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Sep. 8th, 2023 03:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysobelA week or so ago I saw an indie author on Twitter wanting ARC readers for a sapphic murder mystery book, set in 1913 Yorkshire, with ace and bi rep. Naturally I couldn't resist.
It's the second book in the series, so first I read the first one, The Murder Next Door (by Sarah Bell), where the aforementioned sapphic couple get drawn into the murder of a next door neighbor. It deals with conflicts between legality and morality, as well as sexuality and relationships. The second novel, Words And Deeds, is about family and love and also the suffragist movement.
In both cases the mysteries unroll in a satisfying manner, and the historical atmosphere is delightful. But I especially love the representation: there are (obviously) lesbians, and gay men, but also one of the main characters is explicitly asexual, and the second book includes bisexuals, including a bi aromantic, and a poly arrangement. Of course they don't use that terminology precisely, but it's nice.
(It's also relevant, to the characters and to the world being built.)
There are several inner ruminations that feel extremely familiar to me, particularly
and
Plus the second novel digs into various forms of love: partners, lovers, family, friends.
The writing is overall quite good, though the first book has a lie/lay issue, the second has "word of censor" which should be "censure", and both books demonstrate dropped-h accent explicitly ('ere and 'ave and 'orrible and 'is and 'im and 'appen, plus t' instead of to) which is rather distracting. I get some of why it's in there, showing the differences in accents ("posh" versus working), but ... it is a bit too much. A few wouldn't bother me, especially in "Yorkshire-bred character has learned a more-socially-approved way of speaking but reverts in times of high emotion", but this much... well, does.
Nevertheless -- quite delightful books (albeit with murder and social injustices) and I suggest reading them.
Both books contain a content warning at the start.
Oh, and the second book contains cat! ᓚᘏᗢ
It's the second book in the series, so first I read the first one, The Murder Next Door (by Sarah Bell), where the aforementioned sapphic couple get drawn into the murder of a next door neighbor. It deals with conflicts between legality and morality, as well as sexuality and relationships. The second novel, Words And Deeds, is about family and love and also the suffragist movement.
In both cases the mysteries unroll in a satisfying manner, and the historical atmosphere is delightful. But I especially love the representation: there are (obviously) lesbians, and gay men, but also one of the main characters is explicitly asexual, and the second book includes bisexuals, including a bi aromantic, and a poly arrangement. Of course they don't use that terminology precisely, but it's nice.
(It's also relevant, to the characters and to the world being built.)
There are several inner ruminations that feel extremely familiar to me, particularly
Was that something ‘normal’ people did? Trying to make each other jealous? Maybe they were not so normal after all – perhaps they were the ones who should be studied, for that seemed like much queerer behaviour.
and
Sometimes, Louisa wished she understood other people better. That she could peel back their skin, crack open their skulls, and peer into their minds. Compile notes and analyse them until she could rationalise why people’s actions were often so alien to her. What she would not have given to read [redacted]’s mind at that point, to understand what exactly compelled her to act that way.
Plus the second novel digs into various forms of love: partners, lovers, family, friends.
The writing is overall quite good, though the first book has a lie/lay issue, the second has "word of censor" which should be "censure", and both books demonstrate dropped-h accent explicitly ('ere and 'ave and 'orrible and 'is and 'im and 'appen, plus t' instead of to) which is rather distracting. I get some of why it's in there, showing the differences in accents ("posh" versus working), but ... it is a bit too much. A few wouldn't bother me, especially in "Yorkshire-bred character has learned a more-socially-approved way of speaking but reverts in times of high emotion", but this much... well, does.
Nevertheless -- quite delightful books (albeit with murder and social injustices) and I suggest reading them.
Both books contain a content warning at the start.
Oh, and the second book contains cat! ᓚᘏᗢ