Grave Expectations

Name: Grave Expectations
Brand: Tantor Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Heather Redmond
ISBN: 9781977332288

Author: Heather Redmond

Series: A Dickens of a Crime #2

Narrator: Tim Campbell

Unabridged: 7 hr 58 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/30/2019

Categories: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Historical Fiction

Synopsis

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 . . .

About Heather Redmond

Heather Redmond is the author of the Mary Shelley Mysteries, Dickens of a Crime series and the Journaling Mysteries, as well as historical and contemporary romances written under the name Heather Hiestand. Though her last known British ancestor departed London in the 1920s, she is a committed anglophile, Dickens devotee, and lover of all things nineteenth century. She has lived in Illinois, California, and Texas, and now resides in a small town in Washington State, with her husband and son. She is the president of the Columbia River Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Mallory

This is the second book in the A Dickens of a Crime series. I haven’t read the first book, but I don’t think that took away from my enjoyment or understanding of the story. I was super excited by the concept. What if Charles Dickens was a reporter and amateur sleuth and that is where he got the idea......more

Goodreads review by Maja

WHAT IF CHARLES DICKENS GOT HIS INSPIRATION FROM BEING AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE? Actual rating: 3.5 ⭐️ Well, the idea certainly is original. And entertaining. It's light, despite its dark subject matter (the murder of an elderly lady). And it's filled with likable characters. Still, rating this was diffic......more

Goodreads review by Dianne

This second installment in the A Dickens of a Crime series is a complex and highly satisfying mystery. Redmond weaves Dickensian themes—wealth and poverty, love and rejection—seamlessly throughout the story while evoking a Victorian era that feels immediate and alive. Fans of Anne Perry will love th......more

Goodreads review by Kate

3.5 out of 5 stars What a charming and most enjoyable historical fiction cozy mystery. This is author Heather Redmond's second installment in the, "A Dickens of a Crime" series. Although this reader had not read the first in series (A Tale of Two Murders), they found the second book stands alone easi......more