Julian battles his own past, unexpected enemies, and Hyperia’s disapproving brother while searching for the prodigal wife, and just when he’s tempted to give up in disgust, he realizes the lady is in serious danger. She needs not only to be found, but also to be rescued from imminent peril, no matter the cost to Julian or to the dreams he’s dared to begin to cherish.
Comment: This is the 5th installment in the Lord Julian series, in which he tries to discreetly solve some mysteries while recovering from his war years.
Lord Julian does not want to say no to Hyperia West, the woman he is in love with even if he feels he cannot be the husband she needs, when she requests his help to find lord Tait's wife., Evelyn Lord Tait has been a friend and she does say he is a good man, but putting jealousy aside, Julian cannot ignore the possibility that Tait himself is the guilty part. However, as he tries to get track of Evelyn's last hours before the went missing, he realizes that some things don't add up. He is even more suspicious when Evelyn's sisters point at the state of the Tait's marriage as a possible reason. But what had really been happening to this couple who, apparently, married for love?
I will have to be repetitive and say what I had already written about the other books in the series I have read: these books are little gems that combine plot and character development in a very satisfying manner to me. There is always something that prevents me from giving this a perfect grade but I always feel the best comfort reading these books and knowing that, while not everything is exactly as I'd prefer, it will go on to that scenario at some point in the future.
The plot is as intriguing as the others have been. These are light mysteries, not intended to really show complexity of plans or impossible twists to execute but I still found myself wanting to know hoe everything was connected. These stories are as just fun to guess who and how as they are to read between the lines. When some things are explained at the end, it is fun to remember this or that detail and to tell myself I'd never have linked that to other things as a big clue, but, there it was.
It was actually quite easy how this plot was planned. I really applaud all writers who write mysteries, in any shape or style, because it seems like a lot of work to place all the clues on the right moments and for them to work out. I was also intrigued to learn if the marriage of the Tait couple had been a good one or not and if not, why their mutual behavior when in the presence of others. The explanation is as simple as one could imagine, so easy to sympathize with that I think anyone who wanted a good twist will certainly feel this was a let down. To me, it showed the author's cleverness in planning.
These books are also good exercises on characterization, for both the protagonists and the characters they need to interact with. I do like these stories where the psychology of a character is as important for what is going on as is a physical act or a decision. Once we learn who was really responsible for the disappearance of Evelyn and why, it's not a huge aha moment, but it was still a great path from simplicity to simplicity too, with countless layers on the way. I had a great time, in fact, reading this book.
This series is also interesting because of the development in regards to Julian and those around him. I want to see him succeed in his investigation, of course, but I especially want to see him deal with his fears and overcome them, and be happy. Thus, I'm very interested in seeing his relationship with his brother becoming closer, in seeing how he can't disguise he really has always loved Hyperia and in how he wants the best for them and the others he considers family. I'm eager to keep reading about him.
No comments:
Post a Comment