Sorry, just could not get into this. The characters were unconvincing and the author has not mastered the speech patterns of the time and place. Not my cup of tea.

Before I start the review I have to mention the book covers for this series as they are stunning. Deadly Treasures is just as lovely and it is a perfect fit for this series. Even though this book is the third in the series it can be read as a standalone. I wouldn't say that there would be any confusion reading this book first. It is such a fun cosy mystery series though so it is worth starting at the beginning and getting a better feel for the characters.

I have to say that it was lovely to see Jake and Alkmene team up again as they have such a great partnership. With them complimenting each other perfectly as they discuss the case seemingly finding dead ends until they hit upon a clue. Lady Alkmene is a strong and determined character that is easy to like.

The story gets going straight away and I even though I felt sorry for Alkmene when she found out where Duncan actually is I also couldn't help but smile! There is a murder to solve with a few suspects along the way to keep Alkmene and Jake busy. The plot moves pretty smoothly and for the most part kept my attention. I quickly read this story in one evening as there were a couple of twists that kept things moving along nicely.

I really hope that there will be more adventures with Alkmene and Jake!

Adventure, mystery and hidden treasure!

Thank you to HQ Digital & Netgalley for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Could not power through this one and normally I'm a sucker for English mysteries set in this general time period. The writing was stiff and the characters unengaging - this just did not connect for me.

I am reading books with unusual names for the ladies! In this one Lady Alkmene Callender is anyway an unusual lady for her times. Disinterested in marriage and deaf to the match making tricks of all her relations including her father, a visit to an archaeological site is one she cannot resist, in spite of a prospective groom being the bait!

Finding the groom to be a suspect in a murder case does not deter Alkmene who uses all her detective skills to find out who the real culprit is. The fact that she and journalist Jake are also under threat does not deter her at all.

Told in an easy going style, the characters all blend nicely together to tell a story in a very listenable manner.

Goodreads and Amazon review up on 11/5/2017. Review on my blog appears mid August 2017.

I've admitted defeat, I'm not going to finish this book and I have no interest in trying. DNF at 34%.

I requested this from NetGalley because I'm a great fan of the 1920s/ 1930s detectives, your Agatha Christie books, your Lord Peter Wimsey etc and this looked like a series I could get my teeth into. Sadly, I found this just slooooow. I was one third of the way through the book and nothing seemed to have happened, apart from the murder of course.

None of the characters engaged me, they seemed to be caricatures rather than carefully drawn people.

Thanks netgalley for this ARC.

Vivian Conroy's series gets more exciting, adventurous, and dangerous each new books. Cool!

I am a 'cosy mystery' aficionado .. in between crime thrillers and rom-com's they are my choice. I was looking forward to reading this one, especially as the cover would seem to signal it is a period mystery.
However, it dragged until half-way through, until then it seemed there was one suspect. Then it began to pick up again but it niggled at me that the language didn't match the setting. A 'lady' saying 'maybe' when 'perhaps' would be much more in keeping with her status, and referring to a widow woman as 'Ms.'?? Surely, it would be Mrs. or even more likely missus.
I wasn't overly involved with the mystery. I like ones where all the facts are laid out and the reader gets the chance to see if they can solve it, rightly or wrongly. There was far too much of it inside Alkmene's head, and Jake did very little to contribute - he was very much in the background. Certainly not a partnership.
I'm not usually so picky - generally I get caught up in the story but this one failed to capture my imagination and it's not a series I would delve into again.
All in all, a disappointing read.

I received an arc copy of this novel from Net Galley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review, which this is.