I love Judith Merkle Riley’s books so much. I said on Twitter that she feels like an antidote to the kind of hyper-gritty book that Game of Thrones often represents. The time period is not a gentle one, but the relationships between people and the real culture and support between women all combine to make this a lovely & satisfying book. (Plus I really enjoyed the main character.)
I read this because I heard an NPR interview with Castor and was intrigued by the fact that she wanted to set Joan within her historical and political context–giving the background that surrounds her rather than continuing the exceptional individual narrative. Unfortunately, I think the balance was too strong on context and too short on Joan; I finished with a much better understanding of 15th c France and almost no sense of Joan as a person.
The hook for this title is pretty simple: historical lady detectives! It’s based on a real person, the first female Pinkerton’s Detective. However, the main character–her niece–is fictional. It’s a bit episodic, but there are some fun scenes and I liked Nell’s quest for a place to belong.
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