75. A Foreign Affair
A Foreign Affair by Caro Peacock
Liberty Lane, Book 1
Pages: 331
Finished: Apr. 24, 2008
First Published: Apr. 2008
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: 3/5
First Sentence:
"Would you be kind enough to tell me where they keep people's bodies," I said.
Reason for Reading: Received this ARC from Harper Collins Canada
Comments: The year is 1837 and Liberty Lane receives a note informing her that her father has been killed in a duel in France. Libby knows without a doubt that she has not been told the truth. Her father must have been murdered and she will find out what really happened. She meets with adversity almost immediately and is asked to work as a spy while masquerading as a governess. Libby will do anything to find her father's killer and in the end will discover a plot to usurp the newly crowned Queen Victoria.
This is a quick, light read with an intricate mystery that kept me guessing until the end. While there was plenty of action I didn't really feel grabbed by the story until Libby stared working in the house as a governess at about the midway mark. At this point I enjoyed the Victorian Gothic atmosphere and the downstairs life of the servants. Libby is a very headstrong heroine but almost too much as she becomes too modern for the setting. All the other characters are portrayed as being of the period while Libby moves among them with none of the restraints of Victorian society. Because of this, at times, I found her dialogue and actions to be unrealistic. However, it's not hard to forgive these liberties in a lighthearted mystery. The book blurb says this is the first of a series and I will be interested to see where Libby goes in the next book.
I really enjoyed this book too. I don't read many mysteries but I like Victorian settings. I think I rated this book higher than you did (4.5) because of my mood. I had read several heavy books in a row so welcomed the change of pace.
ReplyDeleteI also read this book as a review from Harper Collins.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't like it. She was by far too modern in her ideas and attitudes, and I couldn't believe that someone had ever decided to publish it. In my review I said that it was perfect holiday reading... light and fluffy.
I've read some others (nothing comes immediately to mind) where the character seems out of place in the period. This one sounds intriguing, though. I like a good gothic mystery.
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