As spectral figures, ghostly music, and mysterious threats begin to plague the partygoers, Veronica enlists Stoker's help to discover the host's true motivations. And as they investigate, it becomes clear that there are numerous mysteries surrounding the Romilly estate, and every person present has a motive to kill Rosamund...
Comment: This is the 4th installment of the Veronica Speedwell series, whose previous books I have liked quite a lot. Now a friend has joined the fun and we will be reading the rest of the books as part of a buddy read.
In this fourth adventure, Veronica is asked by Tiberius, Stoker's older brother, to visit the island where his friend Malcolm lives. This friend was about to be married when his bride disappeared on the eve of the wedding and some believe she went on her own will, others that something happened to her. Since the invitation came out of nowhere, Tiberius feels his friend has something planned and he takes Veronica to help him investigate. Although Stoker wasn't invited at first, he still joins the group that, along with Malcolm, his sister, his sister-in-law and her son, will talk and see what can be done to finally uncover the truth. But someone might not want the truth to come out...
In terms of continuity and writing, I have to say this book was as great to me as the others. I think the best element is the writing itself, which is appealing, easy but serious and things are conveyed and portrayed in such a way that makes it engaging. I like being in this world, following these characters and that can certainly make a big difference.
The plot isn't that complicated if one compares this to any complex mystery novel. It's not as if things are all always so obvious but I feel the intrigue here is mostly to contribute to the overall development of the main characters, because of how they act or react and how being in such a situation helps us to peel one more layer about them. Despite this, discovering what happened to Malcolm's bride was still satisfying and added to it, allowed us to have a glimpse of the hidden personality of a certain character... I hope the author can use this information to further develop things in another book.
As for Veronica and Stoker, as an investigating team, their work is nothing to be ashamed of, they are creative and intelligent and I love seeing their banter and the way they discuss things until they reach conclusions or the moment in which they feel it's time to take action. I also like it that the author writes in such a way that we keep learning new things about them, some more important in the big scheme than others, but all are part of them. I also find it interesting we get to realize they are both a lot more vulnerable emotionally than what they let others see, this is what makes me eager to see what happens next, how can they understand they are better united than at odds.
I bet many readers expect romance between them or for it to be an element in progress, myself included. Regarding this, I understand and kind of appreciate the author is taking things slow... and in this book it felt the slowness of the process was, indeed, very obvious. The beginning was a bit too slow, in fact, and their interactions seemed a step back, as if the author had to put a brake on things before things happened out of time. Thankfully, the plot moved in a specific direction from a certain point on and I did like what was done... I can imagine many other readers would agree.
Closer to the end, when the plot secrets start to be unraveled and we get to finally learn interesting tidbits, the author also used very good scenes to develop one or two issues, and especially the character development linked to this was done well enough, i'd say. I also liked the inclusion of the setting as n important element of the story, the whole island scenario, the details of the propriety (like the hidden passages in the castle or the poison garden) made things even more vibrant. The secondary characters also had interesting traits and scenes, so the whole thing felt well balanced.
I still don't think this was perfection because of the slower pace at first and a bit of indecision the characters have to be more trusting which, by now, I'd like to see more. I also think, personally, that some characters could have different attitudes about one or two subjects and that they weren't as determined to stick to those notions. I suppose some changes might happen but so far, some of this seems unlikely and I would prefer if it wasn't.
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