After being viciously stabbed and left for dead, Hadrian Becket, Earl of Ravenhurst struggles back to health only to discover he is cursed with a vexing ability to see visions he can’t explain. Terrified he may be going mad, he must keep the disturbing skill secret. But when it proves helpful in tracking his would-be killer, he has no choice but to embrace the newfound power. The retrocognition leads him to the house of a man recently deceased, where he encounters the clever and intriguing Miss Matilda Wren—who may be able to help him solve the many questions raised by the attack.
The death of Tilda’s cousin has left her and her beloved grandmother in a precarious financial position when she discovers their investments have gone missing. Between the lost money and the mysterious Lord Ravenhurst’s incessant queries, Tilda begins to wonder if her cousin may have been murdered. Desperate to determine what happened, she’ll exhaust every possible line of inquiry to stave off destitution. For a price, Tilda agrees to work with the earl to uncover the truth, though she suspects he’s hiding a dark secret.
As their investigation grows, so does the body count, but can they trust each other enough to expose the puppet master pulling the strings? Or will the villain’s malevolent machinations end with more than a whisper of death?
Review:
What a ride this was! The first book in Ms Burke’s new Raven & Wren series kept me on the edge of my seat, frantically turning the pages to figure out what exactly was going on. Watching Tilda and Hadrian figure out why he was attacked, how that attack was connected to a string of other crimes they also uncovered, AND watching them grow to respect and care for each other in the process?
I. Loved. It. Can’t wait to read the next one loved it. How many of these are there going to be? It can’t be enough loved it.
A Whisper of Death shares some vibes with Miss Scarlet and the Duke, except Hadrian’s an actual earl and though he has *some* connections to law enforcement, he is very much a member of the peerage. Like Eliza, Tilda is trying to help support herself (and her grandmother) as an investigator, though for the most part she has a single client whom she helps with divorce cases. When she starts helping Hadrian with his case, though, she doesn’t shy away from questioning witnesses, confronting law enforcement, and standing up for the significance of their investigation even as the powers that be disagree. I loved that she accepted Hadrian’s abilities (aka his “curse,” the seemingly supernatural abilities he has after his attack) and that together they figured out how to make them work in their favor. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens with that aspect of their story as the series continues 🙂
Seriously, the TWO sentence blurb for the next book (A Whisper at Midnight) was enough to have me anxiously awaiting their next adventure! I’ll be counting the days…as soon as we have a release date, that is 😉
Rating: 4 1/2 stars / A
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.