At first I found it difficult to get into the book (possibly due to this not being my usual genre, and/or it was based at a time where there were major social changes going on). Once settled I couldn't put it down. Great characters...the privileged, poor, weird, wonderful and creepy all rolled into one. Yet the plot is written in a way that doesn't cause confusion, so makes for a decently-paced, coherent read. I thought the quality of the writing was highlighted by the Irish character. None of the obvious in-your-face slang often used to remind us that a person is Irish, but subtle wording used here and there to remind us of his background. The mystery in the cellar was a jaw dropper, for me anyway. I'd tried to imagine all kinds of things going on in the bowels of the house, but didn't come close to guessing what the 'secret' was. Looking forward to reading more by this author.
