Review: A Mortal Likeness
Title: A Mortal Likeness
Series: Victorian Mystery #2
Author: Laura Joh Rowland
Release Date: 1/9/2018
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Synopsis from Goodreads: A photographer in Whitechapel, London, Sarah Bain is also a private detective—skilled at capturing others’ dark secrets, and expert at keeping her own. When a wealthy banker, Sir Gerald Mariner, posts a handsome reward for finding his missing infant, all of London joins in, hoping to win that money for themselves. Usually discouraged by a saturated market, Sarah is instead curiously allured as she realizes the case hits much closer to home than she first thought. As she dives in, she discovers a photograph of baby Robin Mariner and his mother. But it eerily resembles the post-mortem photographs Sarah, herself, takes of deceased children posed to look as if they were alive. Now it’s unclear whether the kidnapping is a cover-up to hide the reality of his disappearance, or if it’s truly a cry for help.
My Review: A fast paced historical mystery with enough twists to keep you guessing. The story has a bevy of possible suspects, each with their own possible motives and means. I constantly thought I knew who it was, only to change my mind a few pages later. The story takes place in Victorian London and Rowland does a great job of pulling you in and setting the scene without being overly descriptive. Although this is the second book in the series it works well enough as a standalone and I was able to catch on fairy quickly to what had happened in the first book.
*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*