Review: Madame Chalamet series (books 1-2-3)

The Madame Chalamet series is a paranormal, fantasy, gaslamp, historical mystery series set in the fictional place of late 19th century-early 20th century Alenbonne (which sounds a lot like France).

Madame Elinor Chalamet is a trained medium belonging to the Morpheus Society who uses her skills as a Ghost Talker to solve paranormal related cases while searching for clues and details pertaining to her father's murder which she hopes will lead her to his killer.

Tristan Fontaine, Duke de Archambeau, is an aristocrat and a right hand man of sorts to the King of Alenbonne whose path crosses with Elinor when he requires her assistance and expertise to solve certain cases that could put the king's political and diplomatic position as well as his life in grave danger if not solved in time. The Duke also has a dark history related to his first wife's death.

In all the three books we see both Elinor and Tristan doing what they do best while indulging in some sharp witted banter. Being a paranormal series the descriptions of séances and Elinor's gift to interact with ghosts/spirits and travel to the Otherworld are easily explained and these scenes blend in well with the ongoing plots. Elinor finds herself with a new female apprentice at the end of book two who shows to possess some unique powers of her own.

As per the author, this is a six part series and I look forward to reading what happens next. My thanks to NetGalley, the publishers Rook and Castle Press/IBPA and the author Byrd Nash for the e-Arcs.

Ratings:
Ghost Talker: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Delicious Death: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spirit Guide: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Spirit Guide is the third in a series of novellas that feature Madame Elinor Chalamet, a ghost talker. The stories are set in a fictional country around 1900 or so, given that we are reading about carriages, gaslight, etc. Most of the characters have French-sounding or English-sounding names, so I assume the world is a fictionalized European country somewhere.

Chalamet is an independent, intelligent woman who started studying with a group called the Morpheus Society to try to figure out who had killed her father several years earlier. She’s quite gifted at what she does (“ghost talking” and other related skills) and has observational skills to rival Sherlock Holmes.

In Spirit Guide, Chalamet is asked to help find an adult daughter of a Baron. Things get pretty complex, and Chalamet suspects someone in the Morpheus Society is doing things that are not exactly on the up-and-up.

I enjoyed the main characters, both Madame Chalamet, and the Duke, with who she seems to have an on-again off-again romantic interest. Her new apprentice was a great addition to the series.

I look forward to reading about their further adventures, as this looks to become a six-novella series, and Chalamet keeps getting bits of information that might eventually lead her to figure out who murdered her father.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rook and Castle Press for the opportunity to read a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The third book in the Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries series by Byrd Nash, carries on Elinor Chalamet's quest to find her Father's killer while finding the truth behind seances where the ghosts become solid and the disappearances of young women. And, of course, her relationship with the Duke de Archambeau continues on it's rocky course.

This is the third book I have read in this series, another book I could not put down , now I am waiting for the next one to come out hope it is soon.

Having enjoyed reading the previous two books in the Madame Chalamet series, I was excited to read this one too.

As was the case with the previous two stories, this was a little bit spooky and eerie, and quite entertaining. I like Madame Chalamet as a protagonist, and this was light enough to read in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Byrd Nash’s cozy gothic world is the perfect setting for another mystery. These novellas are perfect for a quick unwind.

Elinor, a Ghost Talker and medium, has been saddled with a scatterbrained apprentice, Twyla Andricksson, by the Morpheous Society that trained her. Elinor often helps the police so the Duke de Archambeau, the King’s investigator, brings his friend Baron Losendahl to her for unofficial help in locating his missing daughter. Ebbe turns out to be just one of several young women who have gone missing recently in the city. Her supposed suitor gives them a hint of where she might have gone when he describes an unearthly party he attended where the living met with ghosts who were made corporeal in this world. As the investigation continues it brings links to the Morpheous Society as well as the unsolved murder of Elinor’s father and the master criminal the Duke has been hunting.
Again a quick and engrossing read. We are learning more about Elinor’s father’s murder as well as the death of the Duke’s wife. The budding romance between Elinor and the Duke is still alternating between closeness and overwhelming formality but leaning towards a acknowledgment by both that there is a serious attraction between them. The world in which this series is set is at once familiar - with similarities to 1900s Europe - and totally alien as science such as fingerprints and psychiatry exists hand in hand with the acceptance of ghosts, mediums and the afterlife. I look forward to the next book in this series, which luckily for me is loaded on my tablet. Highly recommended

Spirit Guide
By Byrd Nash
This is book #3 in the series and I have loved each one! I love a good ghost story but also it has to have a wonderful plot, fun dialogue, witty and smart characters, slight romance, and a bit of suspense. This book has all of this and so much more! I love how our main female character is smart (think Sherlock smart), stubborn, and yet down to earth too.
The mystery includes some supernatural and ghostly elements. Throwing in new characters with new powers in this book is pretty exciting! Can't wait to see where this leads.
I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this book! Loved it!

