Books for Christian Girls: "London in the Dark" by Victoria Lynn

About this book:

“London, 1910
Budding Private Detective Cyril Arlington Hartwell has a conundrum. London is being ravaged by the largest run of thefts in recent history. His hunch that it is all tied together may put him and those he loves in more danger than he could have reckoned.
Olivia Larken Hartwell is just home from boarding school for the summer anticipating time with her adoring parents.She misses her absent brother, Cyril, hoping for the day he will finally come home. But tragedy strikes, causing upheaval for all concerned and changes her life in a way she never could have imagined.
Olivia, Cyril, and their friends must bring the hidden to light, seek to execute justice, and dispel the darkness that hovers over London… and their hearts.”

Series: Book #1 in the “Light of London” series.

Spiritual Content- Prayers; Scriptures are mentioned, read, quoted, & thought over; Bible reading; Singing a couple hymns; Church going; A bit of witnessing/being witnessed to; Talks about God, forgiveness, & going to church; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Cyril is mad at God, *Spoiler* but prays for someone & asks forgiveness near the end *End of Spoiler*; *Spoiler* Bancroft also prays near the very end for forgiveness *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of thanking God; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of prayers, praying, blessings over food, devotionals, & reading Scriptures; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of churches/chapels, church going, services, hymns, ministers, & Christians; A few mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of faiths; A mention of a book about a girl serving God;

*Note: A mention of an ungodly hour of a morning.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘dash it all’, a ‘hang it all’, a ‘poppycock!’, two ‘shut up’s, two forms of ‘blast’s, two ‘confound it’s, two forms of ‘stupid’, and four ‘idiot’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & eye rolling; Hearing a carriage crash, seeing injured/bleeding bodies, their deaths, screaming, being in shock, pain, injured, & grief (up to semi-detailed); Being shot, being abducted/drugged, blacking out, & pain (up to semi-detailed); Being taken hostage, threatened & nearly slapped (up to semi-detailed); Being held at gunpoint & nearly shot (many times, up to semi-detailed); Nearly drowning (up to semi-detailed); Fighting (up to semi-detailed); An explosion & fire (up to semi-detailed); Cyril smokes a cigarette (though he loathes them); A side POV character drinks (up to semi-detailed); A nightmare of someone’s death (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of being held at gun point, gunshots, being held hostage & tied up, concussions, being slapped/hit, pain, blood/bleeding, & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of explosives, making bombs, gunpowder, & fires (barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of thieves, thefts, robberies, crimes, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of blood/bleeding, injuries, a carriage crash, & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a young child seeing his mother dead from a horse fall (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of deaths & deaths of children caused by illnesses (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a ship going down & drownings; Mentions of an abduction (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of seeing someone getting stitches (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of nightmares (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of jails & prisons; Mentions of threats; Mentions of gambling; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, drunks, & taverns; Mentions of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, tobacco, & smoking; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of throwing up & vomit; A few mentions of a war, fighting, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of punches & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of vandalism; A few mentions of hunting & hunts; A few mentions of the possibility of a baby bird being eaten or killed; A few mentions of pickpockets; A couple mentions of murder & assault; A couple mentions of embezzlement; A couple mentions of gossip.

Sexual Content- Bancroft wishes he could kiss his girl one last time (not-detailed); A bit of noticing; Mentions of noticing; A couple mentions of blushes; A mention of seeing a brother kissing a girl (not-detailed); A mention of a honeymoon; A mention of beaus; A tiny bit of hints of romance, falling in love, & being interested in someone;

*Note: A few mentions of a wife & baby that died during labor.

-Cyril Arlington Hartwell

-Olivia Larken Hartwell
P.O.V. switches between Cyril, Olivia, Dudley, Bancroft, & a couple other’s

Set in 1910 {Epilogue in 1915}
288 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

I’ve been hearing about this book for a while now, especially in the homeschool-Christian-fiction community.

When I first read about the plot, I interested not only in the idea of a mystery set in historical London, but that it was more of a sibling plot than a love interest plot; something I don’t see too much and always appreciate seeing. :)

I admit that I was expecting a more light-hearted read, so when a certain twist came in, I was a bit befuddled.

Character wise: I liked Olivia. I wish her age would have been said, but she was overall a decent girl. Her brother on the other hand…I wasn’t a fan. He was cold and mean. Three-quarters in, we learn what caused him to be a selfish-bitter person who knows he should let people in, but wouldn’t. I have to be honest, it felt like a bit of a stretch. The ending made it better, but it still felt like it took a while to get there. His comments about only girls show certain emotions, didn’t help endear him to me either.

I was confused at times about all the siblings and family matters, but the mystery was interesting.

For a debut book, it was enjoyable, but I’ll admit that Cyril took down my personal rating. However, the writing style was engaging and I found the mystery interesting. I also appreciated how clean it was even though it had a lot of action/danger. I really enjoyed all the faith content and Olivia’s faith parts for sure; overall, it was a good read. :)

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!