The best words I can come up with to describe this book are: charming and entertaining.


Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane make up Jesperson & Lane, Private Investigators. A possible client, Charles Manning, arrives at their London home in the wee hours of the morning. He screams at Miss Lane, calling her a witch and then promptly drops dead. Jesperson suspects foul play, but after an autopsy Mr. Manning's cause of death is listed as heart failure. It turns out Manning was obsessed with the occult and witchcraft. The detective duo are hired by the deceased's brother to investigate what caused his death. Their investigation takes them to an area of Norfolk known for its haunted hollows called shrieking pits and a strange, weeping, female specter. The area has had three suspicious deaths in the past year. The case keeps expanding and increasing in scope -- unexplained deaths, a missing woman, a missing baby, and three strange women living at Wayside Cross. Are the three women witches? Where is the missing baby? And, what happened to Charles Manning?

I loved this book! The mystery is engaging and fun. I like the characters as well. Jesperson is more than a little eccentric. Diane is level-headed and keeps Jesperson grounded so that he doesn't just go off on tangents. The two of them together make an awesome detective agency. The supernatural aspects of the plot were not over-done, but just made the story interesting, engaging and creepy. Just a fun read!

This book is the second in The Curious Affair Of.... series. I have not read the first book, but that didn't matter. It isn't necessary to read the first book to enjoy this tale of witches and murder. I'm definitely going to read the first book though! I hope it is as enjoyable as the second one!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Random House - Hydra via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.** ( )

Not that Jesperson and Lane is all that, but this is sad. The resolution to baby Annie and her mother made no sense, the reason for the presence of the poison in the case of the first encountered murder is way to off the probability curve, and Jesperson make some downright lame pronouncements which are just accepted as fact, and this when he's not attempting to mislead. Not too painful, but not worth the trouble. ( )

A young man after stumbling unexpectedly into the London address of the consulting-detective partnership of Mr. Jesperson and Miss Lane screams “Witch” and dies. Thus begins the strangest case yet to land, quite literally, on the doorstep of Jesperson and Lane.

It is suspected that Mr. Charles Manning died of a heart attack, despite the fact that he was considered to be in perfect health. The late Mr. Manning’s address book leads Jesperson and Lane to the shrieking pits of Aylmerton, an ancient archaeological site reputed to be haunted by a vengeful ghost.

They sift through local suspects, each more suspicious than the last which include, Manning’s associate, Felix Ott, an English folklore enthusiast; Reverend Ringer, a fierce opponent of superstition; and the Bulstrode sisters, a trio of beauties with a reputation for witchcraft.

--
Series: From the Casebooks of Jesperson & Lane
Author: Lisa Tuttle
Genre: Fantasy/Mystery
Publisher: Random House

The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross is written in the setting of long ago London. The author does not use the actual date but implies a time just before or during WWI, but the reader is never quite sure. The structure of the story is built around the death of a stranger who drops dead in the office and home of the detectives, in the middle of the night while screaming the word “Witch.”

There are hints of paranormal activities and witchcraft with just a hint of believability. The mere detectives begin an adventure to find out if in fact Mr. Manning was killed by a witch or if he was hallucinating. The reader is taken on a trip through small-town village life, complete with a rude and judgmental cast.

The main characters of Jesperson and Lane are likable characters with what would be considered a modern mindset in an old-world setting. Jesperson is laid back, calm and eternally curious. Lane is a single woman trying to make headway in a man's world. Both characters are intelligent with imperfections and room to grow. The remaining cast of characters are narrow-minded, rude and very forgettable.

Although this is an interesting read and has moments of deep thoughtful interaction and situations as it reverts to almost an Agatha Christie style, it just doesn’t have quite the excitement needed to make it a truly good book. The story is a bit plodding, and there is no real action. Clues are hard to find within the pages and may be completely missed. The solution is entertaining, but it is a bit disappointing for the reader. Overall there is room for improvement in this story, and hopefully, the author will expand the characters and the plotlines in future volumes.



( )

Two mysteries in one.
What does a missing child in the countryside have to do with the death of a man in London, if anything?
Are the culprit(s) otherworldly or all too human?
An interesting jaunt through Victorian England, urban and rural, and the striking attitudes and distinctions between the "classes".
I enjoyed the dynamics between Jesperson and Ms. Lane and will have to look up the first book to see how their relationship was established. Ms. Lane struck me as a tad prickly, but not annoyingly so.
My curiosity about this paranormal sleuthing duo is certainly piqued enough to give the first in the series a read.
Both mysteries have satisfying conclusions that fit perfectly with no overreaching or omission resolutions.
Solid and enjoyable, and at this point, well balanced worldly/otherworldly series that should be easy to follow.
Reviewed for Miss Ivy's Book Nook Take II ( )

This is the second in The Curious Affair Of series, self-touted as "The paranormal answer to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson..." It can be read without having read the first, or at least I did so with no issues. I am still not sure whether it fully qualifies as 'paranormal,' because there really was just one tiny little aspect of 'paranormalness' towards the end which, because of the singularity of it, really jarred

I found it to be similar to Sherlock Holmes in that the setting is Victorian London, and there are two main characters who are detectives. Jasper Jesperson has some power of deduction, I would assign him the roll of Sherlock. And Diana Lane is Dr. Watson, although she is not a doctor, she does have Dr. Watson's fierce loyalty. However, I found them both a bit boring and a tad unlikable. To be sure, Sherlock Holmes has many admirable and also many unlikable traits, but Watson has always been consistently sympathetic.

Perhaps because of her loyalty and willingness to do what Jesperson asks, she repeatedly did things that I thought were very rude. For example, after being invited to stay as a guest, she searches all the bedrooms in the house immediately.

The book started in high gear, with the appearance of a man late at night, who promptly dies. That gets your attention. After that, the story meandered around London and Norfolk, not really inciting any emotion. The mystery aspect was interesting, and the Victorian flavor was done well. Overall, it was a satisfactory read, but I am not sure that I would read another in the series.


*eARC Netgalley* ( )