Martin Edwards is an expert in vintage crime, and he showcases his knowledge brilliantly in this book, which combines 1930s adventure with modern sensibilities. The tale of criminal gang leaders, secret government agencies, a potential femme fatale, and a dashing adventurer fits well into the crime adventure genre of that era. Similarly, the characters like the newspaper man and the wealthy investigator with helpful servants are familiar, but here, the lead is a woman, and the plot addresses issues that would not have been explicitly included in fiction of that time.

Some of Rachel Savernake's deductions may seem to push the boundaries of believability, much like Miss Marple's uncanny intuition. However, when the story is enjoyable, it feels nitpicky to criticize. Keen readers may solve many of the mysteries presented in the story but will still be surprised by a few final twists.

This is the fourth book in the series. I haven't read the others in the series, but this book left me wanting to!

Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

thriller, suspense, historical-mystery, crime-fiction, 1930s, reclusive, relationships, secrets, lies, amateur-sleuth, artist, gallery, bizarre, investigations, crime-journalist, melodramatic, family-by-choice, friendship, friends*****

The artist asked Rachel to solve her murder. But the bizarre manner of the highly witnessed death was shown to be a suicide. Why Rachel? She was a nurse in the Great War but is not any sort of recognized detective. But she is wealthy, confident, and is astute enough to employ simple logic and determination to see any investigation through. She is aided and abetted by her very personal household staff and the impulsive crime reporter Jacob Flint. The investigation is like a double helix and the red herrings made me nutz. Of course I loved it!
I requested and received a free temporary EARC from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

tl;dr
More thriller than mystery. A reasonably fun and twisty tale, but be advised that the description and the actual book aren't entirely in line.

Thoughts
This is fourth in a series, a thing I was entirely unaware of when I started it. Thankfully, there was enough catchup woven in that it wasn't a pain point for me to jump into the story. That being said, maybe I would have known better what to expect when the story took a sudden swerve from a very interesting hook to an entirely different plotline. There are two leads here - Rachel and Jacob - and despite the book description spending more time on Rachel, the book itself spends a lot more time on Jacob. The story begins with the death of Damaris Gethin (Rachel's case), but immediately takes a turn to follow the life of another woman, Kiki de Villiers (Jacob's case). Kiki is a person of interest for unspecified reasons. She's got history in this town, and there are a lot of different threads connected to her: the police, organized crime, a mysterious third party? Is Damaris also part of her story? Only somewhat. Jacob and Rachel intersect a few times, more out of coincidence than connection, but the lion's share of the story is about Kiki. There's plenty of cat and mouse in here leaning more into a thriller than a mystery, with a large amount of legwork in Rachel's case being done off the page. It's a shame, because she and the case are incredibly interesting, and I would have liked to follow that thread more. Still, if you want to follow the adventures of a crime reporter tracking down a woman with a mysterious past as she tangles with a crime organization, then this might be the book for you.

I want to start by thanking the author and publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. Again this was a book outside my comfort zone of my typical genre. I just didn’t really resonate with the story, but don’t let that stop you from reading if you enjoy this genre.

8% in and I just couldn’t do it anymore. The writing style is not for me and I just never had any idea what was going on and which character was speaking. There was not enough intrigue presented in the first 3 chapters for me to keep going. I feel like having that type of death be a murder is a big stretch and not one I cared to explore.

I have a soft spot for murder mysteries, especially when they unfold in historical settings, revealing a unique glimpse into intelligence and deduction before modern technology. 'The House of Graveyard Lane' dives right in with a gripping start: our protagonist Rachel is tasked with solving a murder—'solve my murder,' a chilling request that sets the tone for the entire book.

Rachel isn't a professional detective; in fact, she comes from a background where women are expected to remain inconspicuous. Despite this, her strong-willed nature drives her to confront danger head-on in pursuit of the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed the intertwining elements of mystery and historical detail in this novel. It transported me far from my usual reading choices, providing a refreshing mental escape.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy.

