*Thank you to Bolinda Audio and Net Galley for the Audiobook in exchange for an honest reivew*

Set in 1881, this is the story of Rhiannon (Non) a young woman at the vanguard of Oxford University's new program to allow female scholars. While pushing against the barriers of what Victorian England thinks a woman should be, she becomes entangled in the investigation of a mysterious death of a fellow student.

There were parts of this book that I really enjoyed: the atmosphere and historical details were masterfully presented and were extremely good at creating an engrossing setting. It's clear the author put a lot of research into the setting of this book and I appreciated that so much.

The overall thematic elements of patriarchy, feminism, and women's rights was great, and I especially liked that the people you thought might be on Non's side sometimes were and that she found support in unlikely places (no spoilers!). It acknowledged the complexity of the Rights for Women movement really well.

Unfortunately there were also some things that were not as enjoyable. While I liked both of the main characters of Non and Basil, I felt both of them were underdeveloped. There were hints of interesting details and experiences that didn't get fleshed out enough, and I didn't end up feeling much of a connection to either one of them.

I also found the "mystery" element of the story lacking. If this hasn't been advertised as a mystery I probably would have enjoyed that element more, but as it stands it's more of a secondary storyline that just makes for an interesting thing for the characters to talk about, but it didn't seem to be what this book was actually about. I was very underwhelmed by it.

A note specifically on the audio:

I really enjoyed the male narrator. Zero complaints!

The female narrator took deep breaths before many of her lines that were audible in the recording, and I found that very off-putting and distracting. She also had some odd cadences and pacing, many times stopping long enough that I thought a new chapter was starting, only to have her monologue continue (and I was listening on 1.25 speed!). Her voice was absolutely lovely so I think my primary issue was the editing of her performance.

Overall this is a solid work historical fiction and I enjoyed my read, but the mystery element of the storyline was a disappointment.

A Bitter Remedy is the first book in a historical murder mystery series by Alis Hawkins. Released 25th March 2023 by Canelo, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Academic mystery lovers are in for a treat. Set in the late 19th Century in Oxford, in and around the college, a firmly unrepentant young female academic chafes against the restrictions imposed on her because of her sex (female), her upbringing (unconventional), her cultural origin (Welsh), and her intellectual capacity (head and shoulders above the other (male) students). She has allies, but most of the time they seem to be thwarting her in their belief that she's her own worst enemy in terms of ruffling feathers to force progress. A Gordian knot, indeed, and she's the sword to cut through it.

At its base, it's a historical murder mystery, woven around historical Oxford and the burgeoning forensic knowledge of the times. The story is told around a framework of actual historical events and characters; woven skillfully and seamlessly, so that it's not always clear what elements are fictive and which are real.

The characters are very well rendered and believable. Non's passionate frustration is *palpable* and she's sympathetic and real. The plotting is tight and well paced, and the mystery itself is cleverly constructed and surprisingly complex and nuanced. It's full of pathos, for (unnecessarily inflexible) social constrictions, sex and gender roles, rigid class structure, and the casual cruelty inflicted on those who "didn't belong" or rebelled against the status quo.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 12 hours 58 minutes and is elegantly read by Ffion Aynsley & Iestyn Arwel. The sound and production quality are high throughout the read and the narrators are smooth and extremely well modulated (especially Ms. Aynsley who has a beautiful facility with regional accents and the cut-glass RP accent of the upper echelon voices as well as a range of regional accents and characters of a wide spectrum of ages and both sexes). Mr. Arwel reads with warmth and humour.

Four stars. Very strong. It would be a good choice for public library acquisition or home use. There are two books extant in the series thus far. It would make a nice buddy read or book club discussion. Definitely one that will appeal to fans of C.S. Harris, Andrea Penrose, and Anna Lee Huber.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The atmosphere in the book was so vivid and it was so well written. It has an element of immersion to it, which could have been the audiobook as well as the book itself.

The audiobook was absolutely brilliant and the casting was pure spot on. I’ve been learning Welsh for the past two years so to hear a Welsh speaker and one that did beautiful justice to the language made me so happy :’).

It had a dark academia vibe to it and navigating this period of history with Non was a great reading experience too.

It was slow and steady in its plot, arriving gently to its conclusion which was captivating in itself. The mystery element and the unexplained death of a young Oxford graduate sees Non taking it upon herself to investigate and find out what happened. Which, as a girl which Oxford is reluctant to admit to their lectures, proves a challenge in itself.

She has a lot to overcome and as a self assured woman in a time where women were not allowed admittance to the university, she’s constantly up against it.

I’d had my eye on this book for a while and the audiobook was the perfect format to consume it in! Thoroughly enjoyed the audio and it provided a great reading experience.

This book had some great things going for it: a well-structured murder mystery, class and gender politics in 19th century Oxford, Victorians being utterly bizarre about sexuality and patent medicine. It was clearly well-researched.

