Secret Letters - Leah Scheier

Review: Secret Letters

Author: Leah Scheier

Rating: 4/5

Genre: historical-fiction, mystery

Recommend To: fans of the Mary Quinn mystery series

(First off, I must apologize for abandoning this blog for a week. I guess I'm sporadic but oh well. I do this because I love reading. Anyway, so here's what I read.)

The Plot: Girl, Dora, wants to be a detective, and she wants to learn about her biological father, and she wants to help her cousin, and she wants to save Lady Rose, and she wants to be free of society, and she wants to know what Peter thinks about her, and finally most of all she just really wants to take part in solving a real, actual mystery. She wants to do a lot. So she fakes being a maid and finds secret coded letters, and tries to find footprints and put clues together. It isn't really a page turner of a mystery, and it does't really have you scratching your head. But mostly, it's just a lot of good clean fun. It's endearing. Lot's of little secrets in an awesome Victorian setting. 

The Characters: They were flat, but still likable. Dora, was supposed to be very clever, and she was. Feisty, pretty, very smart, insecure (she spends a while debating on her looks vs. her brains), and modest. She was good at noticing all these little absurd things that solved the case. But then again, she could also be very dense at times. There were plot points I figured out about a mile ahead. It was verging on Mary Sueish. Peter was almost too good to be true. Guilty, angry, intelligent, wounded, protective, and handsome.....that's a lot of good rolled into one. Maybe too much. I didn't connect with either of them too well. But they were fun to read about.

The Romance: There really wasn't much to tell here. No kisses or anything, it was very proper. A lot of arguing, which is always fun, and then wondering "does he like me?". Regular girly stuff. I almost wish it had been further elaborated on, but because it wasn't supposed to be the focus of the plot anyway, I liked it better that way. Plus it made Dora seem smarter, not being overly boy-crazed. I did admire that about her.

The Style: It wasn't too mysterious for a mystery. No suspense or anything. Even when guns were being waved around I never really felt anything, mostly because I knew nothing would really happen. The story was too predictable for that. The mystery itself didn't draw me in either, it just wasn't that interesting. I did like the setting though, but that may be because I am a huge fan of London and that particular time period.

Overall: Not a novel that is written in depth, but it explores things like guilt, family and gender roles. Also not too focused on the romance and the characters could use some widening, but for a fun little mystery it is a quick read. Finally, the ending leaves a lot to be desired, although it was very unusual.