Not a bad book, but the writing wasn't great and detracted from the story.

Really enjoyed this book, a nice weekend read. The plot had a lot of twists and turns and the characters were likeable. The only issue I had was with the location. Dunston and Inspiration Valley are far enough apart to have a train running between the 2, but at times it seemed like they were one and the same. If Sean is a Dunston police officer, why was he investigating a crime in Inspiration Valley? And if he was an officer in Inspiration Valley, why was he investigating the arson in Dunston? And if it's actually a county sheriff's department, why would he be an officer and not a deputy? I don't know why such a small thing distracted me so much, but it stuck out like a sore thumb.

Overall, a great read and I look forward to more in the series.

If not for discovering Last Tango In Halifax, I'd have finished this last week. The plot was a little convoluted at times, but the pace was good. Interesting bunch of characters, a little social justice, but the setting could be a little richer. Overall, a good read and I'll try the next one.

3.5 stars. Good plot, likeable characters, and enjoyed the historical mystery, but the book could use a heavier hand in editing. Just too much extraneous inner dialogue that could be slimmed down and one of those books where every character has some terrible tragedy in their past that gets entirely too much attention at the expense of the story in some parts. Also, as a pathologist, it would be expected that Nora would be more objective than going around accepting assumptions as fact without all the evidence.

Overall, a good read but a little too wordy.

Bizarre book. Not bad, just weird.

More like 2.5 stars, but I'll be generous and give it 3. Not a bad book, but I just wasn't invested whle reading it. A jerk gets offed, a bitch cop investigates, it takes the MC half the book to realize the texts she's getting from her life long best friend are out of character, and the end was abrupt.

Wooden characters, predictable plot and the "voice" of the MC sounded more like a 14 year old than someone who has been to college for more than a year or 2. Just didn't connect with it.