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Spiritualism and Secrets

Author: Robin Paige

Kathryn Ardleigh (Kate) is barely making ends meet, so when a surprise missive informs her that she has rich relatives in England who are offering her a lucrative position, she takes the leap and leaves America. Kate is also a penny-dreadful novelist on the side, and she suspects that this new transatlantic adventure might give her some material for her next book. She is eerily correct.

Kate’s arrival is greeted with a murder. The body of an unknown man has been found at a nearby archeological dig. Sir Charles, a budding photographer, is on scene to try and push the relevance of this new science. Perhaps this idea – and the scarab ring and peacock feather related to the stranger – can inspire Kate’s next dreadful? Maybe even this strange science of photography and fingerprinting?

The tangled web of lies and killings gets more complicated, however, when Kate meets her relatives. Aunt Sabrina sees her as more equal than servant and wants her help documenting the Order of the New Dawn, an occult/spiritualist society to which she devotes her time. Aunt Jagger, on the other hand, sees Kate as a meddling, poor relation, and is looking to drive the poor girl out before she settles. When a second murder occurs, Kate becomes far more involved than she ever wanted to be, even though it might be just the perfect research for her next novel.

Death at Bishop’s Keep is a cozy mystery set in the Victorian era. Unlike most cozy mysteries, it has quite a complex plot and a lot of thought put into the interrelating threads. It’s atmospheric and the amateur investigations actually make sense in context with the events, time, and place.

Image by Dorothe Wouters from Pixabay

Kate is an independent America, and while she is the strong woman protagonist, she still fits within her time and place. Her flaunting of convention actually works with the plot and the evolving nature of the times, and her secret late-night novel writing is the perfect catalyst for her initial interest. Her later interest, of course, is brought on by proximity and the fact that she very well could be a suspect herself.

As the story evolves, it becomes evident that the authors (a husband and wife team working under the pen name Robin Paige) have done their historical due diligence. Occult spiritualism and developing technology intertwine, capturing the superstition and science of the time living side by side. We don’t get a whole lot about the Order of the New Dawn, but we do get enough to add that dash of flavor that takes us out of story time and makes it feel real and relevant to the setting of the time period.

This is the first book in a series, and as such, it starts a little slow. We’re two thirds through before we get the second, precipitating murder, but it makes sense and works with the elaborate and enjoyable set-up. Kate and Sir Charles are perfect foils, both attracting and repelling each other in realistic ways, and the nature of the murders is both brilliant and gruesome, without ruining the cozy, safe nature engendered by the general feeling of the book.

The conclusion pumps up the action, which had languished a bit to set up the world and characters. There’s a very well-done twist, and while it’s got some of that cozy convenience, it’s a lot more planned and sensible than most cozy mysteries, and our heroine proves herself no dummy.

I greatly enjoyed the feel and cadence of this first book in the series. It’s smart, sophisticated, historical, and yet unique. I can see the characters, who mostly remain flat here as the story is fleshed out around them and the catalyst set for their interactions, growing and maturing both in their investigative craft and their interrelations with each other. Recommended.

 

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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