The Baskerville Affair #2 A Study in Darkness

Presenting The Baskerville Affair #2 A Study in Darkness by Emma Jane Holloway.

Here is the summary of the book:

When a bomb goes off at 221B Baker Street, Evelina Cooper is thrown into her Uncle Sherlock’s world of mystery and murder. But just when she thought it was safe to return to the ballroom, old, new, and even dead enemies are clamoring for a place on her dance card.

Before Evelina’s even unpacked her gowns for a country house party, an indiscretion puts her in the power of the ruthless Gold King, who recruits her as his spy. He knows her disreputable past and exiles her to the rank alleyways of Whitechapel with orders to unmask his foe.

As danger mounts, Evelina struggles between hiding her illegal magic and succumbing to the darker aspects of her power. One path keeps her secure; the other keeps her alive. For rebellion is brewing, a sorcerer wants her soul, and no one can protect her in the hunting ground of Jack the Ripper.

Following my unsuccessful stint with book one, since I have the whole trilogy to report on, I thought why not start it. Maybe it will be better...... But no it happened again and I did not like it (A Study in Silks was way better).

The author does a disservice to the name of Sherlock Holmes in her book. She may have put him in it, made Evelina Cooper his niece but then particularly relegated him to a tiny spec within the rather big list of perspectives used in the book. Evelina Cooper is the protagonist, but as usual her sleuthing skills have much to be desired. There is foul play afoot and she is tasked to finding out the villain but somehow you don't see her do anything. And the Jack the Ripper arc was well put but still it seemed to be resolved towards the end.

The triangle of love..... well love triangle I liked somewhat in the first book takes a turn for the worst. I can almost pity Tobias right now for his misfortune. And there is the fact about the magic, I definitely liked Evelina tapping into much darker powers and her chemistry with Dr. Magnus truly set the stage..... The premise of the steam council was explored more. But again I saw all of it lost in the echo of the chaos and an abnormally long and boring finish...... I know a lot of people are loving it but somehow it didn't stick with me and I was actually hoping it would be much better than the first book.

"An intriguing leg of the journey that lacks finesse"

Genre :      Young Adult, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Steampunk

Publisher: Del Ray

Release Date: 29th October, 2013

My Copy: publisher and netgalley

Rate:              3/5 (Liked It)

Books in the series (review links):
              #1 A Study in Silks

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