I'm struggling with this book. The writing is quite dense and I'm struggling to connect with it. I don't DNF lightly but I'm trying not to push through on books that will take me weeks to read and I'll end up giving poor ratings. I absolutely appreciate the opportunity but this book is just not for me. I am not publishing this review publicly. I hope you will still consider me for future reads.

Rating below is only because Netgalley requires a star rating.

"The Nightingale Affair" combines historical fiction with a dual timeline thriller, promising a blend of intrigue set against the backdrop of notable historical figures. I was initially intrigued by the premise—especially with Florence Nightingale and Charles Dickens making cameos, which added a fun twist. The novel merges dual timelines, weaving historical intrigue reminiscent to Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I initially struggled to get into this one or connect with the characters. This is definitely a slow burn that requires patience to see how the story unfolds. With time, the story and character details slowly unravel. Read this if you enjoy historical mysteries, dual timelines, Sherlock Holmes stories, unraveling puzzles, and slow burns.

This was a slow burn for me, but once I got into it I couldn't put it down. I love a good historical murder mystery and this one definitely kept me guessing. I loved how the killer came back years later making Field second guess everything he thought he knew from the first batch of murders. How his family is brought into the story had me fearful of their outcomes. It's wonderful how the author mixed fact with fiction to execute this gripping novel.

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Do I give up yet another genre? Historical mysteries just aren't feeding me the same way. I found Inspector Charles Field (a misnomer—he no longer works for the police force) drab and unfeeling. His wife brought nothing to the plot. Neither did his various fans and followers.

I find Florence Nightingale a truly fascinating political figure at a turning point in women's rights. The author somehow made her boring. If you read about this time period, you will recognize a cast of characters that exists in history. While it usually excites me to pick a name out of a crowd, it does not do so here.

By the time we make it to the killer, who we follow from the Crimean Peninsula to modern-day London, it is too little, too late. I found myself skimming the majority of this book, which is a shame, as I used to enjoy this genre very much.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books

In this twisty Victorian detective thriller from the author of The Darwin Affair, Inspector Charles Field hunts a serial killer with a sinister signature targeting Florence Nightingale’s nurses in Crimea and women in London.

I struggled to get into this one. I was intrigued by the historical fiction aspect of the story, but I found myself having a difficult time connecting with the characters and the story. I do normally enjoy historical fiction, but perhaps, not set in this time. I do recommend this to readers that enjoy historical fiction reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this ARC of The Nightingale Affair in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @algonquinbooks for the gifted copy of The Nightingale Affair by Tim Mason. This is the second book in the series, but can be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed this historical fiction mystery. It was well written and engaging. I love appearances of historical characters in fiction books where they aren’t a central character. This is a great detective fiction that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The characters were well formed and they all tied in together.

When a young woman turns up dead with a signature material in her mouth of a rose, Detective Charles Field is stumped because this is a pattern of a killer from 12 years ago. This killer was thought to be dead and was attacking nurses attached to Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War. He must find the killer before more women are killed.

The Nightingale Affair is a historical fiction book set in 1860s London based on both real and fictional characters. Its a quick and fun read with some interesting history added in! It was interesting to learn about Charles Field and the other characters! The balance of fiction and nonfiction was done well and it was really fun learning more about Florence Nightingale; she is definitely a person to admire! I'm looking forward to reading more about Charles Fields and it will be interesting to see where the next book takes us and the new characters to come!

I jumped into this book not realizing it was the second in a series, though I had no problems situating myself in the world and the characters. I went into it hoping for a Sherlock Holmes style mystery, and it did not disappoint. There's a grim darkness to the story, but it's also one with hope and humor. The appearance of historical figures like Florence Nightingale, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins, and John Stuart Mills, among others, adds to the setting, and you can tell the writer has done their research. It was a fun read, though at times I wished I could get closer to the characters and for the plot's pacing to match the urgency of the serial killer case.

Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Algonquin for my advance electronic version via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

In 1855 Inspector Field of London is called to the war in the Crimea. Florence Nightingale and her corps of nurses is waging a war of her own against ignorance, filth, and laziness that are stalking and killing the wounded just as much as the enemy is. But Nightingale's nurses are faced with the additional threat of a serial stalker who is picking them off one by one. Field is there to find and stop the serial killer, and he finally does. But over a decade later when Field is a Private Investigator back in London, the bodies of women start piling up in a way that is eerily similar to the killer of the Crimea. Did Field get it wrong the first time? Or is this a twisted copycat? And can Field find the killer before he targets those who Field holds most dear?

This is a perfect dual timeline historical fiction thriller with an imperfect protagonist. He did the best that he could, though, even if we may judge him through omniscient, modern eyes. The historical detail from England of the 1850's and 60's is rich, incorporating many real-life historical individuals. The narrative is steeped in the culture and mores of the time, including the very real stratification of a fixed-class society. I enjoyed following the story's twists and turns as much as its originality.

Trigger Warning: violence, gender-based violence, murder, discrimination

The Nightingale Affair by Tim Mason is about private Inspector Daily, he at one time worked for Scotland Yard but due to things beyond his control he no longer does. When he is task with following in MP‘s wife due to an extra marital affair on his third time spying on the young wife and her lover he isn’t prepared for her to enter moments before her lover and watch him quickly run out soon after. Being curious inspector daily goes to investigate and finds the adulterous dead with a peculiar cloth in her mouth. It is something he seen years ago during the Crimean war when someone was after the Nightingale nurses but he find it highly coincidental that while on this case he should see it again. My only regret with this book is that I didn’t read the first one not that you have to but the author has such a simple but elegant writing style the book is well researched and daily his wife and their adopted children are really great characters there’s so much in the sport I couldn’t do it justice by giving a brief summary just now it’s his adopted son Tommy’s first day as a policeman and they’re having riots the timeline is linear in the story is awesome we even get it see Florence nightingale as a scared shut in and in her youth fighting for cleanliness for her soldiers. There was a lot of goodness to the book and I absolutely loved it and I will not miss the next one should there be another. If you love historical fiction that is well researched and historically accurate you will definitely love the nightingale affair by Tim Mason I certainly did. I want to thank Algonquin Books for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A detective thriller set in the Victorian era with Florence Nightingale and her nurses as main characters, both during the Crimean War and in London? Yes, please. I'm so glad I read The Nightingale Affair, a suspenseful historical mystery by Tim Mason. I loved how the author incorporated settings in Crimea, Turkey and 19th century London, as well as topics such as the rights of women and more men to vote, antisemitism and standards of nursing in war. With a mix of real characters such as Charles Dickens, Benjamin Disraeli and John Stuart Mill, in addition to Florence Nightingale and fictional ones such as the loveable Inspector Field, the Nightingale Affair is captivating, informative and entertaining. Recommended. Looking forward to reading Mason’s first historical mystery with Inspector Field, The Darwin Affair, as well. Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for an eARC. #TheNightingaleAffair #TimMason

Anyone who enjoys historical mysteries that reference real life people will want to give this title a look. It is the second mystery by the author following on The Darwin Affair.

This time the historical personage reference is to Florence Nightingale and the time is the mid 1880s. How will the doings in the Crimea and a serial killer from that time figure into the story? Is this beast killing again or is this a red herring? Is the crime, a murder, personal or political? It will be up to Inspector Charles Field to figure out this complex and serpentine situation. This is something that he does most competently in a story that was given a starred review by Publishers Weekly. I concur.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for this title and the blog tour invite.

