to go back and enjoy the first two books in the series as well. I really appreciated too the inclusion of the Cluefinder at the end, where Martin Edwards points out the clues in the narrative that led to his clever conclusion. It’s a fun addition that helps readers see what they might have missed while otherwise enjoying this thrilling tale of suspense and seances in the early 1900s.

Nell Fagan’s body is found crushed by a rock fall near Blackstone Fell. Is it an accident or a murder masquerading as an accident? Undoubtedly a case for Rachel Savernake—a reclusive, brilliant, eccentric, ultra-wealthy sleuth with a reputation for solving enigmatic puzzles. She and her three trusted companions rent a cottage in the village, on the pretext of studying local folklore, and they are all set to play their parts.

Nell, a disgraced investigative journalist, was looking into two unexplained disappearances from Blackstone Lodge—one in 1606 and one in 1914. She was also seeking information for a man, recently murdered, whose mother died a suspicious death in the sanatorium, owned by the wealthy Sambrook family. Why is Denzil Sambrook gradually buying up the village? How did the odious old Reverend Doyle attract the beautiful young Judith into marriage? Why did young Dr. Carrodus, whose diagnosis for every ailment known to man is ‘bed rest’, buy a practice in the middle of nowhere? And how does the disappearance of two men three hundred years apart and a famous medium fit into it all?

In the third Rachel Savernake Golden Age Mystery, it’s easy to soak up the atmospheric character of Blackstone Fell—an eerie village of shadows and secrets, surrounded by misty moors, marshland and bogs, underwater caverns, caves and unstable rock overhangs. Amongst a number of believably idiosyncratic characters, barmaid Dilys is a chatty charmer who fills in backstory as deftly as she draws pints.

This is a page-turning dark drama full of murder, secrecy, adultery and a compelling locked-room mystery. The novel has Sherlockian reminiscences in its lead character, and her enigmatic backstory is definitely worth investigating. The author’s note includes a ‘cluefinder’, a device used during the between-wars Golden Age of murder.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc copy of this book.

The moment I saw this book, I knew I needed to have it. I live for drama and suspense and this book was all for it.

I was nervous when I realised it was the third book, but glad it could be read as a standalone.

Loved it!

I really wanted to love it. I just felt the characters were really one dimensional. I kept hoping the life would come into the book, but it never did.

Brilliant concept and I loved the plot but the characters really bought the whole thing down for me,

2.5 stars

The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is my first time reading a Rachel Savernake novel though I have read many other books from Martin Edwards in the past. The world of this book is 1930s England, with action essentially split between London and a small village of Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire. We are first introduced to Nell Fagan, a woman who is somewhat desperately trying to find a great story to get back in the good graces of a good London newspaper. She is on the trail of a hoped for story in that small village, looking into historic and modern disappearances as well as questions about a local sanatorium. When she realizes the extent of her possible case, she decides to consult Rachel Savernake and request assistance, but she makes a critical error: she isn’t fully honest as Rachel requires and is dismissed.

Nell returns to Yorkshire to continue her investigation alone, and with difficulty. Meanwhile Rachel enlists some associates to look into the matters that Nell had mentioned. She appears somewhat sorry at having dismissed her so summarily. While Rachel seems drawn as something of a cipher, Nell, Rachel’s friends and associates have more individuality and character, as do many of the suspects and secondary characters. The plot itself is complex but not overly so. It’s very much of the Golden Age in which it is set, where waiting for enlightenment is probably as good as guessing “who done it.” Believe me, everything is answered in the end.

Now I must read the earlier books in this series.

Recommended for mystery lovers, especially Golden Age and Agatha Christie.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book. This review is my own.

I love a good complex mystery, and The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is just that. Set in the 1930's this mystery has lots of clues to explore. The feel of the book was engrossing and gives a bit more of a thrill than a cozy. The locations and events were perfect for a locked room type mystery. While our main character Rachel is the lead, this is really a group effort in mystery solving. The story plot format was well done and I loved the way the ending reveal was presented. This is the third book in entertaining Rachel Savernake series.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

EXCERPT: 'And this is such a remarkable puzzle. The first occasion in particular. Think of it! A man is witnessed entering a building and locks the door behind him. When the door is opened, there was no sign of him inside.' Nell paused. 'Edmund Mellor vanished from this very spot!' With a melodramatic gesture, she indicated their surroundings.
It was getting dark outside, and although the fire burned brightly, Judith Royle's face was in shadow. 'I'm sure there was some perfectly straightforward explanation.'
'I want to discover it,' Nell said. 'This story will make a wonderful feature. It might even stretch to a book. Especially if it was a criminal case. If Edmund Mellor was murdered.'

ABOUT 'THE PUZZLE OF BLACKSTONE LODGE': 1930: Nell Fagan is looking for a second chance at a career in investigative journalism and the call of Blackstone Fell’s sanatorium is irresistible.