With thanks to Netgalley and Rook & Castle Press for my ARC.

Well, Spirit Guide is another solid entry in the Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries; expanding on Elinor’s background and training with the Morpheus Society and just as interestingly her developing relationship with Tristain, Duke de Archambeau.
In this entry in the series we also see more of the relationship between Elinor and her apprentice Twyla, who is desperate to assist her mentor in solving the latest case: the disappearance of Lady Ebbe Losendahl and other young women.
With humour, romance and a fast pace this title draws the reader back into the world of Elinor Chalamet and her ongoing search to discover her Father’s killer.

4.5 stars

I want to thank the publisher and netgalley for this lovely arc by Byrd Nash. Opinions are my own.
Madame Chalamat and the Duke de Archambeau meet again to solve the case of the missing girl.

Things take a decided turn when Madame Chalamet get a new apprentice Twyla who is loud and presumptuous.

More things are revealed about the morpheous society and her dad's death.

Things comes to a head with the duke. Sigh! Twiddling my thumbs till book4 comes out.

Another great book in this series. I can’t wait for the rest and to see how the characters and stories progress!!!

Spirit Guide is the next book in Nash's Madame Chalamet series. We follow Elinor on another adventure into the world of ghosts and solving mysteries. I enjoyed the novella and the addition of Elinor's apprentice Twyla's character. The slow burn romance is just that very very slow. I am looking forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This series gets better and better the more I read! When I got to the end of this one, I have to admit my first thought was "WHEN is book four?" The plots are a hoot and a half, the slow burn romance is burning (to the point where I screamed in sympathy when they got interrupted _again_) and the supernatural elements are a) done well and b) a fun addition to the story. Seriously, _when_ is book four??!?

Spirit Guide is the third book in a series of novella's which mixes historical mystery with the paranormal, set in a fantasy world. And they are great fun. In this novella Madame Chalamet goes looking for a missing noble woman, but it doesn't take long for her to come across a dead body. Chalamet's a talented Ghost Talker, which means she can hold seánces, but she can also replay the final memories of dead people. Chalamet also has the company of an apprentice this time around... a talented young girl who doesn't always think things through and sucks up a lot of energy. Their interactions are Great. And, I have to say I also didn't mind the romance. Although the mystery is just fine, the plot itself shows us more about the Morpheus Society that Madame Chalamet was taught by, as well as her father's death. Overall, a very entertaining read and I am excited to find out where the next book will take us.

These books are set in a country resembling France in a Victorian-type era. Nash gives further information on the world in her excellent appendix which works really well with novellas, as it provides information without holding up the pace of the story. And in a book of a shorter length, particularly an adventure, getting the pacing spot on is important.

I really enjoy the character progression from one book to the next. And this time around, we see cracks in the normally imperturbable Elinor. When encountering Tristan Fontaine for the first time in this adventure, she is thoroughly fed up at his tendency to seem increasingly attracted to her – only to disappear completely until he needs her on a case, again. Not surprisingly, she isn’t happy with his behaviour. However, she is also fraying somewhat at the edges due to having an apprentice foisted on her that she didn’t want.

I also enjoyed the introduction of a newbie to scene. We are introduced to Elinor in the first book as someone already highly accomplished and it’s only when watching the flailing efforts of Twyla that we appreciate just how adept Elinor is. It’s also fun to learn more about the mysterious Morpheus Society, which has been mentioned in the previous two book. I would add at this stage – if you’re in the habit of crashing midway into series, I don’t advise it with this particular adventure. While Nash is too experienced to allow you to flounder, too much going on here resonates with previous events for you to get the full extent of the story if you’re only starting here.

Elinor is in real danger in this book – Nash’s villains are always satisfyingly horrible, but this time around, she actually gets hurt by a particularly nasty antagonist. While I never like seeing my favourite protagonists suffer too much – it was informative to get underneath Elinor’s façade of control. Given there are elements of Sherlock Holmes in her character, it’s important that we see her vulnerability and I think Nash did a very good job of humanising her in this slice of the series. I’m not a huge fan of novellas, as far too often I feel that the pacing or characterisation suffers with the shorter length, but Nash has the writing chops to gauge the story beats absolutely perfectly within the word count. This is a series I’m thoroughly enjoying and looking forward to the fourth book in the series. While I obtained an arc of Spirit Guide from the publisher via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

I’m loving this series by Byrd Nash and have even pre-ordered the fourth book in the series due out at the end of April!

