Published: October 20, 2022
Publisher: Self Published
Series: The Lamplight Murder Mysteries #1
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Pages: 249 (Kindle)
My Rating: 3.5 Stars
Synopsis:
Mysteries abound in Spindle Manor.
For Huntress Isabeau Agarwal, the countryside inn is the last stop in a deadly hunt. Armed with gaslamp and guns, she tracks an insidious beast that wears the skin of its victims, mimicking them perfectly. Ten guests reside within Spindle Manor tonight, and the creature could be any one of them. Confined by a torrential thunderstorm and running out of time, Isabeau has until morning to discover the liar, or none of them—including her—will make it out alive.
But her inhuman quarry isn’t the only threat residing in Spindle Manor.
Gunshots.
A slammed door.
A dead body.
Someone has been killed, and a hunt turns into a murder investigation. Now with two mysteries at her feet and more piling up, Isabeau must navigate a night filled with lies and deception. In a world of seances and specters, mesmers and monsters, the unexpected is hiding around every corner, and every move may be her last.
I picked up a bunch of interesting self-published fantasy books during a big Kindle sale because I am planning to read more self-pubbed books in 2024. Murder at Spindle Manor is the first of the batch because hey, I do love a good mystery.
This is set in a strange world that only gets stranger as the story progresses. Our main character is Isabeau Agarwal, a Huntress employed by the mysterious Nobles to hunt down particularly dangerous magical entities and/or beasties. The one she’s chasing down is a particularly dangerous one that can literally become someone after it’s killed them and it will hop bodies. Isabeau has just arrived at Spindle Manor just after the group of vacationing friends and their assistants and she suspects the beast is disguised as one of them.
While Isabeau suspects this will be a difficult job, she didn’t bargain for the amount of normal human drama the group manages to bring with them. Not only does she have to try to determine which one is actually a monster, but she also must unravel the more mundane mysteries these guests bring with them. There is murder (multiple), a terrifying man-spider, astral projection, a séance and the appearance of Isabeau’s Noble patron. It’s quite the tale, though unfortunately most of the action happens in the latter portion of the book.
The characters themselves are a varied bunch. Isabeau herself has a job to do and that seems to be much of her personality. The most notable is probably Angelica Keystone because she’s written to be such a vile bitch that it’s literally impossible that she makes it through her stay at Spindle Manor. Death a la Murder on the Orient Express would have been fitting, but she gets her just desserts (or should I say porridge). The Colonel was fairly memorable as well, because she’s a large, gruff woman who bears an unforgettable number of mechanical parts due to a war injury. There’s the drunkard Coachman, Clayton Homes, which also happens to be the name of a mobile home seller where I live… Johnny Prescott is a tagalong with the main group of friends and he’s the standard shady guy – you just know he’s up to something but you don’t know what. Oh! And lest I forget, the silent but memorable “living doll”, who is basically a person’s spirit bound to a body after they should have died. Creepy!
Overall, this was an imaginative mystery that reminded me of Agatha Christie to a small degree. I did find myself wishing the plot would just get on with it already during the beginning and then found myself wishing things would slow down a bit during the end. The grand reveals were somewhat predictable, aside from one, but the ending was satisfying. I have the second book already and am planning to pick it up soon!
Powder & Page 