In 1606, a man vanished from a locked gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it happened again. Nell confides in the best sleuth she knows, Rachel Savernake.

Looking for answers, Rachel travels to lonely Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, with its eerie moor and sinister tower. With help from her friend Jacob Flint – who's determined to expose a fraudulent clairvoyant – Rachel will risk her life to bring an end to the disappearances at Blackstone Fell where people go in, but never come out.

MY THOUGHTS: I read the 4th book in this series, Sepulchre Street, before this, the 3rd, and I can unequivocally state that I much preferred this to the later book. The mystery in The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is far more engaging and enjoyable, the writing tighter, the characters more interesting. They include a medium, a Doctor of Philosophy, a psychiatrist, a fire-and-brimstone preaching rector and his very attractive wife, a charming village doctor, and a recluse, amongst others. The locals are pure Yorkshire - short on talk and far more interested in their pints and darts than any supposed goings on.

The setting is magnificent. Who can resist an isolated sanitorium in the Yorkshire wilds? A house where people enter, but never come out? A crumbling tower inhabited by a taciturn recluse? A dangerous landscape populated by bogs and chasms? A place where anything may happen, where deaths are easily put down to accidents?

The plotting is complex and the suspense palpable. There's no shortage of secrets to be uncovered, and motives are muddied by a succession of well-placed red herrings. The denouement surprised me. I do like to be surprised. It was clever and perfectly feasible, although I think the explanation was a little long-winded.

There is a clue finder at the end of the book, listing the various clues that pointed to the outcome, and where they occurred in the story.

A very enjoyable Golden Age mystery.

Although this is a series, each book contains a complete mystery and may be read as a stand-alone.

My favourite quote: 'Justice and the law are different beasts. Laws are two a penny, justice is rare.'

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#puzzleofblackstonelodge #NetGalley

I: @medwardsbooks @poisonedpenpress

X:@MartinEdwarsBooks @PPPress

THE AUTHOR: Martin Edwards has written sixteen contemporary whodunits, including The Coffin Trail, which was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Prize for best crime novel of the year. His genre study The Golden Age of Murder won the Edgar, Agatha, H.R.F. Keating and Macavity awards, while The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books has been nominated for two awards in the UK and three in the US. Editor of 38 anthologies, he has also won the CWA Short Story Dagger and the CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and been nominated for an Anthony, the CWA Dagger in the Library, the CWA John Creasey Memorial Dagger, and a CWA Gold Dagger. He is President of the Detection Club and Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, and Archivist of both organisations. He has received the Red Herring award for services to the CWA, and the Poirot award for his outstanding contribution to the crime genre.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge by Martin Edwards for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

With a golden-age mystery plot, The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is sure to bring readers fond memories of Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr. However, I’m not sure about how fair play this mystery was despite the listing of specific sentences shown in the back of the book as the relevant clues. A few sentences among thousands are a tough row to hoe for armchair detectives. But that may just be sour grapes on my part since I failed to solve at least one of the four mysteries found in the book.

Despite what I said in the previous paragraph, I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge. It has eerie manors, dangerous fells, ghostly seances, and even a sinister sanatorium. Rachel is an intensely brilliant amateur detective as well as being intensely unlikable. Still, many of the most memorable fictional detectives share her penchant for grandiose behavior.

If you like golden age mysteries or perceive yourself as an armchair detective, don’t miss this excellent modern version. 4 stars!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge by Martin Edwards from Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press in order to read and give an honest review.

“...Reminiscent of classic crime novels ala Agatha Christie and in ‘Golden Age’ fashion Martin Edwards has crafted a well-written, clever, suspenseful mystery that is intriguing and highly entertaining.”

The third entry in Martin Edward’s Rachel Savernake Series we open with Nell Fagan, a disgraced journalist looking for redemption after being touched by a scandal in a previous book. Set in Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, Nell has moved into her new apartment “Blackstone Lodge” in a tower with a mysterious past. The legend is that two men mysteriously disappear years apart from behind the locked door sparking tales ranging from foul play to spirits. Also on Nell’s radar is the Blackstone Fell’s Sanatorium where a distraught son enlists her help when he is forbidden to see his mother who is a resident.

Realizing she is over her head Nell enlists the help of Rachel Savernake with whom her history has been someone contemptuous. Although she holds back information Rachel is aware, she is nonetheless intrigued by the case and starts an investigation of her own with a select few in her corner.

With a dynamic plot involving mysterious disappearances, a string of unexplained deaths at the sanatorium which, appear to be death by natural causes, threatening letters, a fraudulent psychic preying on the distraught, just to share a few, all on the backdrop of the broody, menacing atmosphere of the Yorkshire Moors.

