OUT OF THE LONDON MISTLYSSA MEDANA
ISBN# B089DHTDDG
July 2020
Three Furies Press
https://threefuriespress.com/
EBook, Hardcopy
$3.99
178 Pages
Steampunk
Rating: 4 cups
John Farnley has come back to London to put the affairs of his brother, Lord Nicholas, in order after he was killed on the street in an area John would have never thought his brother needed to go to. John had abdicated the family title to his younger brother so he could follow his passion and be an aether pilot and travel the world. He visits the area Nicholas was killed, which also happens to be near an associate of his, Jacob, who fabricates parts for John’s ship. He needs to understand why Nicholas was there. Unfortunately Jacob cannot answer his questions as it was his father, Rabbi Aronowitz, who Nicholas had been visiting and he is not home when John is there.
Sylvia Armley runs into John in the foggy streets after he left Jacob while John is being attacked, and helps him get away. Sylvia and John know each other from his travels and have worked together before. He tells her what he is trying to find out and she ends up working with him to try to solve the mystery.
During their investigation they enlist the help of Clara, his brother’s widow and the detective from Scotland Yard assigned to his case, Inspector Halton. The day after his visit to Jacob, Shem, one of his employees, comes to John with news that the Rabbi was killed the night before and could John come to Jacob since he cannot leave his house while sitting Shiva. While the investigation is ongoing, there is also a rash of murders going on in the same neighborhood and the killer is being called Hammerhand. There is talk of a golem and aether stones and currents, and it comes out that the Rabbi made the Golem to protect his people, the Jews.
I enjoyed the story quite a bit. I have recently discovered Steampunk as a genre and this book is a good example of it. I felt that the author led the mystery in a believable pace and direction so it does not stretch the limits of the imagination. All I could have asked for in terms of more is maybe a hint at a future for John and Sylvia or even Clara and Inspector Halton.
Vicki
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More
Leave a Comment