The latest in the Hawthorne series was unfortunately a disappointing read for me. It was clever, but what I enjoy most about this series – the author being a character, with an intriguing mix of fact and fiction – was mostly absent this time. The author is obliged to write another book about Hawthorne, but instead of working on a current case, he writes about an old one which has already been investigated, set in a community of wealthy neighbours in Richmond. This leads to mostly third-person narration as he imagines how the events unfolded, based upon what Hawthorne has told him and some extra digging. I appreciate the ingenuity of the novel, which was more apparent the further I read, but I found it quite tiresome. I have to admit that I’m not really a murder mystery fan, so if you are then I’m sure you’ll like the book. What I read this series for is the narrative style, which was a bit lacking in this instalment. Sadly I’m not going to continue reading this series.
Thank you to the publisher Cornerstone for the advance copy via NetGalley. Publication date 11th April.