Reminiscent of classic crime novels ala Agatha Christie and in ‘Golden Age’ fashion Martin Edwards has crafted a well-written, clever, suspenseful mystery that is intriguing and highly entertaining. Although it had a plethora of characters and the plot, although a little slow to develop, was filled with twists and suspenseful turns, I just could not put it down. A must read for those who enjoy ‘Golden Age’ mysteries from a modern voice. I loved it and would highly recommend it. Just a mention that I absolutely loved the Clue list in the back although I stumbled across most of them myself, there were a couple I missed.

I will confess, Mystery is one of my top favourite genres. Therefore me loving this book was kind of a given. I was attracted to this book not only by its gorgeous cover but also by its name and description. All I can say is that the author has done a really good job with the book. I won't say that I didn't see all the twists coming but the story was still engaging and fun to read. I really loved the aesthetics of the book, especially the mystery shrouded around the setting. The characters were fun to explore as well. Although I would have preferred the story to be a little fast paced but that could just be me. All in all, this was a lovely book and I enjoyed reading it very much.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Martin Edwards for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge coming out August 1, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It’s 1930 and Nell Fagan needs a jump start to her career in investigative journalism. Finding out the mystery of Blackstone Fell's sanatorium is irresistible.

In 1606, a man disappeared after being locked in a gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it occurs again. Nell confides in the best sleuth, Rachel Savernake.

Rachel travels to lonely Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, with its eerie moor and creepy tower. She seeks the help of her friend Jacob Flint – who's determined to expose a fraudulent clairvoyant. Rachel will risk her life to find answers and bring an end to the disappearances at Blackstone Fell.

I didn’t realize this was the third book in a series, so I definitely need to read the first two books. I really enjoyed the fast paced dialogue of the book! It was definitely my favorite aspect of the writing. I thought the mystery of the disappearances was good. It definitely felt like an Agatha Christie novel. I would’ve liked to see more of Blackstone Lodge as a character or a presence, but that’s just a personal preference.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Agatha Christie style mysteries!

A Golden Age locked-room mystery that is layered with complex characters and a murderous plot. Not to mention the menacing grounds of Blackstone Fell itself complete with creepy sanitarium.

In 1606 a man disappeared inside a locked gatehouse at Blackstone Lodge. 300 years later it happened again. Nell Fagan, an investigative reporter, sets off to solve the puzzle of Blackstone Lodge and the odd happenings of the town and its sanitarium. But when Nell realizes someone would kill to stop her from discovering its secrets, she enlists the help of amateur sleuth, Rachael Savernack. Presented with the opportunity to solve these seemingly impossible cases, Rachel travels to Blackstone Fell to solve the puzzle and put an end to the mysterious disappearances.

This is the 3rd novel in the Rachel Savernack series but the first one I've read. It can absolutely be read as a standalone, and I really enjoyed this book overall. There are many characters in this book to keep track of, but as you read and get to know each of them, it becomes effortless to distinguish between their different personalities and motives. Rachel is extremely smart, fearless, sometimes indifferent, but I love that she is like a puzzle herself. She peels back the layers of the puzzle little by little toying with readers just like she does with the other characters.

I will say it took me a while to get into the flow of this book. The dialect, long chapters, and many characters were somewhat difficult to follow at first, but as the plot picked up pace, I didn't want to stop reading. The last 100 pages of this book were excellent, and the reveals were even more sinister and shocking than I thought. 4 stars for this novel and 5 stars for the beautiful cover!

Fans of Golden Age murder mysteries, Agatha Christie, and Sherlock Holmes will thoroughly enjoy reading this intricate puzzle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC.

1930: Nell Fagan is looking for a second chance at a career in investigative journalism and the call of Blackstone Fell's sanatorium is irresistible. In 1606, a man vanished from a locked gatehouse in a remote Yorkshire village, and 300 years later, it happened again. Nell confides in the best sleuth she knows, Rachel Savernake Looking for answers, Rachel travels to lonely Blackstone Fell in Yorkshire, with its eerie moor and sinister tower. With help from her friend Jacob Flint – who's determined to expose a fraudulent clairvoyant – Rachel will risk her life to bring an end to the disappearances at Blackstone Fell where people go in, but never come out. This is the third book in the Rachel Savernake series. I hadn't read the first 2 books but this one can definitely act as a standalone. The book had a lot of characters to keep track of and Rachel reveals the solutions to what turn out to be more than one mystery. The addition of a ‘cluefinder’ at the end of the book is a feature during the so-called ‘Golden Age’ of detective fiction. There are twists that kept me glued to the book until the very end. If you like Golden Age Mysteries then you will love this book.

The next Rachel Savernake mystery has the detective investigating mysterious happenings at Blackstone Fell. She is alerted to the case by Nell Fagan, an investigative journalist.

I hadn’t read the previous books in this series, so I don’t know if it’s the norm, but it took a while to actually get to the detective. I think it took me out of the mystery a bit. I think though that those more familiar with this series will enjoy this one!

