I actually ended up reading Death Comes to Dartmoor twice, because my health got in the way when I initially read it with an intent to review so I had to reread it now that I am actually reviewing it.
This historical mystery invokes the feeling of gothics and Sherlock Holmes both in descriptions and the writing style. The setting has a good creep factor, so you definitely know in the first couple chapters that something bad is going to happen.
I liked the main female character a lot. She accepts enough convention to feel credible to the time period while still rebelling enough to be appealing to a modern woman. I liked her intelligence and connected with her insecurities about herself.
Although this is a second book in a series, I was able to read it without having read the first one. I am not left out of anything essential to the mystery and lots of information is provided to fill me in on the history between the female MC and her sleuthing partner. I did occasionally feel a bit like more was going on that I didn't know, but it wasn't essential to this mystery.
The initial opening scene does not feel as strong to me as the rest of the book. It also felt a bit info-dumpy. However, the copy I have is an advance copy, despite my delay actually reviewing it, so it is possible this has been improved in final revisions.
I read a lot of mysteries because I enjoy the puzzle aspect--trying to figure out the culprit from the pieces available. Unfortunately, the resolution in this one was not completely satisfying to me in connection with my personal preferences. I do not want to explain more and potentially ruin things for others.
Despite this slight letdown in the ending, I would definitely read more in this series.
I end up with an overall 3 star rating, which means I consider the book a solid, decent read. It passed the time well on both reads and served effectively as a distraction.
Posted from my blog with Exxp : http://bex-dk.com/2021/04/03/book-review-death-comes-to-dartmoor-by-vivian-conroy/