Monday 27 January 2014

A Study In Silks (The Baskerville Affair #1) by Emma Jane Holloway.

I received a free copy from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book, it's well-written with a really great story-line, a brilliant cast of characters and a heroine who is the niece of Sherlock Holmes.  It is set in Victorian England but has a steam-punk flavour, the London in this story is run by the Steam Baron's.  A group of very rich people who charge everyone for their lights, heating and other amenities, depending on who you pay depends on the colour of your light's.  Think of them as a type of mafia who rule the streets with all the weight of their money behind them, they own the police and many politicians and can have you Disconnected at their whim.

Evelina Cooper lived with her grandma at the circus until her maternal grandmother comes to take her away.  Thrust into a world of fancy gowns, parties and Presentation to the Queen, she finds that whilst staying with her friend Imogen is pleasant, there is also a lot of shady goings on.  In this new world, she could be arrested and sentenced to death or detained at Her Majesties Leisure in a Medical facility if she is caught doing magic.  With her interest in machinery, clockworks and magic, she has to tread carefully and whilst working in the attic to avoid detection she is disturbed by a couple of Groomsmen who have been sent to collect a couple of trunks from the attic as well.

She is soon thrust into a world of murder, intrigue, romance and magic through which she must carefully navigate her way to discover just who killed the maid, the groomsmen and just what is Dr Magnus after.

Being the niece of the Great Sherlock Holmes, she doesn't shy away from the situation.  Instead she takes it upon herself to try and save her friends from being disgraced.  As she follows the clues and avoids Dr Magnus as much as possible, who seems intent on exploiting her magical abilities, she also finds herself falling for Imogen's brother, Tobias but also still has feelings for her childhood friend Nick.

With a little help from her uncle, she finally gets to the bottom of whole affair and without losing her life.  

I shall be reading the next book, A Study in Darkness and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone with an interest of the weird, wonderful world of steam-punk.

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