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Limelight: A Victorian Murder Mystery (Penny Green Series Book 1) (Penny Green Victorian Mystery Series)
£2.80
How did an actress die twice?
Penny Green has lost her job. Once admired as Fleet Street’s first lady reporter, she’s been dismissed for criticising a police decision. So when Scotland Yard calls on her help in a murder case, she’s reluctant to assist.
But the case perplexes her. How was a famous Victorian actress shot in Highgate Cemetery five years after she drowned in the River Thames? It makes no sense.
Penny’s personal connection to the murdered actress draws her in. As does the charm of Scotland Yard inspector, James Blakely. But her return to work sparks the attentions of someone with evil intent. Who is so desperate to keep the past hidden?
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Additional information
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| File size | 2049 KB |
| Simultaneous device usage | Unlimited |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 304 pages |
by Paul J. Fleming
I’d not heard of this series before, so was quite pleased to stumble upon it through an Amazon search. Not being sure what to expect, I launched into the story and was very much taken by Penny’s narrative of the search for the murderer. I thought it was very nicely done, and the sprinkling of detail and real world events just rounded things off nicely.
Very nicely crafted and I’ve already grabbed book 2 before writing this review. I want to see more of Miss Green’s adventures.
Also of note, I love the cover art for these titles ????,
I also enjoyed the additional detail in the very back which gives some historical detail. An excellent idea!!
by Violet Preston
Quite an enjoyable read. The narrative felt a little stiff but the story was a good one and there was a nice sense of atmosphere – London fog etc
The best thing about this book was the heroine, news reporter Penny Green. It’s good to meet a character who feels real. The police inspector, who works with her to solve the mystery of the shooting of an actress, comes across as a bit wooden but hopefully will develop more as this series progresses.
Recommended!
by Johanne Winwood
I have been a fan of Emily’s writing since I read Runaway Girl so I was thrilled to win a copy of her latest on Facebook. There was a moment of trepidation when I worried that I wouldn’t like it as much as the Runaway Girl Series but I shouldn’t have worried. I loved it and was totally captivated by the story and the characters.
I was intrigued by the blurb: London 1883. Actress Lizzie Dixie drowned in the River Thames. So how was she murdered five years later in Highgate Cemetery? Intrepid Fleet Street reporter Penny Green was a friend of Lizzie’s and Scotland Yard needs her help. Does Penny unwittingly hold clues to Lizzie’s mysterious death? Penny must work with Inspector James Blakely to investigate the worlds of theatre, showmen and politicians to uncover the truth.
Well what’s not to love there? A good old fashioned whodunit set in Victorian London with a female protagonist to boot. I was sold. But this is much more than a whodunit. Emily Organ skilfully weaves her way through Victorian London, populating her story with wonderful characters who I really cared about. Her descriptions of the places were so detailed and well researched that I instantly felt myself there, wiping the smut from my glasses along with Penny. Sights, sounds and smells are all evoked to paint a kaleidoscopic picture of Victorian London. The descriptions of the corsets made me smile – how did women function all trussed up like that?
We are immersed in a variety of different worlds, from theatre to circus to politics to the police force and of course journalism. Each world is made real through the inclusion of small yet telling details. For example, as the world of journalism begins to modernise Miss Welton, the editor’s secretary, is given a typewriter which she stumbles to use. Strange to think that over the next few decades this machine would revolutionise the workplace, especially for women. Emily Organ is so adept at adding these tiny details which bring the whole scene to life. I shouldn’t have been surprised by this as she does it so well in the Runaway Girl Series too.
For me a great story stands or falls on its characters. If I don’t feel some emotional investment in them then I struggle to enjoy a book fully. Thankfully there are enough rich, rounded characters here to keep even the pickiest reader happy. I adored Penny’s landlady Mrs Garnett waging her war against bicycles in the hallway and unsuitable gentlemen callers; Edgar Fish, a rival journalist with a shockingly paternalistic view of women provided some lovely comic moments; and I was bowled over by the handsome Inspector James Blakely, I so hope he returns in the next book! But the stand out character is of course Penny Green, a modern woman trapped in Victorian corsets. I loved her feistiness, her determination and her bravery. She’s a true heroine and keeps the story moving with her investigative skill, thirst for a decent story and dogged determination.
I am so glad that Limelight is only the first of a series starring Penny Green. She is too good a character to lose after only one story and I for one am waiting with baited breath for the next instalment.
by Amazon Customer
Not quite what I was expecting when I read other reviews but, pleasantly surprised to discover it was an in depth study of life in 1800’s London as well as a crime thriller.
by Amethyst
I have given two stars as I thought the cover design was good and effort seemed made with this story. The story (for me) loses its way amongst the endless fluffy details of clothes, buildings etc. It slowed down the pace of the intrigue. It felt disjointed and I couldn’t seem to get a clear feel for the character (Penny) either. A few nauseating descriptions were totally unnecessarily unpleasant too. This seemed like a first attempt at a story of that era and the author seemed anxious to put in all the detail she had researched – at the expense of the storyline. Regrettably, I shan’t be following this Penny Green series any further.
by Caroline Hannam
This is a fun female reporter/sleuth adventure set in the Victorian era, which is very well researched by the author from the suffragette movement, the unfolding Irish uprising to what foods were typically eaten at different times of day and how people from different classes entertained themselves.
The story was quite intriguing and the twists and turns to uncover the mystery were engaging, while the back stories of the lead characters were interwoven with the main narrative and rounded them out nicely. Some parts of the book seemed a bit pointless, and, while interesting, felt as if they were just padding or included, because the author had wanted to use the information she had uncovered in research, relevant or not.
Penny Green is a very likeable, forthright, but also quite naive protagonist, and I am not too convinced by her sleuthing skills; thankfully that is what Inspector Blakely is there for and they make an interesting team and their budding romance is sweet and believable for the time period.
However, the way they bungled the ‘undercover assignment’ was pretty cringe worthy and hard to believe that an inspector would be so amateurish.
The narrator Gabrielle Baker did a brilliant job portraying a Northern lass, without sounding too broad and common and really enhanced the story for me.
I received this book in audio book format free from the author and am leaving this review of my own volition.