Genre: Historical Mystery
Setting: Gilded Age (Boston, 1868)
POV: 3rd Person (heroine’s point of view)
Sensuality: Subtle
Violence: Yes, but mostly off page
Format: Digital (currently out-of-print but available as an ebook at Smashwords)
Why I Read It: I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series, Still Life With Murder
My Grade: A-
Murder in a Mill Town is the second book in P.B. Ryan’s Gilded Age mystery series featuring the governess, Nell Sweeney, and her employer’s son, Will Hewitt, an opium-addicted former surgeon. I enjoyed it even more than the first book in the series, Still Life With Murder, probably because I was already familiar with the characters and knew I liked them. Note: As this is the second book in a series, a couple of minor spoilers for the first book are inevitable.
The story takes place a few months after the end of Still Life With Murder. To her disappointment, Nell hasn’t seen Will Hewitt since. In the meantime, her never cordial relationship with his brother, Harry, has deteriorated further. Harry’s debauched lifestyle has taken a turn for the worse and he is now addicted to absinthe.
The parents of a girl who works in the Hewitt family’s mill pay a visit to Viola. Mrs. Fallon is distraught because her daughter, Bridie, has been missing for a few days. She has already appealed to Harry and August Hewitt for assistance, but to no avail. She hopes Viola will prove more sympathetic as she is also a mother. Viola offers to help in any way she can and asks Nell to investigate the circumstances of Bridie’s disappearance.
Nell’s enquiries lead her to cross paths with the enigmatic Will Hewitt once more. When they make a grisly discovery, all clues lead to Harry Hewitt being the culprit and he is arrested. Once more, August Hewitt’s wealth and influence buys the cooperation of the police. Harry is released and the deaths are ruled a murder-suicide. With Viola’s support, Nell and Will press on with their investigation, determined to find out what really happened.
In the midst of murder and mayhem, Nell is confronted by a figure from her past. Her position in the Hewitt household is tenuous due to the strife between her and August and Harry Hewitt. She can’t afford to have her less-than-salubrious history come to light, especially as she regards her charge, little Gracie, as her own child. Meanwhile, Will is still struggling with his opium addiction and his feelings for Nell. Both issues come to a head over the course of the book.
Murder in a Mill Town is an absorbing and well-written mystery with a wonderful cast of characters. I found the suspense plot stronger in this book than in its predecessor. I also approve of the way in which Nell and Will’s relationship is developing.
Nell and Will are both characters who are obliged to adjust to life in a society for which they are not a natural fit. Nell desperately wants to be respectable, yet that’s not really who she is. She’s in the awkward position in the Hewitt household of neither being a servant nor a member of the family, which further isolates her.
Will is less concerned by what people think of him. He’s an outsider because he chooses to be one. In many ways, his opium addiction provides him with the perfect excuse not to live the life his family want for him. I hope he stops his self-destructive behaviour, but I fear he has a ways to go before finding inner peace.
The twist involving Nell’s past is very well done. I’ve been deliberately vague in my review as I don’t want to give too much away, but I’ll be interested to see how it develops in future books.
Two books in, I’m thoroughly enjoying Nell and Will’s adventures and I can’t wait to read more.
{ 5 comments }
You’ve convinced me – off to buy the first one! I love this re-releasing of OOP backlist titles in e – win-win, IMO.
I actually didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first–the mill town parts were just kind of blah. But what I love about these books is how fascinating all the characters are! Even Harry, who is absolutely loathsome, was very enjoyable to read about it in this book just because he’s so interesting. I wish he was in the later books more, actually.
Sarah, thanks for another great, perceptive review. I love knowing that there are readers who get me and like what I do. Good job avoiding spoilers, too, and I know it wasn’t easy!
Pat
Now that I have my Kobo recalibrated to adjust fonts, I just downloaded a number of books from Smashwords – the whole series of these books (and the Alexis Harrington book you reviewed *g*) . They included this whole series so I’m looking forward to reading them! I have the first one – somewhere around the house – but it’s so handy now having it on the ereader!
How did I miss the comments on this review? Apologies, everyone.
@Li: I hope you enjoy it! I’m having fun finding OOP titles that I’d heard mentioned but hadn’t yet read.
@Patricia Ryan/P.B. Ryan: I just heard from a real life friend who bought the entire Nell Sweeney series to read on her new iPad. She’s already read them all! I’m “only” as far as Book Three, which is also very good, BTW.
@KristieJ: I hope you enjoy them. I’m having so much fun with my BeBook. Making the move to digital was an excellent decision.
@heidenkind: Harry is loathsome, yet I still find his character fascinating. He’s sort of the anti-Will, in spite of Will’s protests to the contrary.
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