A Bitter Remedy: A totally compelling historical mystery
By Alis Hawkins
4/5
()
About this ebook
Jesus College, Oxford, 1881. An undergraduate is found dead at his lodgings and the medical examination reveals some shocking findings. When the young man’s guardian blames the college for his death and threatens a scandal, Basil Rice, a Jesus College fellow with a secret to hide, is forced to act and finds himself drawn into Sidney Parker’s sad life.
The mystery soon attracts the attention of Rhiannon ‘Non’ Vaughan, a young Welsh polymath and one of the young women newly admitted to university lectures. But when neither the college principal nor the powerful ladies behind Oxford’s new female halls will allow her to become involved, Non’s fierce intelligence and determination to prove herself drive her on.
Both misfits at the university, Non and Basil form an unlikely partnership, and it soon falls to them to investigate the mysterious circumstances of Parker’s death. But between corporate malfeasance and snake-oil salesmen, they soon find the dreaming spires of Oxford are not quite what they seem…
An intriguing first installment of The Oxford Mysteries series by master crime writer, Alis Hawkins. Perfect for fans of Laura Shepherd-Robinson, S.G. MacLean and Kaite Welsh.
Praise for A Bitter Remedy‘An excellent historical mystery dripping with atmosphere that exposes the chauvinism, misogyny and bigotry of late Victorian England’ The Times
‘Her inventiveness is prodigal’ Financial Times
‘Fearlessly tackles taboo attitudes of the era, taking aim at misogyny, homophobia, and sexual politics. An excellent addition to the historical mystery canon. Marvellous!’ Vaseem Khan, author of Midnight at Malabar House
‘A Bitter Remedy is a perfect tonic for our times.’ S. G. MacLean author of The Seeker
‘Absolutely brilliant! Thoughtful, complex and engrossing’ Chris Lloyd, author of The Unwanted Dead
‘A superb atmospheric mystery to the last page’ Rachel Lynch, author of Dark Game
‘I can’t wait for Non and Basil’s next case!’ Katherine Stansfield author of Falling Creatures
Alis Hawkins
Alis Hawkins writes Victorian crime fiction – but not that kind. It’s set in west Wales and Oxford rather than London. There are no serial killers because Alis is keen on representing some kind of real life and most murders are committed by ordinary people. And policemen are mostly nowhere to be seen: if they are in evidence, they’re usually getting in the way. Her plots are driven by her characters who take any idea Alis might have about the murder at the beginning of the book, and go off with it in whatever direction appeals to them, leaving her to follow, writing furiously. Her readers, who are gratifyingly fascinated by the little-known aspects of Victorian life that her characters investigate their way through, tell her that’s a good thing. Evidently the Crime Writers’ Association agrees because two of her four Teifi Valley Coroner novels have been shortlisted for the CWA’s prestigious Historical Dagger award. A former speech and language therapist and current freelance writer and editor, Alis is a founder member of Welsh crime writers’ collective, Crime Cymru, chair of Wales’s only crime fiction festival, Gŵyl CRIME CYMRU Festival, and a member of the Society of Authors and the Crime Writers’ Association. She lives on the Welsh/English border in the Forest of Dean with her partner, and makes regular forays to west Wales and Oxford.
Read more from Alis Hawkins
The Oxford Mysteries
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A Bitter Remedy: A totally compelling historical mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for A Bitter Remedy
8 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.This features Non, who is studying in Oxford, but as a woman in 1881 is not allowed to say she is studying at Oxford, or take the same exams as the men, or get a degree, or go anywhere without a chaperone. This is (naturally) frustrating for her, but the book does harp on about it repeatedly and at greater length than I would have liked. It also features Basil, a don, who is charged with keeping the lid on any scandal surrounding the death of one of his students, Sidney Parker. The mystery surrounding Sidney's death is quite interesting, although again the book does harp on (repeatedly and at length) about a fictitious medical condition I won't attempt to spell, which young men are being sold spurious remedies for. Non and Basil solve the murder although Non (of course) gets no credit for all the things she finds out because she is a woman (see above).I thought the writing was good, except that Non's chapters and Basil's chapters sounded exactly the same - if I hadn't checked the chapter headings, I would only have been able to tell who was narrating from the context.Enjoyable in a cozy sort of way.