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A review by toggle_fow
Ghosts in the Abbey by Emily L. Finch
4.0
This second installment of the Samantha and Wyatt mysteries introduces a new murder for the pair to solve, while continuing to flesh out their characters and relationship.
It doesn't wholly lose the thread of the first book's plot, dropping a few more details and clues here and there, but it spends most of its time on a new problem. Samantha has been staying with Madge and her family in the country, recovering from the events of the first book and preparing to deal with her inevitable new role in society as a prominent and wealthy woman. Wyatt and several other families join them for the Winter Ball, and that's when events take a turn for the mysterious.
There's a murder, a haunted abbey, and a heist of gold bars, all of it texturized and tied into real historical details. I always appreciate when authors use the real events of the time, and this book weaves in current Victorian events in a way that enhanced the story without being overly heavy-handed. Solving this case with Wyatt and Samantha was very enjoyable.
It did take me probably half the book to really get invested in what was going on. The beginning was a little slow, dwelling on Samantha's ruminations and daily activities and how repeatedly awkward she and Wyatt both were whenever they interacted as they both tried valiantly to pretend they didn't LIKE like each other. However, after the case got going and they both began to actually grapple with their feelings and communicate more, things got interesting.
The Samantha and Wyatt second act conflict at first frustrated me. It's incredible that he decided to Bold, yet entirely tone-deaf! Samantha's reasons for her choice, however, grew more compelling the more I digested them. By the end of their argument I was entirely in agreement with her, especially with some of Wyatt's behavior in the first book. I very much liked the way this went, and the potential left for both Wyatt's and Samantha's growth as people before they finally, actually get together.
It doesn't wholly lose the thread of the first book's plot, dropping a few more details and clues here and there, but it spends most of its time on a new problem. Samantha has been staying with Madge and her family in the country, recovering from the events of the first book and preparing to deal with her inevitable new role in society as a prominent and wealthy woman. Wyatt and several other families join them for the Winter Ball, and that's when events take a turn for the mysterious.
There's a murder, a haunted abbey, and a heist of gold bars, all of it texturized and tied into real historical details. I always appreciate when authors use the real events of the time, and this book weaves in current Victorian events in a way that enhanced the story without being overly heavy-handed. Solving this case with Wyatt and Samantha was very enjoyable.
It did take me probably half the book to really get invested in what was going on. The beginning was a little slow, dwelling on Samantha's ruminations and daily activities and how repeatedly awkward she and Wyatt both were whenever they interacted as they both tried valiantly to pretend they didn't LIKE like each other. However, after the case got going and they both began to actually grapple with their feelings and communicate more, things got interesting.
The Samantha and Wyatt second act conflict at first frustrated me. It's incredible that he decided to