Thursday, March 05, 2015

Book review: Sandra Byrd, Mist of Midnight

With her latest novel, Sandra Byrd switches from stories of Tudor ladies-in-waiting to a Victorian gothic romance, presented here with several new twists.

She elevates the traditional form of the “woman-in-danger” mystery by adding period-appropriate religious concerns and details on India’s diverse cultural heritage – and by crafting a courageous heroine with hidden talents who’s capable of saving herself.

When Miss Rebecca Ravenshaw returns to England in 1858, the sole survivor of her family after her missionary parents were killed in the Indian mutiny, she confronts an unusual dilemma.

A distant relative, Captain Luke Whitfield, has taken up residence at her family home of Headbourne House in Hampshire, England, believing himself to be the rightful heir. Even worse, everyone thinks Rebecca is an imposter. A young woman with an Indian maid had previously assumed Rebecca’s name and inheritance, died unexpectedly months later, and was buried in a lonely grave on the Headbourne estate at midnight. Who was she?

Rebecca knows she has a tough road ahead to prove her identity, but she isn’t without confidence. “That someone had posed as me, and was now dead, was truly startling, but I had been through much worse in the Uprising,” she says. Her mother had educated her well, and she knows that safeguarding her home is her responsibility.

As she awaits formal proof of her claim to Headbourne to arrive from India, which could take months, she must depend on the charity of the handsome, kind Captain Whitfield. She must also navigate through a sea of uncertainty – especially regarding her social-climbing French maid and Whitfield himself – to decide who she to trust, learn who the young imposter was, and why and how she died.

All of the novel’s mysteries, these and others, are resolved in a satisfying way. The religious references are naturally inserted, and the romance is warmly sensual without being explicit. The story also impresses upon readers that in this time and place, when women’s financial security and personal happiness were so dependent on the type of men they married, choosing the right husband was such an important decision – and required an immense leap of faith. Recommended for readers who enjoy a strong historical flavor with their gothic romances.

Mist of Midnight is published by Howard Books/Simon & Schuster this month (trade pb, 384pp, $14.99).  This is first in a new series entitled Daughters of Hampshire, and I'll be reading the rest, too.

Thanks to the publisher for enabling my access to the e-ARC via Edelweiss.  This review is part of the book's virtual tour with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours.


18 comments:

  1. I've had my eye on this book for a while and Sandra Byrd's Tudor series. Mist of Midnight is definitely one for my pile. Thanks for the review, Sarah.

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    1. I completely forgot to mention I'd read her last Tudor novel earlier and interviewed her for the blog. She has a knack for choosing interesting settings and heroines, and not just in this book. Elin von Snakenborg, the heroine of Roses Have Thorns, was a Swedish noblewoman who became a maid of honor to Elizabeth I, and I hadn't heard her story before.

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    2. Thank you for the link to the interview. Fascinating background to the heroine of Roses Have Thorns and her relationship with Elizabeth I. I'm very eager now to read Sandra Byrd's Tudor novels.

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    3. I haven't read the first two in the Tudor series, but they're on my list.

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  2. I must also try to track this one down. Sounds very good. Thank you for the review.

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    1. It is a good one, especially if you like gothics with some meat to them. It seemed more detailed than many others I've read.

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  3. This one's been on my TBR list since I heard of it. And my oldest daughter's a huge fan of Sandra's Tudor books! She persuaded her book club--the members of whom are all young adults with cognitive disabilities--to read To Die For, and since the book wasn't readily available in the libraries Sandra arranged to send signed copies at a low cost to the members. My daughter led the book club discussion dressed in her Tudor costume, in our local Panera no less!

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  4. *members of which (proofreading after submitting)

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    1. What a great story, and how generous of Sandra to arrange to get signed copies for your daughter's book club. Nice that your daughter's into HF and the Tudor era, too!

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    2. I bought her Margaret George's Elizabeth I for Christmas. She loves it and now wants to read The Memoirs of Cleopatra (1,000+ pages). In the several years she's belonged to a book club that doesn't consider cognitive disability to be a bar to reading, her reading skills have improved immensely. Authors like Sandra are a huge help, because this population are natural raving fans and love any kind of acknowledgment.

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    3. That's all so encouraging to hear. If she enjoys epic biographical reads like Margaret George writes, she has a lot to choose from, too. Memoirs of Cleopatra was very good.

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  5. Thank you for this very thoughtful review, Sarah. I'm always happy when librarians choose my book because you all live in the candy store!! :) I appreciate the time you take to read and review. Have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. My pleasure, Sandra, and I hope you're having a great weekend too. It's above freezing here for the first time in weeks! (happy dance) I'll be asking my library to order a copy once we get our new budget in.

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  6. Very nice review.

    I read and reviewed this book too, but not on the tour.

    I really liked the book. The cover and title pulled me in initially. :)

    I hope you are having a good weekend.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth, I hope you're having an enjoyable Saturday. Nice review on your site. I decided to jump on the tour since I'd wanted to read the book anyway (it helped that the cover was beautiful), and am glad I did.

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  7. This sounds SO good, thanks for bringing it to my attention!

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    1. It was very good. The publication date is next Tuesday (3/10), so it will be available soon!

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  8. My goodness, this sounds so interesting. I like the blend of gothinc themes with factual historical settings, because that doesn't happen all that often.

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