Portrait of Peril- Book Review

 Portrait of Peril by Laura Roh Jowland

Book 5 of the Victorian Mysteries

Publication date: 12th Jan 2021

Genre: Mystery/ Thriller, Historical Fiction

3.8 Stars

The leading lady, Sarah Bain, a crime scene photographer for Daily World, is getting married to Detective Sergeant Thomas Barrett, her beloved. Right after the wedding, the dead body of a ‘spirit’ photographer Charles Firth is found in the crypt. Who committed the crime? Will Sarah and Barrett uncover the mystery? This forms the main plot of the story.

Being a series, we also see a strong subplot of Sarah and Sally’s (half-sister) father Benjamin Bain and the crime he is supposed to have committed, the murder of a young girl Ellen. Sarah and Sally are determined to prove his innocence even if it means they’ll have to wake up the dead ghosts of the past.

Of course, we see only the main plot coming to a conclusion while the subplot moves ahead just enough to keep us interested and eager for the next book.

This is the fifth book in the series and my first. Did it affect my reading? No. The references to the previous cases don't bother much. The main plot doesn’t depend on those. We have recurring characters, the homosexual friend Lord Hugh, his faithful valet, and Mick, the 15-year-old orphaned photographer, all of whom are Sarah’s friends and support system.

We also have Inspector Reid, the typical villain within the police department who doesn’t like Sarah and Barrett. He waltzes in and out of the story whenever Sarah needs to add another problem to her overflowing list.

The main plot has a lot of characters, from spiritualists to professors to models to an heiress, who is determined to expose mediums and fake ghosts. The suspect list grows, and we go from one clue to another, one piece of information to another.

Sarah talks, thinks, and rambles (at times) in the present tense (yes, first-person, present-tense narration) about the murder, her mother, her past, and how her life was hard. While I needed to know the details as a new reader, I did find it becoming repetitive towards the end. I’m not sure how the readers of the series would take it, considering they’d have been reading about it in the previous four books.

But there’s quite a bit of action in the cold and foggy London streets and houses. It was refreshing to read a story with characters who do not belong to the elite London society. This is definitely more real and grounded.

There are predictable scenes between Barrett’s mother, Sarah, and Barrett. Our leading lady is an independent woman with fears and insecurities. There was drama, but nothing over the top. That’s was a plus.

I did have an inkling about who the killer(s) would be, so the revelation wasn’t much of a surprise. But I am glad that the writer did not throw in an unexpected twist to give the story an extra punch. It’s good to see the ideas and hints connect well and come out as a proper piece.

Overall, this is an engaging read and picks up pace after the first 70 pages or so. I noticed that my reading speed increased in parallel. If you like Victorian mysteries that are set in the middle class and lower-middle-class sections of London and a heroine with spunk, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

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