Book Review: The Bermondsey Poisoner by Emily Organ

Goodreads Summary: London 1884. A culprit is on the run after a fatal poisoning in Bermondsey. It seems like a simple case for Penny Green to report on until a series of macabre photographs are discovered.
As the poisonings continue, Scotland Yard is convinced they have their suspect. It’s not long before they’re outwitted and no one is safe. Penny and Inspector James Blakely must avoid the red herrings and track down the manipulative poisoner.

But could there be more than one?
Goodreads Rating: 4.28 stars with just over 100 ratings
Genre Listing: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Get the book:  Amazon
Goodreads Challenge: 35/30
Other books in the series: Limelight, The Rookery The Maid's Secret, The Inventor, Curse of the Poppy

Review:

I surprised myself and pre-ordered The Bermondsey Poisoner, which is something I hardly ever do. I'm so enthralled with this series, however, that I wanted to make sure to read it as soon as it was available. Emily Organ definitely did not disappoint in the sixth book of the Penny Green series. I think I read it in about two days, but each book in the series is only around 200 pages, so that's not really surprising.

What I liked the most about the Bermondsey Poisoner is the mystery surrounding it. I loved that the focus was on a female serial killer. It made it exciting and different. I was entertained throughout and enjoy the details of Organ's Victorian London. I'm continually impressed with Emily's ability to get such a detailed story in such a short amount of pages. Penny is an intelligent and relatable character. I really enjoy reading about her adventures as a working woman in Victorian London, when that wasn't really a commonplace thing, primarily as a news reporter.

Where this series leaves me wanting more is the mystery surrounding Penny's father as well as her relationships with Francis and James. I find that these topics kind of overlap. Francis has taken it upon himself to go across the globe to find information on Penny's father. Penny had two opportunities to take off and go on the adventure, and while not proper for the times I think it would have been a fantastic read. Unfortunately, Penny stays put in London and pines over James who is set to be married. I'm sure it's just a reader preference, but I'm tired of reading about James and Penny's obsession with him. The ending of The Bermondsey Posioner makes it clear that he's not going anywhere, sadly. I will say that there was a really lovely inclusion of Francis's adventures at the end. I'm really excited to see where that leads.

I'm not going to let the love triangle deter me from reading this series. While I don't agree with the choice, I'm sure it has it's rhyme and reason. The rest of the series is still a great read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes Victorian Mysteries or needs a quick series to binge through. It's got enough twist and turns to make it interesting, but short enough to where I don't feel like I need to devote my life to reading it to make progress.