Bent Road

While I would hesitate to call Bent Road by Lori Roy a psychological suspense or even a dedicated mystery, I can say that it is an engrossing read. This new novel brilliantly captures the small town aura of 1960’s Kansas. Flitting between the 3^rd person narratives of four characters; Celia, her two youngest children Daniel and Eve-ee, and her sister-in-law Ruth, the novel manages to be both literary in its encapsulation of small town life and prejudice and intriguing in it’s presentation of two mystery subplots, the unexplained death of Eve (Celia’s sister-in-law) decades before, and the sudden disappearance of a young girl. I say subplots because while both are essentially the blood in the veins of this story, their strength in terms of plot falls in comparison to the infinitely more interesting character study that this novel becomes. It is easy to become sucked into the world of these characters, to feel sorrow with them, fear for them, and to be angered by their actions. One becomes far more concerned with the thoughts and actions of these individuals than the (to my mind) less interesting mystery-plot. The ability of Roy to elicit this response from a reader as a first time novelist says a lot about her writing prowess. I would highly recommend this new novel to lovers of solid character-driven fiction.

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Gothic Mystery Meets CSI

Instruments of Darkness
by Imogen Robertson

Set in late 18th century England, Instruments of Darkness is a wonderfully intriguing novel. Robertson successfully manages to intertwine gothic suspense with period forensics, a concept that has never before been so charmingly presented.

The story follows Harriet Westerman, the strong-minded wife of a sea captain and Gabriel Crowther, a crusty and secretive anatomist. The two are drawn into an unlikely team after Harriet finds a dead man on her property with ties to Thornleigh Hall, the rather menacing home of the invalid Earl of Sussex. As Harriet and Crowther begin their partnership a man is murdered in front of his children in his London music shop. While it is no great leap to see that the two events are thoroughly connected, or who it is that set the events in motion the story unfolds compellingly.

Roberton’s characters each have their own hidden depths and secrets, many of which are not answered within this first novel (it will become a series), these multi-layered beings entice readers to stay with the plot, despite the rather obvious conclusion. Yet, don’t let the ease of the plot throw you off, the book is well-written and entertaining, it’s enough of a mystery to keep you hooked, if only to see how the characters will react to the outcome. It is these characters that will bring readers back for future sequels.

In all, this is a good period mystery, sure to entertain fans of writers like Alan Bradley and Anne Perry.



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