not as good as the first one which was to be expected. the plot felt a bit too familiar to things like “a haunting in venice” or “crimson peak” at times and we spent a great deal of time worrying about things that weren’t the current case. while i did very much care about cecily, she felt like an afterthought that took away from the chance to have a more complex mystery at large. in fact, i’d rather cecily have her own book with a mystery surrounding her new town of residence.