review: a murder at rosamund's gate by susanna calkins

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The first in the Lucy Campion series starts very slowly--so slowly that the first 100 or so pages could be cut without detriment to the story. Although Lucy and the others in A Murder at Rosamund's Gate are aware that some young women have been murdered, they are more worried about the plague until Bessie is also murdered. Bessie and Lucy were maids in the same household and Bessie was romantically involved with Lucy's brother as well. Just as happens today, Lucy's brother is the one who falls under suspicion. Lucy doesn't think her brother would kill Bessie, so she begins her own investigation which causes her to believe all the murders are related. In the end, Lucy does of course solve the mystery, but it is pure luck rather than any skill. The lackluster revelation is representative of the entire book which puts the mystery on the backburner the entire time. Despite many referencing Lucy's intelligence (she taught herself to read), she rarely showed it. Lucy seems an unlikely heroine to build a series around.
2/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Minotaur Books.