Does Mr. Gallo’s murder have anything to do with the criminal mastermind on the run from America? Penny and Inspector James Blakely must negotiate a world of courtesans, stolen paintings and secret codes to prove Penny's innocence and uncover the truth.
Goodreads Rating: 4.23 with over 200 ratings
Genre Listing: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Goodreads Challenge: 14/50
2019 Reading Challenge: #50 The most recent book in a series you haven't finished (find the whole challenge here)
Reviews on the series: Limelight, The Bermondsey Poisoner, Curse of the Poppy, The Inventor, The Maid's Secret, The Rookery
Book Review:
Putting this as my #50 book may be cheating a little bit, only because it's an ongoing series. An Unwelcome Guest was just released in May, so the next book isn't out yet. I totally didn't want to use more of my free spaces yet though. So at #50, it shall stay.
So, if you're new to the blog, you should know that I'm obsessed with this series. Each book is relatively short and around 200-300 pages. They're quick, easy reads with a lot of detail and suspense. The main character is a female reporter in Victorian London Penny is a rarity in her time with not only being a reporter, but also a Spinster in her mid-thirties. She's has a knack for getting involved in murders through her reporting and always finds herself in some kind of trouble. I wouldn't classify this series as a cozy mystery, but it's relatively tame for some mysteries. There are some blood and gore scenes, but there's no gratuitous sex scenes or cursing.
At first, while reading An Unwelcome Guest, I thought the murder scene was remarkably similar to The Maid's Secret. This was earlier in the series, but mostly Penny finds herself in a large gathering overnight when a murder happens. They both read a bit like a clue game, the victim was found in this room killed by this weapon sort of thing. I did find that the plot deviated from this after the initial murder investigation was done with. Penny finds herself a suspect in the case and seems to be at the top of the list when others are ruled out.
I think what made An Unwelcome Guest by Emily Organ different than the other books in the series is that there are essentially two crimes and two very different investigations. There's a murder investigation, and then there's an art heist investigation. I won't give much more than that away, but I found it very interesting, and there were a ton of suspects. I feel like in every book that's something that Emily Oran really does really well. There's always a lot of suspects that make sense, and they kind of get narrowed down to a couple in each book. I found myself pretty shocked by the outcome of this case.
If you're following along with this series, or at the very least my reviews, you should know some drama has been building in the last few books. Inspector Blakely was engaged to be married to Charlotte, but called the wedding off on the day it was supposed to happen. An Unwelcome Guest focuses a lot on the aftermath of his decision (in between a murder investigation, obviously). I feel like it came to a head in a truly Victorian way, a lawsuit for breach of contract. I think this is one of the things I admire about Emily Organ, she really goes all out with the little historical details. I can imagine that breaking an engagement was a terribly taboo thing in the 1800s.
I think what made An Unwelcome Guest by Emily Organ different than the other books in the series is that there are essentially two crimes and two very different investigations. There's a murder investigation, and then there's an art heist investigation. I won't give much more than that away, but I found it very interesting, and there were a ton of suspects. I feel like in every book that's something that Emily Oran really does really well. There's always a lot of suspects that make sense, and they kind of get narrowed down to a couple in each book. I found myself pretty shocked by the outcome of this case.
If you're following along with this series, or at the very least my reviews, you should know some drama has been building in the last few books. Inspector Blakely was engaged to be married to Charlotte, but called the wedding off on the day it was supposed to happen. An Unwelcome Guest focuses a lot on the aftermath of his decision (in between a murder investigation, obviously). I feel like it came to a head in a truly Victorian way, a lawsuit for breach of contract. I think this is one of the things I admire about Emily Organ, she really goes all out with the little historical details. I can imagine that breaking an engagement was a terribly taboo thing in the 1800s.
I was hoping there would be a little bit more on Francis's expedition, but what there was definitely enough to keep me interested, and show there's going to be some discoveries made. I have a completely unfounded theory that Francis and Ellie are going to court eventually. Another note on the historical fiction aspect in this plot line. Now that Francis is on an entirely different continent, he is communicating with Penny and her sister through letters. At one point, he gets to send them a telegraph, and the girls gush at how instant the communication was and only took a couple of days opposed to weeks. It just made me giggle and reflect on how technology dependent we are, and how much it is taken for granted.
Obviously, I loved the story. Something that I found was really exceptional in this book, and very meaningful for the time we live in is a message throughout this story. The message is one that is kind of hidden but can be a powerful one. So, I leave you with a quote from An Unwelcome Guest.
"It is a stark reminder that all victims must be considered in a fair and equal manner."- Chapter 21 in An Unwelcome Guest by Emily Organ
Obviously, I loved the story. Something that I found was really exceptional in this book, and very meaningful for the time we live in is a message throughout this story. The message is one that is kind of hidden but can be a powerful one. So, I leave you with a quote from An Unwelcome Guest.
"It is a stark reminder that all victims must be considered in a fair and equal manner."- Chapter 21 in An Unwelcome Guest by Emily Organ
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for reading my book blog. Please feel free to leave a comment to further or start a discussion on the book reviews and other posts. If you have a book recommendation for me, I would love to hear it!