Warning that this is a fourth book in a series, and there are some callbacks to previous books (I think--can't be sure since this is the first book I've read). But aside from this, I did enjoy the characters and the mystery, as well as the supporting characters and the pacing. Our main detective, Rachel, is smart and out-together, almost like a living puzzle herself.

The main reason why this is a 3 star read for me is that the writing style isn't quite what I liked, even given that it is a mystery and the needs of the genre.

"I want you to solve my murder," said the woman in white.
Rachel Savernake gave a sardonic smile. "Quite a challenge."

I always enjoy mystery books and if the main investigators is a woman with wit and determination … even better. This time around I was pleasantly surprised from a narrative that was engaging and action packed. I loved that we got to meet different characters and their investigation throughout this murder that seemed at the beginning really hard to solve (don’t they all, really?). But Rachel managed to do it all. Following the clues appearing slowly and leading us to the solution, one I can safely say I was not expecting (is it me, so is it simply being too long since I’ve read a book like this with hidden relationships and too many secrets?). Regardless of the reason, I’m now back fully in my mystery reading era, and I would jump on the occasion to read another book from this author!!!

"It's morally wrong to turn a tragedy into a melodrama, don't you agree?"

The House on Graveyard Lane starts quite dramatically with Damaris Gethin asking our main character Rachel to solve her murder. Shortly after, Damaris seems to die at her own hand. This historical fiction mystery has a lot of depth and complexity. There is a lot to unravel and the author has done a wonderful job setting up the mystery. I particularly enjoyed Rachel. She is a smart, determined, well-put-together woman who knows herself and is not easily intimidated. Although this is part of a series, The House on Graveyard Lane is the first one I have read. I had no problem reading this as a stand alone but will be sure to catch up on the past books.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy.

3.25 ⭐️ rounded down to 3 ⭐️ for NetGalley and GoodReads

So the main issue I had with this book was the fact that nowhere on the NetGalley page did it say that it is the fourth book in a series. After zooming in on the cover I realized that it said "Rachel Savernake Golden Age mystery", so oops 😬 Was it an issue overall that prevented me from understanding the book? Nope. Did it lead to a bit of head scratching and blank stares in the emptiness trying to make sense of things 🤨? Yep.

Regardless, I still really enjoyed this mystery/detective story.

Here are the characters who stood out the most for me:
- Rachel Savernake (the main character) is in herself a mystery that you just want to solve! It makes for a great page-turner even in and on itself because you wonder when you'll get that next little bit of information that you can add to the puzzle.
- I also loved Kiki De Villiers! I would read a novel in which she's the main character any day!
- Jacob. Ah, Jacob. What to say about dear Mr Flint? He's that goofy sidekick who helps the story move forward by ending up in a pretty bad and awkward situation due to his lack of thinking. Honestly, any good mystery needs one of these in my opinion, and Jacob Flint is really well crafter in this role.
- The Truemans... I just want to give them all a hug 🤗

The one thing I would say is that sometimes Rachel came up to some conclusions or made some deductions that... well seemed a bit far fetched because of how they were presented. But hey, that's also part of the fun in this type of book 😃

3.25 ⭐️ I'm going to go check out the first book of the series because I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Martin Edwards for providing me with an eARC.

When an artist asks, Rachel dissolve her murder, murder, just smiles, and agrees. After all, it won’t be for a while, and it may never come past. Did Rachel, know the woman was about to commit suicide in front of all of the people invited to her art show.

So if it’s a suicide, why are Rachel and crime reporter Jacob Flint diving into the backgrounds of other attendees? Is there something else other than suicide? Only time will tell, if someone stop them from finding out first.

I thought the twist at the beginning was rather interesting. And the story well-crafted.

An interesting golden age whodunnit novel. I did enjoy it but perhaps it will not make my books of the year list. Engaging and entertaining.

Thank you NetGalley and Poison Pen Press for the ARC copy of The House on Graveyard Lane!

