Tag: #MurderMystery

Trial of the Alchemist by Trevor Melanson

On By @f33lthesunIn Young AdultLeave a comment
Cover by Ariane Fleischmann

Blurb

Aurora’s greatest entrepreneur has been murdered, and only the truth will save Alchemist Ortez from the gallows.

Facing a heated courtroom of strangers, he must now recall the events that brought him here as a fellow alchemist probes his memory. Such is the job of alchemists: administering elixirs in order to see into the minds of men. Their dreams. Their nightmares. Their secrets.

But while everyone believes him guilty, Alchemist Ortez knows what they do not.

He was hired by the victim for a job unlike any they could imagine. Nor would they ever guess what other mysteries lie buried beneath the mountain metropolis of Aurora, a cave-enclosed city where countless gas lamps illuminate the endless night.

Trial of the Alchemist is a gaslamp mystery rife with twists, adventure, and romance.

Review

Having read and been lured in by the first few chapters in earlier rounds of the BBNYA, I just had to read the whole story.

Alchemist Ortez, a psych-alchemist, is accused of murdering the town’s “leader”, owner of the main industry, the majority of the housing and businesses and without whom the town would cease to function.

In court, a legal alchemist uses elixirs to enter Ortez’s mind, to ensure he is telling the judge the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. This was the part that reeled me in.

As his story unfolds, we see the grip Everett Day has on the town. We also hear about events that the town was not aware of. Is Ortez slowly changing the minds of the baying crowd, who are eager to hang him as soon as possible?

As Ortez’s story goes on, his previous work as a research alchemist, using his skill to communicate with animals is called upon to help work out a problem, which ends up uncovering unforeseen problems caused by the Day Corporations by products of machine manufacturing .

Will anyone find the courage to stand up and come to the defence of Ortez, or provide proof of his truth?

During his story, his own (legal) use of elixirs to explore the memories of his clients is explained but that only ends up creating more questions. Whilst Alchemist Freya, the legal alchemist, is adamant Ortez is telling the truth, is he a reliable narrator? Does he know everything he knows?

I really enjoyed this story and am left with many questions I am going to enjoy thinking about for a while yet. Just as you should be by stories.

Trial of the Alchemist is a thoroughly deserved 3rd place finalist.

Thank you to BBNYA and The Write Reads for allowing me to be on the judging panel and providing me with a copy of the book to review.

About BBNYA

BBNYA is a yearly competition where book bloggers from all over the world read and score books written by indie authors, ending with 16 finalists and one overall winner.

If you want some more information about BBNYA, check out the BBNYA Website https://www.bbnya.com/ or take a peek over on Twitter @BBNYA_Official. BBNYA is brought to you in association with the book blogger support group @The_WriteReads. 

About the Book

Length: 453 Pages

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

Age Category: Adult

Date Published: April 4, 2023

Amazon Link: https://a.co/d/aNNHuoH (Canada) https://a.co/d/anR8L4D (USA) https://amzn.eu/d/g8MdUIG (UK) 

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199237239-trial-of-the-alchemist 

The Story Graph Link: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/f42303a9-6076-4478-97c8-b0f5cd9a05e3

Nocturne with Gaslamps by Matthew Francis

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

Blurb

An historical crime fiction novel set in Victorian London’s gaslit theatre scene, where ghosts lurk in the shadows and murder takes centre stage.

Gaslight. Ghosts. Murder.

Hastings Wimbury has always dreamt of playing Hamlet, but for now he works as a theatre gas-boy. Here, he tends to a gas chandelier so powerful it creates its own weather, and limelight machines that can throw a shadow onto a wall ten miles away.

When Hastings suddenly disappears, his fiancée Flora sets out to find him with the help of Cassie, her rival in love who is more preoccupied with the ghosts terrorising the streets of London. Soon total darkness is imposed upon the city, and they realise that something far more sinister is at hand…

Ladies aren’t supposed to solve mysteries, but this is a matter of life and death.

Review

As well as being about a disappearance, a murder and ghosts in the darkness of Victorian London, this story is very informative historically about how gaslight was used in theatres at the time, to create wonderfully dramatic, almost ethereal, illusions. It also highlighted to me the origins of the term “in the limelight”.

The story is noir-ish in tempo and style, with elaborate detail about the use of gaslight, the physicality and danger of the gas-boy profession and London at night. The spectacle of the “theatrical” ghostly production around London is something I would have loved to have been real and have seen for myself.

I loved the strength of character and independence of Cassie and Flora, something definitely frowned upon by society at the time. Just like me though, neither of them saw the twist at the end coming.

Thanks to Neem Tree Press for the ARC to review for this blog tour.

The Reanimator’s Heart by Kara Jorgensen

On By @f33lthesunIn AdultLeave a comment

Blurb

A reluctant necromancer, a man killed before his time, and the crime that brings them together.

Felipe Galvan’s life as an investigator for the Paranormal Society has been spent running into danger. Returning home from his latest case, Felipe struggles with the sudden quiet of his life until a mysterious death puts him in the path of the enigmatic Oliver Barlow.

Oliver has two secrets. One, he has been in love with the charming Felipe Galvan for years. Two, he is a necromancer, but to keep the sensible life he’s built as a medical examiner, he must hide his powers. That is until Oliver finds Felipe murdered and accidentally brings him back from the dead.

But Felipe refuses to die again until he and Oliver catch his killer. Together, Felipe and Oliver embark on an investigation to uncover a plot centuries in the making. As they close in on his killer, one thing is certain: if they don’t stop them, Felipe won’t be the last to die.

Review

I really enjoyed this historical, steampunk fantasy story told from two points of view: Oliver, an autistic necromancer working as a pathologist, trying to hide his magic so as not to be harshly judged by others and Felipe, a healer and paranormal investigator, who Oliver accidentally brings back from the dead when he is murdered.

What unfolds is a murder mystery involving organised religion, paranormal investigation, magical relics and the beginnings of a tentative love story between Oliver and Felipe, if only they would talk properly with each other.

The murder is important because of the consequences, the mystery behind it is not the main thing. It does set the backdrop for the relationship between Oliver and Felipe to develop beyond both of them admiring each other from afar but neither being confident enough to let the other one know.

Kara Jorgensen has created believable, well developed characters. The supporting characters are quirky and interesting and each brings their own foibles and personalities to the unfolding story.

This story achieved a very well deserved 3rd place in the BBNYA 2023 awards. Thanks to @The_WriteReads for the eARC to review for this tour.

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi

On By @f33lthesunIn Grown Up NovelLeave a comment

Eight Detectives is cleverly structured. It is seven short stories within an overarching eighth story. It brought to mind Christie and Conan Doyle style set ups.

Julia Hart is a publisher who travels to a secluded island to meet an author who self published seven short, in some places gruesome, stories 30 years previously. She wants to republish the book of stories and delve deeper into his “mathematical rules for murder mystery” research paper, the basis for his short stories.

As she delves into his past the author, Grant McAllister, becomes increasingly less forthcoming. Why? This leads to her becoming the eighth detective.

Each short story is interspersed throughout, as the author and publisher go through each one. Julia points out what she feels are discrepancies in each story, trying to elicit information from Grant as to why he put them into his stories.

I do not want to give spoilers, however I will say I was left feeling short changed when information that had previously been hidden from me as reader was revealed towards the end. This went against the rules as set out by Grant in his theories of murder mystery by numbers. It would not have spoiled enjoyment of the book, or given anything major away, had readers been given a hint of what Julia was actually up to.