The first book in this series dragged for me due to a slower plot and flat characters. However, the story had potential so I was hopeful that we'd see more development here. Unfortunately, I think this series simply isn't for me despite a premise that's right up my alley. The characters are kind of tedious and fusty, which might be an accurate representation perhaps, but it didn't hook me in. It's set in Victorian times but I was hoping they'd develop some depth in line with the Sherlock Holmes stories or Dickens' novels. They sadly didn't and the flatness of their personalities eventually left me bored which wasn't helped by the slow plot progression. The murder mystery itself was interesting, but it wasn't enough to outweigh the characters for me. If you don't mind a slower burn plot, aren't bothered by the fusty characters, and/or enjoy historical mysteries then you may like this one.


A huge thank you to the author and the publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This is the second book in a series, but having read it and then learned it was book 2, I can confidently say that you will be fine without the first book. This is a murder mystery running in parallel timelines: a serial killer targets nurses during the Crimean War, and appears to be active again in London a few decades later. I found the mystery engaging, and it wasn’t quickly apparent who the murderer was, with multiple viable suspects. At times the number of plotlines and potential suspects bordered on too many threads for one book, but Mason successfully tied up all those loose ends by the conclusion of the novel. The sexist attitude of the doctors towards the nurses was frustrating, but not to an extent that it overpowered the plot.

A solid historical mystery novel. Different from my typical historical mystery preferences, with a male detective and a setting I know nothing about, but I enjoyed the trip out of my comfort zone.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into this book. I loved the premise, but it didn’t work for me. I skimmed through it. I know others will love it though!

A historical mystery novel that shows great potential while bringing a a killer connected to Florence Nightingale's nurses to the front. The alternative narration becomes both a boon and bane as it holds attention but also lags in a particular section. However, the overall delivery lands quite well in a subterranean London with rich historical details.

4.5 stars

The Nightingale Affair follows former police inspector Field as he tries to figure out who is trying to harm Florence Nightingale and her nurses. This story takes place both during the Crimean war in 1855, as well as in London in 1867. Field was sent to Crimea to figure out who was murdering women and leaving a rose near them during the war, and how it connected to Nightingale nurses, and while he thinks he figured out the murder back then, it appears that either someone else was involved all those years ago and is back at it or they have a copycat killer.

Things get very messy for Field both in the past investigation and in the current one but for very different reasons. In 1855 Crimea it is because of a lack of help from the doctors and those around the nurses that Field needed information from, and in present-day it is because no one really seems to know the person he is looking for, it's almost like he is a ghost in some ways.

Along the way we meet Field's family and learn about them, how he met his wife, and the close connection that they still have with Ms. Nightingale all these years later. As the investigation heats up and Field get's closer and closer to who he thinks the killer is, things start to get messy and with little time to spare he must figure out all of the clues before something terrible happens to someone he cares about.

Overall this book was well-researched when it came to the history parts and I enjoyed seeing how Field tried to figure out who the killer was both in 1855 and in 1867. He used different methods along the way and had help from people he knew and those that he met while investigating. I'd love to read another book following Field in the future to see what murder he can solve next.

Tim Mason involves Detective Inspector Charles Field in the case of a serial killer who is murdering nurses in Scutari during the Crimean War in The Nightingale Affair. The killer is thought to have committed suicide and then Florence Nightingale is threatened in London by the same murderer and other women are murdered. Charles Field no longer with the police is asked to investigate for Miss Nightingale, but he fears for his wife who had survived an attack in Crimea. Fast moving tale with a villain who has multiple disguises.

Charles Field no longer works for the Metropolitan Police. He left the Met to become a private enquiry agent. Someone is killing women in London in the same manner in which nurses were killed in Scutari during the Crimean War. Field was sent by the Home Secretary to find out who was killing Florence Nightingale's nurses. It was a rather twisty plot but the author spent a lot of time demonstrating how much research was done to write the book. I found it boring as a result.

I found this book to be lacking in atmosphere and the grittiness that I like in mysteries. I just found all of the characters to be a bit dull. Not my cup of tea, but I might be in the minority with my opinion!