The Secret Life and Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne

At last I've managed to clear my Netgalley reading list.  There are so many books I want to read and just not enough time. Two of the books will be published in December and February so I'll probably write about them in a future blog.

Since clearing that shelf I've managed to read a book that I bought from Amazon a couple of months ago and I'm halfway through another one.

The Secret Life & Curious Death of Miss Jean Milne by Andrew Nicoll is a gem of a book.  It's an Edwardian murder mystery set in the town of Broughty Ferry in Scotland.

October 1912.  The body of a wealthy spinster is found in a locked house.  She has shocking wounds and it seems obvious she has been brutally murdered in a frenzy.  Nothing seems to have been stolen however.

The characters in the book are well drawn -  from the rather pompous Chief Constable, the hard working local sergeant and the detective brought in from Glasgow to help track down the murderer to the local worthies.

It is written in such a way that you can easily imagine the characters and locations.

When I bought this book for kindle on Amazon about three months ago it cost 49 pence  (I think it is still that price).  It is probably the best 49 pence I have spent this year.

Apparently the book is based on fact.  There really was a murder in October 1912 in Broughty Ferry but the killer was never found.  Andrew Nicoll has created a wonderful work of fiction based on the known facts.

There are a few twists and turns along the way and a rather surprising ending that I hadn't suspected.

I would definitely recommend this book if you are a fan of Victorian/Edwardian murder mysteries.