I inhaled the entire series in two days, I was that engrossed. Emotionally complex characters really set the series apart, and the romance - which developed slowly, organically, and never fell victim to contrived obstacles, only wholly believable ones - was ridiculously satisfying. It doesn't hurt that Will is the sort of broken hero that might as well have been conjured from a checklist of all the things I like best in that kind of character, falling somewhere on the spectrum between Mr. Rochester and Peter Wimsey, or that Nell would have gotten along famously with Jane Eyre and Harriet Vane. I'm sad to have reached the end. I wanted this to be better than it ended up being. Post-Civil War America is a fascinating setting for a book, but for me, the setting was not enough. There was too much hinting at Nell's background for 200 pages and not enough explaining, which felt gimmicky. I was quite annoyed with Will, the opium-addicted back-from-the-dead brother/son and his mother, Viola.Unless they are $.99 or free, I probably won't be reading the rest of the series.
What do You think about Still Life With Murder (2010)?
A very good book. I am looking forward to reading more in this series.
—vivi
entertaining read. i like the era & that it takes place in Boston.
—greenclover
I love the Nell Sweeney books. I wish there were more of them.
—sanya
