Pleasing take on the steampunk/ gaslamp mystery. Excellent. ( )

A combination of Victorian classic and paranormal, the story takes place in 1879 London. There exists a special branch of the government, Her Majesty’s Psychic Service.” It’s purpose is to investigate all matters supernatural. Members of this select department have psychic gifts, which are used in detecting unusual circumstances.

Alexandrina Victoria Pendlebury is a member of this department. She is called to investigate a recent death. Arriving there, she determines it isn’t suicide, as it has been set up to appear. It is murder. She also finds that she knows the victim very well. She also ascertains the crime is part of a threat to Queen and country with more deaths to occur.

Working with Lieutenant Brooks, Lord Desmond — the head of the department — and a few more, it makes for an enjoyable read. Alex is an independent woman and feels she can handle anything, but does find it can be helpful to have assistance.

The action is good and the tempo steady. I believe this is a stand alone book. Be nice to read another adventure of Her Majesty’s Psychic Service… ( )

I had to admit, it was touch and go there for a bit. The Hanged Man by P.N. Elrod had me holding my breath bracing for the worst in the first chapter. A barely-noticeable awkward large word was the main cause. I myself have been accused of and as a result am acutely aware when large, older English words are used. But that is why I love the steampunk genre. It brings back the eloquence of the English language lost in today's rushed text messaging and instant messengers. Emotions and meanings are conveyed by these words, if used correctly.

The word was dishabille. While I love complex words that convey meaning, especially ones that are borrowed from another language as English lacks the finesse to express (this one is from French), it is a 17th century word out of date and “state of dress” works better for modern day literature, even steam punk. It, at first, made it awkward and stopped my reading flow. I had to really strain to accept it in the narrative, but I reminded myself this was steam punk and elocution (language, expression, word, style, delivery) like this is acceptable. While it works, it did interrupt the flow, so that would be my only criticism.

P.N. Elrod used this word correctly so I kept reading and am I really glad I did. I appreciated the book in every word, chapter, character and description. It was well paced in a Sherlock meets paranormal inspired fashion. The mystery and action were well balanced, taking precedence over the more emotional and romantic tones. Although short, the dialogue flows naturally and there is a bumpy thrilling rollercoaster of rising and falling actions that left me wondering more.

When I am left thinking, 'what next?' while being fully satisfied with the resolution of the work, I know I've met a good book.
( )

I read the first four chapters on NetGalley not knowing it was a sample and was a bit miffed that it was only a sample when I got to the end since the setup was very good. The publisher then set me the complete book and I have to say I really liked it. This is set in Victorian London with a few historical differences to who Victoria married. Alex is a forensic psychic reader in employ of the government. She assists the police in criminal investigations. The story starts with her on a call on Christmas Eve to read the scene of a suicide. Things go into overdrive when she finds out the man in question is her father that she hasn’t spoken to in ten years and she and the head of the Her Majesty’s Psychic Service are attacked by men using air rifles. The entire plot is moves very quickly with almost no time to breath and Alex running down a clue she has without notifying her superiors. They quickly catch up with her and compare notes and then continue to dash along until the conclusion of the story. Even with the fast pace the final chapter is the most heartbreaking for the heroine and not in the usual sense of these types of stories.

I really enjoyed this one and will certainly be on the lookout for the next book in the series.

Review copy of the book was provided by the publisher.
( )

I think I'm done with stories like this. ( )