@Netgalley have got me addicted now and I really want to see if the Duke and Elinor get together!

These books are about a Ghost Talker who solves crimes with the aid of the Duke. Supernatural with a hint of romance…. Only a hint…..

Gentle ghost story with mystery, murder and mayhem. Love it!

Spirit Guide by Byrd Nash
Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries #3

Elinor Chalamet has her hands full training her new apprentice when Tristan Fontaine shows up with a friend who is seeking his daughter. With the skills she has learned when trained by the Morpheus Society she searches for Ebbe, works to improve Twyla’s paranormal abilities, and finds herself busy in the beyond as well as in the mundane world. Great addition to the series.

What I liked:
* Elinor: strong, dedicated, skilled in her craft, a bit impatient, seeking the murderer of her father, curious, protective, wily, attracted to Tristan
* Tristan: Duke, works for the king, strong, intelligent, good friend, focused, ruthless when necessary, loyal, attracted to Elinor
* Twyla: young, a bit awkward and clumsy, seems a bit scatter brained, improves with guidance, look forward to hearing more about her
* Seeing some of the characters from previous stories: Charlotte, Marcus, Anne-Marie
* The way the story moved between planes and what happened
* That the mystery was solved, and the evil person dealt with
* The lead into the next novella

What I didn’t like
* Who and what I was meant not to like: Parnell Lafayette, the serial killer Ghost, and what was being done to young women for nefarious purposes
* Not really a dislike BUT would like to see the relationship between Elinor and Tristan move forward and also find out who killed Elinor’s father…I am sure it will all be revealed eventually.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and BookSirens for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

I am LOVING this spirited series by Byrd Nash and the slow-burn romance between Madame Chalamet and the Duke de Archambeau!

In this, the third book in the series, we find Madame Chalamet busy training her new apprentice a few months after the events of the second book. After months with no contact, the Duke suddenly shows up with another nobleman who is in need of her help to find his missing daughter. Another adventure begins as they all work together to figure out what happened to the girl and the Duke's feelings for Elinor finally come to surface - Sigh!

Elinor soon finds herself fighting villains in the Beyond and the real world. Is there corruption in the ranks of the Morpheus Society? Can the dead really be brought back to the living world? Elinor is investigating these questions while still unraveling the overall series arc mysteries as well. She gets one step closer to discovering her father's killer and closer to unraveling the mysterious death of the Duke's wife, I love how all these threads are coming together and can't wait for the next installment!

Perfectly written. It kept me on the edge of my seat! These quick reads are a must for fans of Anna Lee Huber's Lady Darby or Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate.

situational-humor, abduction, teenager, frustration, coercion, investigation, attempted-murder, Morpheus Society, moral-issues, aristocrat, amateur-sleuth, banter, GasLamp-fantasy, verbal-humor, supernatural, suspense, thriller, historical-fiction, ghosts, romantic*****

The ghost talker, her apprentice, and others get into a real mess and actually have to ask for help from the secretive Duke. Some parts are truly scary, some are hilarious. It really doesn't stand alone, but it's interesting enough that I think that readers will want to go back and see what they missed. Besides, it's not as if each book was as long as nonfiction! Love the series and can't wait for the next installment (think Peril's of Pauline)!
The author clarified her timeline and generous locale on Goodreads.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Rook and Castle Press/Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles via NetGalley. Thank you!

This is third in the Madame Chalamet historical mystery/fantasy series, and I’m enjoying this series so very much. As a member of Team Elinor, does it ever have to end?!

In this installment, Elinor is asked to render assistance in finding a baron’s daughter who has mysteriously disappeared after expressing interest in the Morpheus Society. After discovering more disturbing disappearances and a brutally murdered lady’s maid, Elinor and her sleuthing friends are able to determine that Parnell Lafayette, a high-ranking Society member (and Elinor’s nemesis), has found a way to do the unthinkable between the realms. I won’t share the specifics here, but it’s rather creepy. On another note, Elinor and the duke (who are beginning to get rather cozy) are beginning to see connections between a current long-reaching case and Elinor’s father’s murder years before.

This was another great addition to an overall wonderful jaunt, and I’m looking forward to the next book out in April.