Grave Expectations

Grave Expectations
$26.00eBook: $12.99
Author:
Series: Dickens of A Crime, Book 2
Tags: Recommended Books, Recommended Books
Publisher: Kensington Books
Publication Year: 2019
ASIN: B07K5YLL9G
ISBN: 9781496717160

In this clever reimagining of Charles Dickens’s life, he and fiancée Kate Hogarth must solve the murder of a spinster wearing a wedding gown . . .

About the Book

In this clever reimagining of Charles Dickens’s life, he and fiancée Kate Hogarth must solve the murder of a spinster wearing a wedding gown . . .

London, June 1835: In the interest of being a good neighbor, Charles checks in on Miss Haverstock, the elderly spinster who resides in the flat above his. But as the young journalist and his fiancée Kate ascend the stairs, they are assaulted by the unmistakable smell of death. Upon entering the woman’s quarters, they find her decomposing corpse propped up, adorned in a faded gown that looks like it could have been her wedding dress, had she been married. A murderer has set the stage. But to what purpose?

As news of an escaped convict from Coldbath Fields reaches the couple, Charles reasonably expects the prisoner, Ned Blood, may be responsible. But Kate suspects more personal motives, given the time and effort in dressing the victim. When a local blacksmith is found with cut manacles in his shop and arrested, his distraught wife begs Charles and Kate to help. At the inquest, they are surprised to meet Miss Haverstock’s cold and haughty foster daughter, shadowed by her miserably besotted companion. Secrets shrouded by the old woman’s past may hold the answers to this web of mystery. But Charles and Kate will have to risk their lives to unveil the truth . . .

Endorsements
“Grave Expectations is as easy to read as one of Mr. Dickens’ actual novels and as entertaining. As the subtitle reveals, it’s a Dickens of a tale, and readers should be coming back for more.”
“Redmond accurately presents both Charles Dickens’ personal life and the social conditions of the time that he was so instrumental in laying bare in his novels…The Charles Dickens we meet in this novel is young, inexperienced and just beginning to find some financial success. We see the cruel, callous conditions of the time through his rather naive eyes and sense the depth of his caring for those who are its victims. The plot in part reflects this, but it does not hinder the telling of a fast-moving and engaging story.”
"...one of the most satisfying mysteries you will read this year."
“Redmond’s appealing sequel…effectively captures the young Charles’s ebullient energy, the warmth of his circle, and the color of a fast-changing era. Readers will look forward to Charles’s further adventures.”
"This second installment in the A Dickens of a Crime series is a complex and highly satisfying mystery. "
"A great read."
“The life of a promising journalist in 19th-century London is complicated, but Redmond's hero is more than up to the challenge in this topsy-turvy take on a British literary classic. Once again, Redmond mixes history, mystery, and a little bit of whimsy.”
Look Inside
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