Stevie‘s review of ‘Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick
Historical Romantic Suspense published by Berkley 19 Apr 16
Historical attitudes to death and mourning fascinate me, particularly those originating in Victorian times. I also enjoy a good mystery, so this story with a series of deaths linked by the mourning gifts sent to the victims definitely looked to be my kind of thing.
Calista, the latest recipient of the mysterious and macabre gifts, tries to avoid selling the large house she and her brother inherited – and possibly still facing a life of poverty – by running a select introduction agency for those who find themselves in need of a life partner: whether for marriage or simply for companionship. Calista herself wants nothing to do with marriage after a narrow escape from a fortune hunter who saw the house and wrongly believed that the siblings had the appropriate funds to go with it. Her former fiancé has since married but is trying to woo Calista into being his mistress. Not that she’s taken in by his schemes – indeed, it seems possible that he’s behind the gifts, which were apparently deposited in Calista’s house by someone familiar with its layout and routines.
Meanwhile, the brother of one of Calista’s clients – who is also the reclusive author of a popular detective series – is suspicious of the true purpose behind Calista’s agency and confronts her. Calista tries to convince Trent that her motives are sincere and, in the process, tells him about the worrying gifts. The pair team up to investigate and discover that other women who received similar gifts afterwards died under suspicious circumstances.
The gifts all follow the same pattern: first a tear-catcher – a small bottle to collect the mourner’s tears – then a ring with a secret compartment to hold a lock of the deceased person’s hair. After that comes a bell on a chain for those accidentally buried alive to summon help, and finally – after the victim’s death – a special coffin designed to be used with the bell is delivered to the undertakers taking care of the latest victim. All these pieces are fascinating for me, of course, and I would love to find out more about each of them at some point. There are a couple of brighter moments in amongst the foreboding and peril too – an inventive improvised weapon in one fight, and the repeated joke where everyone the investigators encounters has an opinion on the new character Trent has introduced to his stories.
Setting these moments aside, though, while I liked the premise of this story, I found the execution somewhat lacking. I felt no real chemistry between Trent and Calista, and I figured out the true villain long before the protagonists did. Having enjoyed one of the author’s recent contemporary novels, I don’t think her historicals are for me.
Grade: C
Summary:
Calista Langley operates an exclusive “introduction” agency in Victorian London, catering to respectable ladies and gentlemen who find themselves alone in the world. But now, a dangerously obsessed individual has begun sending her trinkets and gifts suitable only for those in deepest mourning—a black mirror, a funeral wreath, a ring set with black jet stone. Each is engraved with her initials.
Desperate for help and fearing that the police will be of no assistance, Calista turns to Trent Hastings, a reclusive author of popular crime novels. Believing that Calista may be taking advantage of his lonely sister, who has become one of her clients, Trent doesn’t trust her. Scarred by his past, he’s learned to keep his emotions at bay, even as an instant attraction threatens his resolve.
But as Trent and Calista comb through files of rejected clients in hopes of identifying her tormentor, it becomes clear that the danger may be coming from Calista’s own secret past—and that only her death will satisfy the stalker…
No excerpt available.
