book-blog.com: Melikan, Rose: The Blackstone Key

4.5 stars

Mary Finch's great adventure begins in 1795, when she leaves her teaching position at Mrs. Bunbury's school for young ladies to visit her only relative, a wealthy uncle from whom her father, now dead some three years, had long been estranged. Mary hopes that her uncle's summons implies an interest in reconciliation, and with that in view she travels alone, her determination to do so the first sign of her unusual pluck. But the journey is not without incident, and Mary finds herself swept up in a mystery that starts with the incomprehensible warnings of a dying man and involves Mary in the seedy worlds of smuggling and espionage and, not least, the polite society of Suffolk. Along the way she encounters two eligible bachelors--the eminently practical Captain Holland and Mr. Déprez, late of the West Indies. But which of the two is the more trustworthy is itself a mystery that eludes Mary for the better part of the book.

The Blackstone Key is the first in a proposed trilogy. The second installment is due out in 2009, and that is very good news indeed: Rose Melikan's debut novel is a delightful read. Mary is a likable heroine, a feisty orphan who struggles politely against the mores of her day. The book offers both mystery and romance--both engaging, and both played out against a backdrop of war with France. The book is written as a pseudo-Victorian novel, with its intricate sentences and attention to the manners of the day. It is a slow read, so you should not undertake it if you're in the mood for a plot that will grab you by the throat. This is, rather, a book to relish over tea, with your feet up and an afternoon at your disposal.