Annis Bell

I don't know how I came across this book, but it was on KU for both ebook and audio, so I decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did! What a veritable gem. Very well researched from what I can tell, and everything just fit: the historical context and conditions, the language, the characters and places.

An absolutely great story, wonderfully narrated by Sue Pitkin. This book has it all, really. It's both an historical novel and a mystery novel, the characters are believable.

I had read a lot about poor- or workhouses, and orphanages in that era, not just through Charles Dickens, but generally. It is a topic that makes one shiver, and this novel is taking the horror of those times even farther (see wikipedia after you've read the book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Children)

I have to say that I'm impressed with the love for detail you can find in this story -- but don't get me wrong, it's not detail as in a minute description of a dress or some-such. Just many small things the observant reader will notice, like the taste of apple pips.

And now I'll go and read the sequel. I do hope to discover more books by this author!

And oh, the irony--this is translated from German, which I never realized, so I could have read the original. :D… (mehr)

After I had really enjoyed The Girl at Rosewood Hall, I looked forward to another great mystery.

The scene was set well, the bleakness and coldness were transferred well, however, the story couldn't quite keep my attention this time, and so I went to listen to other books before eventually returning to this one. I don't really know what it was, but maybe it just wasn't the right time.

Those extremely long letters from the jungle, which didn't add anything to the story, probably added to the fact that my interest faded. I'm usually delighted to learn new things, but this was somehow too much, and too drawn out. And although I'm ready to believe most things in fiction, I wasn't really convinced this time.
That said, this time, the narrator's lisp irritated me a lot more than it would have done had the book managed to keep my attention.… (mehr)