Published 2017, rated 5 stars
Julianna Deering is my new hero. She's a queen among women; wielding her pen with the efficiency of Aragorn and his sword Anduril.
Where do I even start with my praises of Murder on the Moor?!
Okay, first of all, great character development in this 5th book in her Drew Farthering series. Drew and Madeline have been married for almost 2 years now, still happy little newlyweds, but Drew undergoes a maturing of character that involves not letting past prejudices interfere with his perception of new people that he meets. He also realizes that sometimes, his wife is right. Big shocker, there. So I was very pleased to see them grow, both individually, and as a couple. As my mother put it (she read the book first), it's terrific to see Madeline be more self-assured and less "whiny." Her words, not mine.
As a huge Sherlockian, it delighted me to see a story that obviously founds its base in The Hound of the Baskervilles, but was also completely unique unto itself. And that ending?! Oh my goodness, I had no idea that twist was coming! And that's the first time I can say that with this series, so I was thrilled beyond repair. Great job, Ms. Deering, on shocking and amazing me.
The atmosphere was perfect. I love that Drew's best friend Nick Dennison put in an appearance in his Watsonesque role. I also love that first appearance are deceiving. Drew does a lot of jumping to conclusions about people and their motives and half the time, he's wrong. It was a good lesson for him, and a good reminder for the reader that we can't see inside someone's heart and so it's wrong to judge them or think we know them when we really don't. A hard lesson to learn.
Of the Drew Farthering series thus far, Murder on the Moor is hands down my favorite, although Dressed for Death comes in a pretty close second. These books just make me so happy and feed my already fat love of all things 1930s. ❤
Post a Comment
Thank you for your kind comments, which I adore!