When I first read this novel, I was unaware that it was the second book in a series. However, that wasn't too much of an issue as the author provided enough detail about everything that I didn't feel like I missed out on much. This was an interesting historical mystery in that it involved more detail than many historical fiction novels I've read. There was a lot of name-dropping of historical figures, which at first was cool but eventually got tedious, especially since they weren't always that important for the story. I also found that this book was more about DCI Stark's private life than the mystery itself, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this case, it made me lose interest in the story. So while the novel had an intriguing plot and was well-written, it just didn't do it for me. I'd give this a 3/5 stars and recommend this to someone who is really interested in historical fiction (like... REALLY interested)!

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )