The Shelleys are back with a new murder case! For fans of Mary Shelley, Daphne Du Maurier, Diane Setterfield and Laura Purcell.
With Percy under suspicion, can Mary find the real murderer in time…?
1815, London
When her infant daughter dies, Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin is plunged into a deep depression.
And it doesn’t help that the father, and man who she loves, Percy Shelley, cannot commit to her as he already has an estranged wife.
When Mary receives an invitation to a wedding from a beloved school friend from her Dundee days, Percy thinks it would provide the perfect distraction.
But even away from London, they cannot escape people talking about their relationship.
And when the curate is shot dead at the end of the wedding, the locals turn on Percy.
Mary must find the true killer before their misguided suspicions become a witch hunt.
And as Mary has murder on the mind, her stepsister Claire sets her targets on someone else — Lord Byron…
DEATH AT THE ALTAR is the third book in the Mary Shelley Investigation series: thrilling Gothic murder mysteries with a tenacious literary heroine working as a female sleuth.
I am absolutely loving the Mary Shelley Investigations series, of which Death at the Altar is book three. You can read each book as a standalone as there is a new mystery to solve but they are well worth reading in order to learn about Mary Shelley's life.
The mystery in this instalment is very intriguing and it becomes even more critical for Mary to solve the murder when Percy becomes one of the suspects. As it says in the blurb, Mary is is devastated by the loss of her baby daughter and my heart really went out to her as Mary is still a teenager and Percy isn't much support with his flighty poetic nature.
There's quite a lot going on in the book to keep the reader entertained and I enjoyed the spotlight falling on Claire for a while. I wasn't a big fan of Claire in the first two books as she seemed to set her sights on Percy but now she is obsessed with Lord Byron and she comes up with a cunning plan to capture the (already married) poet's heart.
Donna Gowland's writing is very evocative, atmospheric and immersive so I felt as if I was part of the story myself and the characters, being based on real people, are vividly brought to life. I have really come to care about Mary Shelley (and Percy and Claire) and I have found myself reading more online about her life, although not too much as I don't want to spoil the story in any future books.
Entertaining, compelling and enlightening, Death at the Altar is both a gripping murder mystery and a fascinating glimpse into the life of Mary Shelley. A highly recommended read in an extraordinary series.
I received a gifted paperback for the Love Books Tours bookstagram tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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