I love Charlie N. Holmberg’s writing. This is the fourth book I’ve read and definitely not by last. Spell breaker was a well-written story - a page tuI love Charlie N. Holmberg’s writing. This is the fourth book I’ve read and definitely not by last. Spell breaker was a well-written story - a page turner with enough mystery to keep me intrigued. The action picked up at the. I finished whatever pages I had left in one afternoon. The ending left me feeling meh but wanting to find out how the series ends....more
Historical fiction set in the 1890s New York with a bit of vampire lore thrown in. Tillie Pembroke’s sister Lucy is found dead under mysterious circumHistorical fiction set in the 1890s New York with a bit of vampire lore thrown in. Tillie Pembroke’s sister Lucy is found dead under mysterious circumstances - two puncture wounds on her neck and blood drained from her body. Stoker’s Dracula is making waves, so of course, Tillie is assuming the worse. With the help of paperboy Ian, Tillie sets out to find the truth about Lucy’s murder while avoiding her overbearing mother and grandmother.
I’m a sucker for historical fiction, especially fiction that throws in the gothic mythology surrounding Dracula. Tille Pembroke is a strong, determined, feisty, and bold young woman, even more so when she’s partnered with Ian. She is her father’s daughter, more interested in science than society, much to her mother’s and grandmother’s displeasure. Those characteristics drive Tillie to understand her sister’s murder.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I learned a bit about New York before the turn of the century, the biting mechanism of animals, and medicine. It dragged around ¾ of the way in but picked up toward the end. The conclusion was nothing I imagined. I thought of something totally different. I didn’t see it coming, which is expected of a good mystery. ...more