When I started this book I thought I would never get through it. It turned out to be really good. ( )

Engrossing murder mystery set in 1899, with another timeline five years in the past. The victim’s sister, Janie, surreptitiously works with a reporter to discover the truth. The two timelines eventually converge and reveal who killed Bayard Van Duyvil, the eldest son of an “old money” New York Hudson River family. The earlier timeline follows how Bayard met his wife and continues to the murder scene. The other follows the effort to find out what happened after the murder. All the characters have secrets, and the family’s honor must be protected.

The writing was elegant and fitting for the era. I thought the first two-thirds of the book were very well-planned. The two timelines provided a bread crumb trail to additional clues, and it was difficult to guess the outcome ahead of time. Unfortunately, toward the end, it devolved into a soap opera, and I found the ending improbable and unsatisfying. It also left a fair amount of the storyline up in the air.

The writing style counts for a lot in my enjoyment of a novel, so even though I didn’t care for parts of this book I would read this author again. Recommended to fans of mysteries with a romantic element and Victorian-era historical fiction.

I received an advance copy of this book from St Martin’s Press via NetGalley in return for a candid review. It is scheduled for release on January 9, 2018. ( )

The English Wife, well the writing is good, however, the story is both slow and predictable. The only true moment of surprise for me came at the end when the truth was revealed. And, I liked that, I liked the whole explosive ending, probably because finally something happened. However, I'm still not really pleased that we did not find out truly everything at the end. I feel a bit cheated, to be honest.

As for the characters, they were pretty bland, the only one that I really liked was Viola, who is a child, but at least she had a personality. The rest of them including Annabelle and Janie, well they never really grown on me. ( )

Murder, gossip, betrayals, family secrets, marriages that are never what they seem from the outside. Sometimes you just don't need to know...so many skeletons...

A murder mystery with Gothic flair that kept me entertained with enough twists and turns until the end. This book may not be one of my favorite Lauren Willig novels, but it's definitely a worthy addition to her collected works. ( )