Unfortunately, The House on Graveyard Lane will be a DNF for me around 27% though. I really tried to push through and keep reading, but the writing style was hard for me to get past. It felt very tell, not show. I was really excited about this book because I love a good whodunnit, but there just wasn't enough going on to keep me engrossed and dying to figure out what happened. Also with all the characters I had a hard time really grasping the world and felt like I was missing information on the characters. (After looking at the other reviews I understand this is in the middle of a series, so maybe if I read the other books in the series my feelings on this would be different).

Definitely a good mystery. I really enjoyed my first book by Martin Edwards and will be watching for more. Twists and turns in the Golden age. Well done.

This is another in the Rachel Savernake series. This one has a very unusual beginning. An artist invites Rachel to a gallery show of famous murders. She wants to hire Rachel to bring her "murderers" to justice. The artist is not dead but she is dressed as Marie Antionette and there is an operable guillotine in the exhibit. When the artist acts out the execution her death is ruled a suicide. What or who drove her to it - who are her "murderers"? Can Rachel bring them to justice? Rachel loves a challenge.

First I didn't know there were three books before this, so I was a little lost with the references sometimes. That being said, it could be read as a standalone. This was my first time reading a modern day written historical mystery so this was a bit of a unique read for me. I appreciated the clue finder in the back. I would recommend if you enjoy golden age mysteries, but I would start with the first book in the series.

Eerie, thrilling and completely brilliant!
My first book by Martin Edward’s but certainly not my last! Murder mystery at its finest!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC

This is the fourth entry into a series that I’d never read before, so I was not familiar with the characters. It didn’t matter much, though, since everybody is introduced in a way that it’s easy to figure out who is who, without feeling like you’re missing anything. The book claims to be a throwback to Golden Age mysteries, and the author plays fair in that all the clues are provided and it’s up to the armchair detective to figure out whodunit. The problem is that the tone is not consistent. Some parts feel like a cozy mystery, with the typical stereotypes , dialogues and the excess of details. But then very modern plot points come up, and all these Golden Age characters discuss them like they’re no big deal. Agatha Christie introduced some very scandalous themes into her novels, but they were supposed to be shocking. This was a time when a woman wearing pants would have caused a scandal, and these characters chat casually about issues that are controversial even today. I enjoyed some parts, such as a Roshomon type chapter where a murder is viewed through different perspectives, but I wasn’t too invested in any of the characters. I think that I’m the wrong reader, since I’m not a fan of cozy or historical mysteries. I hope fans of the series will enjoy it, it just wasn’t for me.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Poisoned Pen Press.

If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie style of writing and Sherlock Holmes type of sleuthing then you will enjoy this book.
Rachel is a formidable female character living in a time when women shouldn’t be more than what they look like but her wealth and in turn her social standing give her the upper hand. She is smart and observant which makes her an excellent detective.
Hence the would be victim of the murder asks her to solve her murder, but was it really a murder? I won’t spoil it for you.

My problem was that it didn’t say anywhere that this was part of a series when I requested it on NetGalley so I felt a bit lost at times and I did feel like I had started reading the book in the middle. It is still a decent read hence the three stars.

Thankyou NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this advanced readers copy for my honest review!

I really, really wanted to like this book. I enjoy whodunnit type novels, breaking down the clues, letting it take over my mind for a while… but this one sadly didn’t do it for me.
The beginning of the novel was supposed to start off as a big bang- but I started out fairly confused, and I honestly kept getting more confused as the chapters went on. So many far-out there names to keep straight, no characters super enjoyable to latch on to, I just couldn’t do it.

The plot itself was intriguing, along with the clue finder at the end actually helping tie up some loose ends for me.

If I’d have known this was a series before seeing the comments as I was nearly done, this maybe would’ve changed the result. But, at the end of the day, 2 stars is what I could muster with what I knew.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Inc for granting me an arc in exchange for an honest review!