“𝑻𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒖𝒛𝒛𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕. 𝑰𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔. 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅-𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔. 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒍.”

Martin Edwards, known to me as an editor for the British Library’s Crime Classics anthologies, has created an homage to the amateur detective in Rachel Savernake in this third book of a series.

Although I haven’t read the first two books, I didn’t have too much trouble following the connections between many of the characters; Edwards does a good job at explaining links and previous cases without giving away too much of the other stories. The plot is packed with a mystery of a locked room tower where two men vanished without a trace three hundred years apart, present day murders linked to a sanatorium, and an attempted exposure of a medium as a fraud. Edwards’ characters are overall well written. Rachel, Jacob, Cliff, Martha and Hetty remind me a bit of Miss Fisher and her mates who help her solve crimes, and I loved their friendships. Rachel herself is a bit of an enigma and I didn’t like her much at first; I think maybe reading the first two books would’ve helped. There is a lot of dialogue, which works in places, but it also means a lot of repetition as characters go over things that the reader already knows. The mysteries are a bit convoluted at times, however all the seemingly unrelated pieces come together well, with a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I immensely enjoyed the final séance which adds a ton of theatricality to a classic “unveiling the murderer” scene, and the ‘cluefinder’ at the end which helps the reader see how Edwards laid out clues throughout the book.

The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge is a story of disappearances, hiding from the past, village curses, risktaking and justice. I definitely would like to read the other books in the series. Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

The Puzzle of Blackstone Lodge by Martin Edwards is the epitome of a Golden Age mystery jam packed with atmosphere set in 1930s Yorkshire. It is the third in the Rachel Savernake series. There are snippets of Gothic and supernatural elements and loads of quirky characters from journalists to the vicar's wife. Small village suspicion and mentality add to reading joy.

Journalist Nell can't resist the call of the Blackstone Fells in Yorkshire where mysteries abound from the past and the present. In 1606 an inexplicable disappearance occurred which was repeated hundreds of years later. Her snooping attracts unwanted attention. Rachel Savernake is a middle-aged wealthy woman with a thirst for adventure...and murder, especially to combat her boredom. As an amateur sleuth aided by journalist Jacob, she is smack-dab in the middle of it things and must practically become a contortionist to escape. Though the mystery itself is brilliant, the Yorkshire moors location snatched my heart. I love when the setting plays an important role.

Those who enjoy closed-room Golden Age whodunits ought to gravitate to this series. Martin Edwards is one of my auto-read authors for his sharp cleverness, special way with words, historical detail and nod to this fantastic era. Love the special treat at the end, too.

My sincere thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this delightful novel.

“Her arrival in Blackstone Fell had panicked someone into attempted murder. But she’d lived to tell the tale.”

If you are looking for a complex puzzle to solve then read this story. If you are intrigued by stories about sanatoriums, seansces, dangerous characters with many secrets then you should definitely read this story.

I can say this was a very interesting story with many mysterious involving characters that kept my interest till the end. It was atmospheric with gothic vibes that I really liked! I recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this book!

Cozy mystery, gothic setting, female detective - I was all-in to give this book a try! If you like a mystery in a creepy setting, or one with a complex solve, you might really enjoy.

Unfortunately I’m just left without too much to say about this one. The mystery itself, I felt, was a bit convoluted and was pretty heavily reliant on conjecture. I also didn’t love the characters 🫣 I usually enjoy a cozy mystery, largely because there’s typically a character set that’s endearing and that you want to see succeed. That just wasn’t the case here for me, and it did further take away from the experience. I did find out that it was the third in a series - I didn’t feel like I missed out on backstory or anything, but maybe I would have been a little more connected if I read others first? Ultimately, though, I don’t think so - the characterizations and motivations just don’t do it for me.

It was a “fine” read for me - I finished it so I could rate the ARC appropriately, but honestly I knew it wasn’t going to be my thing relatively early on. Ah well. Onward!

A clever whodunnit! Reminiscent of "Golden Age" detective novels, this is immersive and atmospheric with gothic vibes, including an isolated sanatorium, mediums, seances, poisoned pen letters, and a dangerous landscape. I love a good locked-room mystery with a large suspect pool of vividly depicted characters with secret motives and plenty of red herrings, and this delivers! I have not read the previous books in this series, and this works fine as a stand-alone, but I will go back and read the first two. I was intrigued by Rachel, the complex, flawed, and brilliant amateur detective, and enjoyed this book's intricate plotting and overall style. It has a nostalgic feel, complete with a denouement where everyone is gathered for the big reveal of the culprit and a clue finder at the end to tell you where clues were planted along the way. Despite having been really into this book, I did miss some clues, so it was fun to go back and have them pointed out to me! I really enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to review this ARC.