Murder Between The Lines (Kitty Weeks #2) by Radha Vatsal: A Book Review

Murder Between The Lines (Kitty Weeks #2)
Author: Radha Vatsal
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Release Date: May 2nd, 2017
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: Intrepid journalist Kitty Weeks returns in the second book in this acclaimed WW1-era historical mystery series to investigate the death of a boarding school student.

When Kitty's latest assignment for the New York Sentinel Ladies' Page takes her to Westfield Hall, she expects to find an orderly establishment teaching French and dancing-but there's more going on at the school than initially meets the eye.

Tragedy strikes when a student named Elspeth is found frozen to death in Central Park. The doctor's proclaim that the girl's sleepwalking was the cause, but Kitty isn't so sure.

Determined to uncover the truth, Kitty must investigate a more chilling scenario-a murder that may involve Elspeth's scientist father and a new invention by a man named Thomas Edison.

My Review: Kitty Weeks goes to a boarding school to write an article for the Ladies Page. When she arrives, she is immediately taken with Elspeth Bright because of the young girl’s passion for science. Shortly after her meeting, she learns that Elspeth has been found dead in Central Park. The doctor determines that it is sleep walking. Kitty thinks otherwise. As Kitty searches for the truth, she finds that the answer may be more sinister than she ever imagined.

After loving A Front Page Affair, I eagerly anticipated the sequel. I wanted to know what was next in store for Kitty. I was very disappointed that there was not much character development for Kitty. She had such potential. Yet, the author never expanded her character further. Honestly, I didn’t care for Kitty in this novel. She complained a lot. When Elspeth died, she complained that she didn’t want to work anymore because she feared that it would interfere with her health. She also complained about her father’s new girlfriend. She was also a passive character, and I did not like how she let people get away with murder without a fight. Thus, Kitty changed drastically from the character in A Front Page Affair.

Overall, this novel is about family and politics. While the characters were not fully developed, I did like the father-daughter relationship between Kitty and Julian. The mystery aspect was a bit disappointing. It was predictable and there was no justice to Elspeth’s death. However, I did like the historical details in the novel. This book was meticulously researched and will not disappoint fans of historical fiction. Despite its flaws, it was a light and fast-paced mystery. Thus, while I prefer the first novel, it was still a solid follow-up. I think this series has potential, and I look forward to reading the next book in the Kitty Weeks mysteries.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Interview with Meihan Boey

Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing author, Meihan Boey. She is the author of The Formidable Miss Cassidy , which is the first novel in the Miss Cassidy trilogy. The first novel is about how a Scottish governess helps her employer's family who is haunted by a malevolent spirit. She has recently released, The Enigmatic Madam Ingram , which is the second novel in the trilogy. In this interview, we discussed not only her latest novel, but also Singaporean mythology. Thank you, Mrs. Boey! What inspired you to write The Formidable Miss Cassidy ? Did you know it would be a trilogy before you started writing or did it form while you were writing it? Yes, I did know I wanted to create a trilogy - I just didn’t know at the start whether or not I would be able to get there! The Formidable Miss Cassidy started life as a COVID project, sent as a short story to a little Canadian indie press. Because I didn’t think a typical Canadian audience was go...

Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England by John Carmi Parsons: A Book Review

Eleanor of Castile: Queen and Society in Thirteenth Century England Author: John Carmi Parsons Genre: Nonfiction, History, Biography Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Book Release Date: 1998 Pages: 388 Source: Personal Collection Synopsis: Medievalist feminist studies' early concentration on the lives of prominent women has more recently given way to an interest in their less exalted sisters. Historians have seemingly avoided the careers of medieval queens, creatures of romance and legend, women who enjoyed rank and wealth merely as a consequence of birth or marriage. A renewed interest in such women has, however, followed the opening of new avenues to the study of women and power in the Middle Ages. That the lives of these women will reward reconsideration has been amply proven in the works of such historians as Pauline Stafford and Janet Nelson. Eleanor of Castile studies the wife of Edward I of England, a woman eulogized since the sixteenth century as a model of ...

The Enigmatic Madam Ingram (Miss Cassidy #2) by Meihan Boey: A Book Review

The Enigmatic Madam Ingram (Miss Cassidy #2) Author: Meihan Boey Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Paranormal Publisher: Harper Perennial Book Release Date: September 8, 2026 Pages: 512 Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review. Synopsis: Miss Cassidy returns to nineteenth-century Singapore to help solve another dazzling supernatural mystery in this follow-up to the award-winning novel that The Guardian called a “classic-in-waiting.” When Letty Ingram arrives in Singapore in 1906, she is an enigma even unto herself. To the residents of the small Scottish village where she lives, she is a wealthy, half-Malay recluse who emerges from her home only for walks with her great beast of a hound. To Letty, she is a woman trying to lift a curse that causes her lose consciousness and wake up in strange places—sometimes, with blood on her hands—and no memory of what occurred. Letty ...

History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog

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