Unfortunately, the protagonist Rhiannon was gratingly irritating. Her point-of-view chapters were quite voicey — very verbose, every little thing examined and thought over — in a way that just wasn’t to my taste, and her anger at the world was justified but monotonous. I was disappointed that we were simply told of her love for Welsh philology without getting to see it in action. And she had a “not like other girls” attitude which extended to contempt for the other studying in Oxford, because apparently they are all boring conformists for fighting for their own educations??? In contrast, the other point-of-view character Basil was a touch too bland to invoke any particular response to his character, although queer pining is my jam, and I got demisexual/grey-ace vibes from him, which I always love to see.

The narrators, Ffion Aynsley and Iestyn Arwel, did a brilliant job.

🎧Audio Book Review🎧


A Bitter Remedy
Alis Hawkins

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a brilliant start to what will hopefully be a multi book historical fiction series.

Set in the 1880's, we're taken back to Victorian Oxford. Think back to a time when there are many predjudices and services were much less developed than now.

A young undergraduate is found dead on the university premises and their guardian blames the college.
As his mentor, Basil feels responsible - but needs to hide the secret of his sexuality.

Rhiannon, one of the first women accepted into Oxford, hugely intelligent, but facing her own issues - feels the need to prove herself in a very male dominated world.
Together, the two form a most unlikely team and take on the investigation.

This was a really interesting plot which combines crime fiction with historical fiction.
It was really well researched, written and presented.

Heading back to this era really was quite shocking, seeing how much things have changed in such a relatively short period - especially the access to education for women.

I liked that we follow the story through both pov's.
I wasn't 100% keen on Non at first, but she really did grow on me as the pairing developed through the book.

A really enjoyable first in series and first book I've read by this author. I look forward to seeing what comes next.



**I also listened to this on audio book and really loved the two narrators.
They really brought the characters to life and portrayed their personalities and attitudes brilliantly.

This is the first book I’ve read ( or listened to) by Alis Hawkins and I found it an interesting outing. Clearly well researched, there’s a real feel for 1881 Oxford University, the people attitudes and practices. Non, the central character is one of few women and is the subject of some derision by her fellow students. An undergrad dies in mysterious circumstances and she teams up with Parker, a Professor to investigate the death. Potential scandal and mystery abounds.

Overall, I enjoyed the story although I felt Non was a little OTT at times. Almost to a point of irritation. However, the book is well written and the narration is excellent. I think the author has captured the essence of how difficult it was to be a female student and in some respects, those themes reverberate in present times. The investigative partnership is interesting and original and I’ll be interested in the follow up.

I have recently started to enjoy more historical fiction more and more, so that is why I requested this book.

This book has many things going for it. I think the setting is fantastic and as I woman, I resonated with the main character "Non", and her attitude (sometimes she was too much for me) towards those who thought less of her. However, there were times that she was completely overbearing and was too much to take.

I thought the storyline was done well; the plot was intriguing without being too overly complicated to the point where everyone is lost in a sea of names and places. I think the struggle for me came in the main character being exhausting, pushy, and insufferable at points throughout the book. And there were points throughout the book where I felt that the political views of the author were being shoved down my throat. I enjoy subtlety and having an understanding of their point of view from their writing, not from the ranting of their characters repeatedly and often.

I am looking forward to book number two in the series and hope the narration is just as good in the second as it was in this book.

1881 Oxford and a university student is found dead. Was he ill, did the accidentally overdose or was he murdered? Sidney Parker had a sad life and death. Rhiannon Vaughan will work with Basil Rice to uncover the truth of this tragedy, but being a woman can take no credit. Life at Uni in 1881 was not a place for women.

Excellent, well written and well narrated novel (I listened to the audiobook). Loved all the fascinating characters in this well paced atmospheric novel. Intriguing throughout with an insight into women’s expectations in the 1880s. Enjoy the read.

Set in 1881, this book explores the intriguing mystery that lies behind the death of a young undergraduate student at Oxford, Sidney Parker. This is the start of a new mystery series set in Oxford that promises to be an interesting one.

Faced with the possibility of a distinctly unsavoury scandal in the wake of Parker's death, the unlikely pair of Basil Rice and Rhiannon Vaughn find themselves working together. The former is a Fellow at Jesus College where Sidney Parker was studying, and has a strong motive to figure things out because he has secrets of his own that he does not want anyone looking to closely at.

Rhiannon is an even more unusual character - one of the few women at University, and a person determined to forge her own path in an immensely chauvinistic environment. But whatever their gifts, can this pair of amateur detectives discover the truth before time runs out?

Overall, Hawkins delivers an engrossing story, and I particularly like Rhiannon's character. This gets 3.5 stars.

I loved listening to this audiobook and exploring the era in glorious detail, the mystery was very compelling and I cannot wait for the next one.

Absolutely riveting mystery set in Victorian Oxford where a brilliant Welsh woman attending lectures before women were admitted to study for degrees and a professor solve the mystery of a murdered student. Non and Basil weren't really like any detective duo I'd read before. They worked separately most of the time, coming together to share information, each leaning on their own skills and interests. They felt like very real people, and I was just as invested in their personal lives as I was in the mystery's outcome. Ffion Aynsley and Iestyn Arwel are new-to-me narrators and I absolutely loved them, especially when we got to hear quotations and some other passages in Welsh. Will definitely be looking up more of their performances and hope they narrate the next book in this series. Can't wait wait to listen!!! Highly recommend!!!