Enter the world of a young Mary Shelley in Death and the Sisters by Heather Redmond.
Welcome to London in 1814, where sixteen-year-old Mary Goodwin and her stepsister Jane Clairmont are assistants in their family's struggling bookshop. Thanks to their unconventional upbringing, they both yearn for a more adventurous future than what appears to be unfolding before them.
One evening, renowned poet and radical, Percy Bysshe Shelley, joins the Goodwins for dinner. Mary is quickly intrigued by their handsome and compelling guest. Later that evening, in search of a book, Mary finds one of Shelley's former classmates face down on the floor of the bookshop with a knife in his back.
Mary, Jane, and Shelley combine forces to learn all they can about the tragedy to befall the man, but each twist and turn hints at a tangled web involving the married poet's inner circle. And as the attraction between Mary and Shelley intensifies, sparking a rivalry between Mary and Jane, the sisters find themselves in a precarious situation.
Wow! Having read Redmond's A Christmas Carol Murder, I expected a well-plotted story filled with engaging characters. The author definitely succeeded. The author's glimpse into a teenage storyteller is fascinating. It definitely made me Google Mary and Percy Shelley. Knowing little about Mary Goodwin, the future Mary Shelley who would go on to write Frankenstein, I found the cast of characters at the beginning helpful.
This engaging novel is told from Mary's and Jane's points of view. I'm hoping this will continue throughout the series, as the companionship and rivalry is one of the enjoyable aspects of the storyline. As the plot unfolds, the reader is treated to a glimpse into the Goodwin's household dynamics, the life in which they lived, Shelley and his inner circle, and other residents of London--real and imagined.
If you are looking for a well-crafted, fascinating historical mystery, pick up the first in Redmond's new Mary Shelley Mystery series, Death and the Sisters.
- Publisher : Kensington (September 26, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 336 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1496737997
- ISBN-13 : 978-1496737991
