Publisher's Weekly Review
Hart (City of Ink and two other mysteries featuring 18th-century Chinese librarian Li Du) establishes herself as a versatile talent with this exceptional standalone set in 1703 London. Botanist Cecily Kay has left her diplomat husband behind in Smyrna to spend time in the home of Sir Barnaby Mayne, a legendary collector, who believes his holdings "contain no less than the future course of all knowledge toward the secrets God left for man to discover." Kay hopes to use Mayne's collection of plants to help her classify the flora she collected in Smyrna. She's delighted to find that Mayne's other guests include a childhood friend, Meacan Barlow, an artist who's been retained to illustrate a new catalogue of the nobleman's possessions. Both women's plans are disrupted when Mayne is found stabbed to death in his study, with the bloody knife in the hands of another member of the household, who confesses to the murder before fleeing. The astute Kay doubts the confession's truthfulness, but her pursuit of answers puts her in danger. The author has a gift for vivid similes (randomly displayed objects are "like guests at a poorly planned party who cannot find a common topic of conversation"). Hart is bound to become a household name for readers who love clever and fair whodunits. Agent: Stephanie Cabot, Gernert Co. (Aug.)
Kirkus Review
Intellectual curiosity serves an aspiring botanist well when she investigates the baffling murder of a mentor. London, 1703. In response to her letter of inquiry, Lady Cecily Kay receives an invitation to visit the fashionable residence of Sir Barnaby Mayne in Bloomsbury Square. Not only does Mayne have an impressive collection of books, jewels, and artifacts from all over the world, but his cabinets of flora, which Cecily will have a week to examine, are equally notable. The residence itself is meticulously organized--Serpent Room, Bird Room, Beast Room, etc. When they go looking for Mayne in his study, Cecily and a handful of other guests discover the corpse of their ill-tempered host along with a frenzied Walter Dinley, one of the other guests, who declares that he killed Mayne after a quarrel. The case seems open-and-shut, but Cecily, who's not so sure, secretly examines the murder scene and begins questioning the household staff. The arrival of the imperious Lady Mayne, who seems unmoved by her husband's death, adds a twist: She won't inherit her husband's priceless collection. Instead, it will go to his courtly, amiable friend Giles Inwood. The sudden return of guest Otto Helm, who had left before dinner and the murder, makes Cecily even more suspicious, especially when he claims to have been assaulted and robbed. The solution is complex, but Cecily is determined to find it in this series debut from the author of the trio of Li Du mysteries. Hart's juicy character portraits and graceful prose make for a delightful period whodunit. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
After unveiling an embezzlement scheme that her husband, the English consul to Smyrna, missed, Cecily is dispatched back to London where her unseemly (for 1703) behavior won't cause further embarrassment. In London, her first stop is Barnaby Mayne's collection of curiosities, where she hopes to identify the botanical samples she's collected abroad. To Cecily's surprise, she's reunited with her childhood friend Meacan, who is illustrating Mayne's latest catalog. But Cecily's round of good fortune ends when Mayne is found murdered in his study and his assistant confesses. Cecily and Meacan don't buy the mild-mannered assistant as Mayne's killer, and they delve into London's cutthroat collector culture to find the truth. Their hunt allies them with Covo, the collecting world's fixer, who reveals a secret occult society and provides a firsthand introduction to the dangers of obsession. The collectors' subculture is fascinating, especially through the eyes of a decorum-flouting narrator, and the mystery is satisfyingly complex. A must-read series debut for fans of Tasha Alexander's and Deanna Raybourn's historical whodunits.
Library Journal Review
Hart moves from the closed world of the early 18th-century China of her "Li Du" novels to the shuttered and locked cabinets of eccentric Barnaby Mayne in early 18th-century London, and the quirky minds of the tight-knit circle of obsessive collectors, among whom Mayne was somewhat of an elder statesman until his untimely demise. While the mystery lies in not just whodunit but why and how it was done, the fascination in this atmospheric story lies with its two offbeat detectives, illustrator-turned-spy Meacan Barlow and her childhood friend, plant collector Cecily Kay. Both women exist on the fringes of the exclusively male world of competitive, combative collectors--which provides them with the knowledge and opportunity to figure out who murdered Mayne before an innocent man goes to the gallows. VERDICT This glimpse into the intimate circles that will eventually spawn the great museums is highly recommended for historical fiction readers looking for a peek into a fascinating closed society. It is an equally solid choice for historical mystery readers who want to see women with intelligence and agency navigate a time and place not meant for them, but where they thrive nonetheless while solving a delightfully twisty murder. [See Prepub Alert, 11/18/19.]--Marlene Harris, Reading Reality, LLC, Duluth, GA
