(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

To Doctor Dody McCleland, the gruesome job of dealing with the results of an explosion at the Necropolis Railway Station is testing enough. But when her suffragette sister Florence is implicated in the crime, matters worsen and Dody finds her loyalty cruelly divided. Can she choose between love for her sister and her secret love for Chief Inspector Matthew Pike, the investigating officer on the case? Dody and Pike's investigations lead them to a women's rest home where patients are not encouraged to read or think and where clandestine treatments and operations are conducted in an unethical and inhumane manner. Together, Dody and Pike must uncover such foul play before their secret liaisons become public knowledge - and before Florence becomes the rest home's next victim.

This is the fourth book in the Doctor Dody McCleland series of historical mystery novels. I have read the first book in the series (a while back, for sure) and was excited to see how the series had moved on.

There are two definite elements to look at in this novel: the historical aspect and the mystery. Let's address the historical element first.

The story of Christabel Pankhurst and the suffragette movement in England at the time was fascinating to me. It was also kind of sad. The treatment of women at that time was abhorrent - and that was just the women who were in the upper classes. The way those women who were declared insane and thrown in institutions, to have appalling surgeries carried out on them without their permission was horrifying. It repelled me and attracted me at the same time. It was a highlight.

The mystery? Nah, not so much. The investigation is pretty light on and the relationship between Dody and Matthew Pike seems to take a greater role in this book. Wasn't really what I was hoping for, to be honest.

Would have loved more of the historical story...


Paul
ARH