Review

When Mrs. Ottilia Draycott takes a temporary position as the Dowager Lady Polbrook’s companion, she never dreams that “amateur sleuth” will be part of her job description! However, Ottilia finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation when Lady Polbrook’s daughter-in-law Emily is murdered and the Dowager’s older son Randal is the prime suspect. Ottilia takes her job as companion seriously and when the murder and the suspicion surrounding Randal begin to distress the Dowager, Otillia takes on the investigation as just another one of her daily chores.

The Gilded Shroud is an excellent, fast-paced novel. The reader is given a sense of the period in history in which the book is set through descriptions of dress and customs of the times as opposed to long, plodding passages that would have slowed down the pace of the book. For example, comments are made regarding Randal’s unusually strong feelings of concern over the safety of aristocrats in France. This gives the reader information about the timeframe of the book, as well as a clue to Randal’s disappearance, without detracting from the flow of the story.

The book is filled with intriguing characters and strong women in spite of the Georgian England setting. Ottilia and The Dowager are both extremely likeable and when they join forces with Lord Francis, I was involved in the story and rooting for them to solve the mystery. Sometimes the investigation seemed to go a little too well. For example, I find it strange the authorities, especially during this time in history, would listen to Ottilia and her theories so readily. However, this is a small criticism of a wonderful and well-written book. Descriptive language such as “…she was a flighty piece with a butterfly mind” puts you into the period as well as entertains.

While the mystery is centered on Randal, he doesn’t appear very frequently in the book. We get descriptions of his life, but not from his point of view. Although it seems he may have been falsely accused of an atrocious crime, he doesn’t come across as a sympathetic character. Taking cues from the fact that the majority of the employees in his household are very loyal to him, I assumed Randal must have good qualities, but I just don’t connect with his character.

On the other hand, I thoroughly enjoyed the other characters in the novel. My favorites are Ottilia and Lord Francis, and I was behind them all the way while they searched for the truth about Emily’s murder and became friends along the way. While Lord Francis’ sister Harriet is somewhat flighty and a bit of a drama queen, she is also an appealing supporting character in the book. While she is more conventional than Ottilia or the Dowager, she isn’t predictable or boring, and adds positively to the story.

The Gilded Shroud is a perfect blend of mystery and romance. While the romance remains chaste in keeping with the times, the story is still extremely romantic as well as passionate. If you are looking for something with the historical flavor of Victoria Thompson’s Gaslight Mystery series or the period romance of Georgette Heyer, you will want to move this new novel by Elizabeth Bailey to the top of your reading list. Having read the debut, this is a new series I will be making a point to follow.

Reviewed by Christine K.