The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane Review

 Happy Friday Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess today for another book review.

I'm Kirby, and I'm so happy you're here!

Unfortunately, I've come down with a cold over the past few days, and my energy levels haven't been quite what they usually are. I've had lots of time for reading, but not a lot of energy for blogging, so I haven't had as many posts on here as usual this week.

However, for today's post I wanted to jump on here and share my review of an upcoming April release.

I hope you'll all keep reading down below for today's full review.

The Sleuth of Blackfriars Lane by Michelle Griep:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publication Date: Barbour Fiction

Publication Date: April 1st, 2024

Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction

Series: Blackfriars Lane

Synopsis:

Wife. Mother. Homemaker. Detective. Kit Forge wears many hats, and if that’s not enough, she’s partnered with her father to open a new detective agency. It’s hard to be all things to all people, but Kit never shies away from the impossible. Despite her hard work and good intentions, some things fall through the cracks.   Namely, her husband.   But Jackson barely notices. He’s too busy putting out his own fires. As the new chief inspector of a busy London station, he must salvage the disaster left behind by the former police chief—an obstacle made all the harder when the superintendent breathes an ultimatum down his neck.   Against her father’s advice, Kit takes on a case involving a missing child, one in which she and Jackson become a little too emotionally involved. . .and end up endangering their own little girl in the process.   Can Kit and Jackson learn that just because they can say yes doesn’t mean they should?  

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I adored Michelle Griep's 2023 release, Man of Shadow and Mist. I was mesmerized by her beautiful writing style, and I couldn't wait to give another one of her books a try. Even though I hadn't read the first two books in this series, I went into it with high expectations, as certainly it was going to be as great as her last release was! Unfortunately, that ended up not being the case, and while I would still love to read more of her books in the future, I won't be picking up any of the other titles in this series unfortunately.

What I Liked:

The author has a unique way of setting up her mysteries, and I enjoy how thoroughly she's able to immerse the reader in its unfolding. While I had my suspicions, everything still came together in a way that left me quite surprised, and I always enjoy when an author is able to accomplish that.

It's always obvious to the reader that Michelle Griep spends copious amounts of time researching the historical time periods she's writing about, and I enjoyed leaving this title with many new to me tidbits about this time in history. It kind of had a Dickens-esque vibe for much of the story, and I thought that was pretty fitting.

Lastly, I adored Charles and Martha. Their romance was sweet and swoon worthy, and showcased the big hearts they had for each other and the world around them. Their story ended up being my favorite part of the book.

What I Didn't Like:

Unfortunately, this one ended up being nothing like what I was expecting, and mainly that was because of the following two reasons.

First, I'm sorry to say that I couldn't stand the main character, Kit. She was manipulative, selfish, rude, and willing to step on anyone or anything to accomplish what she felt she deserved to. It got monotonous pretty quickly to hear her constantly talk about she has no homemaking capabilities, and that it was basically Martha's responsibility to raise her child and/or provide her family with their meals and treats. This perhaps wouldn't have been the biggest deal, but the way she comes across during these passages is like she feels she's too superior to be bothered with such responsibilities, and like she thinks she's too good to have to bother with such things.  I ended up feeling like a lot of what goes wrong with the mystery plot never would have happened in the first place if she had just been willing to listen to anyone else's opinion besides her own. I'm sorry to say that her character never ended up growing on me, and I felt that she showed next to no character growth or remorse by the end of the story.

And lastly, I couldn't believe the amount of unnecessary content that the author felt inclined to include. The sexualized tension between Kit and Jackson seemed to go on and on in certain passages, and the reader begins to get the impression that Kit is manipulating her husband sexually to get what she wants from him. Kit's constantly "cussing like a sailor" in her words, and there's many passages about drugs, alcohol, and even some brazen references to prostitution.

All in all, I can't really recommend this one because of the content issues, and I would highly recommend checking out some of the author's other titles outside this series.

It wouldn't stop me from picking up another of her books, but I will definitely not be reading any more titles from this series.

Final Rating: 3/5.

Thanks so much to Barbour Publishing for allowing me to read and review this title!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Barbour) via NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your weekend :)