I actually ended up reading Death Comes to Dartmoor twice, because my health got in the way when I initially read it with an intent to review so I had to reread it now that I am actually reviewing it.
This historical mystery invokes the feeling of gothics and Sherlock Holmes both in descriptions and the writing style. The setting has a good creep factor, so you definitely know in the first couple chapters that something bad is going to happen.
I liked the main female character a lot. She accepts enough convention to feel credible to the time period while still rebelling enough to be appealing to a modern woman. I liked her intelligence and connected with her insecurities about herself.
Although this is a second book in a series, I was able to read it without having read the first one. I am not left out of anything essential to the mystery and lots of information is provided to fill me in on the history between the female MC and her sleuthing partner. I did occasionally feel a bit like more was going on that I didn’t know, but it wasn’t essential to this mystery.
The initial opening scene does not feel as strong to me as the rest of the book. It also felt a bit info-dumpy. However, the copy I have is an advance copy, despite my delay actually reviewing it, so it is possible this has been improved in final revisions.
I read a lot of mysteries because I enjoy the puzzle aspect–trying to figure out the culprit from the pieces available. Unfortunately, the resolution in this one was not completely satisfying to me in connection with my personal preferences. I do not want to explain more and potentially ruin things for others.
Despite this slight letdown in the ending, I would definitely read more in this series.
I end up with an overall 3 star rating, which means I consider the book a solid, decent read. It passed the time well on both reads and served effectively as a distraction.
