|
Genres are tricky. They are designed to guide readers to books that fall within their general interest, which is usually quite helpful. For example, it keeps someone who is perusing the Horror section from stumbling over another patron looking for a book on nature's architecture or something similarly weighty (yet another reason to buy books online!). Classification by genre can also have the effect of dissuading an otherwise interested reader away from a particular tome, however. And that leads us to DON'T LOOK BACK by Amanda Quick.
DON'T LOOK BACK is classified by its publisher as a historical romance. Fair enough; the tale is set in London in the late 19th Century, and there is certainly a bit of, ahem, romance here, with some of the descriptions bordering on those commonly found in those type of novels that have been disingenuously described as "ripped bodices." But there's murder and intrigue as well, making it a mix of testosterone, estrogen, and drawing room mystery. What would the symbol for such a genre be? Perhaps a magnifying glass strategically placed over some artful decolletage. Anyway, DON'T LOOK BACK has enough elements of the mystery and romance genres to easily appeal to the fans of both.
The protagonists of DON'T LOOK BACK are Lavinia Lake and Tobias March. March is in the occupation of making discreet "inquiries," if you will, being able to move somewhat freely and quietly between polite and impolite society in England. Lavinia Lake is a mesmerist who has set aside that occupation in favor of working with March, an arrangement met with some disapproval in that time and place. Lake and March, as it happens, are more than business associates; they have a very passionate personal relationship, which of course interferes with their professional one. March is quite protective of Lake, and Lake resents it. The result is that the sparks in the boudoir are often less intense than those in the office. Such is the case when Dr. Howard Hudson and his wife Celeste come to call.
Dr. Hudson is an old family friend of Lake's. His wife has layers to her personality that become almost immediately evident; as the reader soon learns, she uses her sensuality with a sinister twist. Although she is an interesting character, she doesn't last too long in DON'T LOOK BACK --- she is found murdered, strangled, it is thought, by a lover. There is more to her death than an assignation, however; Celeste also appears to have been involved in the theft of The Blue Medusa, a coveted piece of antique jewelry. Dr. Hudson retains Lake and March to find his wife's murderer, with Lake accepting the assignment gladly, March reluctantly. March senses danger in the air, and he is correct. Although even he, astute as he is, cannot foresee another threat from Lake's past coming back to attack her.
Quick has acquired a fine talent, achieved during the writing of several novels, for balancing elements of mystery with the social mores of another place and time. DON'T LOOK BACK is too fine a work to be confined to one genre --- or perhaps, to any genre.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
• Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.
© Copyright 1996-2009, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.
Back to top.
|
