Grave Expectations

A Dickens of a Crime Series, Book 2

By: Heather Redmond

Narrated by: Tim Campbell

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

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 fiancee 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....

©2019 Heather Redmond (P)2019 Tantor

Captivating

Great use of narrative, well developed characters. Just the right amount of romance. Can’t wait to see Charles & Kate together on their next adventure. Maybe even Fred & Mary!

grave expectations

this story was very entertaining. the characters were all interesting and they were all woven into the story. the narrator was easy to understand and he made the characters come alive. . I will be researching the author to see if she has written other books.

Very Christian of you

Why does a modern writer need to utilize this fantastically racist term? I understand that it was employed regularly one to two centuries ago, but given that we have learned a lot since then, couldn’t the phrase “very decent of you” or “very civilized of you” be employed with equal success? Why, also, must the portrayal of every foreigner live up to the shady stereotype afforded to such individuals; the uneducated lower class, especially, during that time? For example, every single Jew uses Yiddish phrases which were then unknown to the average villager or even city dweller. Sure, we all know what “Oy Vey” means now, but back then? It seems clear that its utilization by the author almost immediately upon a new character’s materialization, is to effectively alert us of that character’s true identity. Why? Why does it matter? Why must that be known, right off the bat? Is it some kind of warning? To let readers know that this person is not “same”, but decidedly “other”?

- A Jew