About this book:
“Miss
Daphne Beekman is a mystery writer by day, inquiry agent by night. Known for
her ability to puzzle out plots, she happily works behind the scenes for the
Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency, staying well away from danger. However, Daphne
soon finds herself in the thick of an attempted murder case she's determined to
solve.
Mr. Herman Henderson is also a mystery
writer, but unlike the dashing heroes he pens, he prefers living a quiet life,
determined to avoid the fate of his adventurous parents, who perished on an
expedition when he was a child. But when he experiences numerous attempts on
his life, he seeks out the services of the eccentric Bleecker Street Inquiry
Agency to uncover the culprit. All too soon, Herman finds himself stepping out
of the safe haven of his world and into an adventure he never imagined.
As the list of suspects grows
and sinister plots are directed Daphne’s way as well, Herman and Daphne must
determine who they can trust and if they can risk the greatest adventure of
all: love.”
Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, quoted, & commented on; Talks
about God (including one about a person that was mad at Him for a death of a
loved one and another one about someone praying for courage); ‘H’s are
capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers &
praying; Mentions of a chapel, church services, & a reverend; A mention of helping
with missions.
Negative Content- Eye rolling; Trying to find who is attempting to murder
Herman; Herman drinks wine at a dinner party; Fighting/Punching (up to semi-detailed);
Blood/Bleeding, Pain, & Fainting (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of murders,
murderers, & attempted murders (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a
ship that went down & deaths; Mentions of a kidnapping & being tied up;
Mentions of missing people; Mentions of crimes, criminals, jails, & arrests;
Mentions of break-ins/trespassing & intruders; Mentions of stolen items,
thefts, & arrests; Mentions of threats, weapons, & pistols and arrows being
aimed at someone; Mentions of fights, fighting, punches, & duels; Mentions
of blood/bleeding, injuries, stitches, & broken bones (barely-above-not-detailed);
Mentions of poison; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of lying & liars; Mentions
of gossip & rumors; Mentions of men abusing women; Mentions of asylums
& a man attempting to commit his wife to one because she questioned him; A few
mentions of gambling & debts to questionable characters; A few mentions of jealousy;
A couple mentions of wine, drinking, & having too much to drink; A couple
mentions of throwing up.
Sexual Content- Three hand/fingers
kisses, a not-detailed kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed
kisses; Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches & Blushes; Butterflies;
Noticing & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Discussions that women
(& young ladies) need to know how to protect themselves, about the dangers of
the world and men, & that if a man does try to attack a woman, that she is
not to blame; A man (it’s easy to call him a pedophile because he was an adult
and she only thirteen) has a twist view of Daphne, who he thought was using her
feminine wiles on him (he says she was “whetting [his] appetite for [her]”, (“twirling
her hair in a provocative manner) however, she was completely not doing that); *Spoiler,
but important triggering note* Mentions of when an adult man tried to force himself
on Daphne when she was thirteen (he dragged her to a forest, but she fainted
and nothing else happened); He tries again towards the end and gets beaten to a
pulp *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of flirtation, flirts, & flirting; Mentions
of feminine allure; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of chaperones & reputations;
A few mentions of men trying to attack women; A few mentions of kisses; A few
mentions of noticing nearness/touches between couples & blushes; A couple
mentions of cheating husbands & a possible affair; A mention of the
possibility of men taking unwanted liberties with women; Love, falling in love,
& the emotions;
*Note: Mentions of unmentionables
& bustles shaping a woman’s backside.
-Daphne Beekman, age 25
-Herman Henderson, age 31
P.O.V.
switches between them
Set in 1887
360 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
{Trigger
Warning: Attempted Assault (including towards a minor) & Anxiety}
For the beginning and middle, I
adored this book tremendously. Daphne was absolutely amazing with her wit and then
how well-spoken she was made me want to take notes. Herman was an almost
perfect hero, and their conversations about writing and plots were so amusing.
I was planning on giving this
book a four star rating throughout the majority of the book because of those
things and because of how much I actually laughed out loud. However, there was
something revealed towards the end that touched on a dark topic and because of
it, I feel more comfortable giving it a three star rating. It’s a sensitive topic
and while it wasn’t detailed or even near that, it still turned my stomach at
that part. (To note: it’s discussed for about 30 pages.) Personally, the topic of assault
is something I’m sensitive towards, so I would have preferred a warning about
this being mentioned in the book—perhaps at the beginning of the book because
it can be triggering for survivors and those sensitive to it—especially as
an attempt is made on a minor and we hear a bit of the man’s twisted thoughts.
So, while it was a mostly
light-hearted and humorous read surrounding a mystery of who’s attempting to murder
Herman, there were also serious discussions about anxiety and anxiety attacks, men
abusing women, men not taking no for an answer, and the need for women to be
able to protect themselves. This is why my ratings are lower for younger age
groups, even though I really enjoyed the main characters and overall plot.
See y’all on Friday with a new
review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this
author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free
from the Author for this honest review.
