| Title | : | The Mermaid in the Basement (Lady Trent Mystery, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 084991891X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780849918919 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 336 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2007 |
Meet Serafina Trent. A woman about to take 19th Century London by storm.
It's London, 1857, and everything is at stake for Serafina Trent. A woman of means . . . but not the typical Victorian lady who feels her place is to be seen and not heard. When her brother's most recent female dalliance, a beautiful actress, is found murdered, all evidence points to him. Especially since the actress had just rejected him in a most public manner. Now everyone believes Clive is headed for the gallows. Everyone, that is, but Serafina.
Determined to prove her brother's innocence, Serafina finds herself working with unlikely allies--including Dylan Tremayne, a passionate storyteller and actor with a criminal past. This novel will hold fans of mystery and history spellbound until the very last page.
Victorian England comes alive in this intriguing new series from one of Christian fiction's favorite authors.
The Mermaid in the Basement (Lady Trent Mystery, #1) Reviews
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An enjoyable novel from one of Christian fiction's most prolific writers.
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My complaints are many:
1) Serafina Trent is the widow of the Viscount of Radnor. She has a son. Therefore, Serafina is the viscountess and her son is the viscount. She would be addressed in company or by servants as "Lady Radnor" or "my lady." Her son would be "Lord Radnor." In this book, she's nonsensically called "Lady Trent" or "Lady Serafina" or "Lady Serafina Trent" or "Viscountess" and her son is referred to as "the future Viscount of Radnor" and this may well be the most stupidly annoying thing in the entire world; it's not really that confusing a system; surely an author or their editor could do the faintest smidgen of research and fucking get it right?
2) I don't care about the proselytizing; what I mind is the all but maybe two of the cast of characters, who are all of them white, British people living in London in 1857, talking like they are all acknowledged atheists. The completely improbable hero is said to be "converting" people to Jesus, but everyone he talks to would have been at least nominally Christian already.
3) God damn it, "Tremayne" is a Cornish name, not Welsh!
4) And Welsh people don't talk like leprechauns!
5) And no one deliberately got tanned back then!
6) And Serafina is so annoying and absurd and "oh I'll just invent a gas stove tee hee!" and isn't it a scream when she just trashes Charles Dickens to his face for writing fiction and oh my God HOW IS SHE NOT THE ONE WHO GETS MURDERED?
I made it to page 27 and then my throat got sore from snarling. -
This book was NOT CLEAN! The actors were terrible and totally inappropriate. The point that they are bad was made very plain without all the extra details.
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I gave up on this after getting through 200 interminable pages, hoping against hope that it would improve. Maybe I was drawn in by the cover? Maybe I was too excited about a regency mystery novel? Whatever the reason, I'd like that 1.5 hours back please.
If the author tightened up the prose, didn't make the characters into caricatures of themselves, and didn't repeat absolutely everything three times on a page -- it might be a good book. But I find that I don't even care whodunnit? at this point. Oh, and these caricatures of people aren't even consistent! Our heroine doesn't believe in exercising her imagination (nor her son's), but she's been busy inventing a new type of oven. How does that compute? If she can't imagine the stove, how can she invent it? Argh!
From the hater of ingenuity to the sexy leading man (immediately lusted after by our heroine's sister) to the one-dimensionally evil members of Scotland Yard -- there's no room for compromise. Ugh. -
I don't usually read Christian literature, but this was a great mystery book. I might read the rest of them, I'm not quite sure yet. I don't really like all the preaching in the book. I liked Serafina a lot though, and I thought that she was a brave and great woman. I recommend this book to anyone who likes Christian literature, and also a love story, or a mystery.
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Not terribly impressive in terms of writing style, but charming enough to keep my interest. Quite a long one, though! I think that's due to its "paint-by-numbers" flavor - explaining the obvious to make sure you didn't miss the meaning or the clues. It gets annoying quickly. The characters were rather flatly drawn (although I adore Dylan) - it makes me wonder if Lynn is the one who gave them spice (see the Cheney Duvall, M.D. series). I have the next one, A Conspiracy of Ravens, ready to go! I really do enjoy Gilbert Morris books. He smoothly weaves the gospel into his charming novels in a way that never sounds forced or cliched. It's always pure fun.
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I love historical mysteries and this was a good one. I enjoyed the differences between the two main characters, Lady Serafina and Dylan. She had a scientific mindset and he had a creative one. It made for some interesting interaction between them, particularly when it came to Dylan’s faith. I did figure out who the killer was, but it was almost at the same time that they did. (Full review at my website.)
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The Christian witness in this book lectured concepts concerning women and relationships that I do not believe were completely Biblical. Also, the book does not discourage Christians from being romantically involved with people who don't believe, even though that is something the Bible says.
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A pretty decent mystery story that actually relies on clues and deduction, which is a rare treat for most mystery readers. My only complaint is that the book takes several awkward pauses for relationship development that really seem shoehorned into the story rather than a part of it.
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I think I was hoping for an Anne Perry type read and this was not it. I did like all the Biblical references and the faith of the leading character. A good mystery.....just felt sort of odd though.
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The writing style of this book is somewhat confusing. There was also some really questionable scenes in the book that just didn't seem plausible.
For example, within the first 30 pages of the book, the main character is invited to a dinner party. Who's attending it is ridiculous:
The guest list:
I mean, it's technically plausible; but what are the actual chances that this is even in the realm of reality?
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
It's also worth noting that this book is heavily religious.
I mean; I enjoy a good Christian historical fiction from time to time, but this book went overboard on religion, to the point where it's somewhat annoying.
The reason I gave it two stars, was because by the end the author did actually manage to get me invested in the story line. -
I appreciated that our main character I is not spindles but only sensed two dimensions to our lady Trent. The storyline was a quick and easy read without any surprising twists and turns. I did enjoy our support character Dylan Tremayne though a bit trite that he is drop dead gorgeous and down to earth.
I didn’t realize this was a Christian fiction before reading it. It did add a refreshing dimension. When I am looking for an easy read then I would read another book in this series. -
While normally not a huge fan of historical or romantic themed books, I enjoyed Morris' intelligent and fascinating blend of suspense and inspiring Faith-based connections. I loved the storyline and really connected with many of the characters! Will definitely read the next book also :)
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A very good read. The last few chapters of the book, I correctly guessed who did it.
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Not my favorite of his works. Kind of repetitive dialogue.
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This book was so good!
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Accidentally read this twice! Still good!
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Got about thirty pages in, flipped through the rest. Not worth finishing. Lady Trent is insufferable and I don't care to see how she learns to value imagination and religion and romance.
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it was good!, but i called it... still, I'm looking forward to the next book
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It took me forever to finish this book. It was ok but I wasn’t interested in it. I think the author didn’t really know the Victorian era well enough for this story to be authentic.
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I have very mixed feelings about this book. I picked it up at random because of the title. The cover description was really catching. A lady detective in Victorian London? With and actor/ storyteller sidekick? How could I not enjoy that? Well, here are my issues.
1: Dylan Tremayne (the sidekick) is described on the book cover as: "a passionate storyteller and actor with a criminal past" If you remove "passionate storyteller" and replace it with "evangelical christian" you'll get a better idea of Dylan. Now I like Dylan, or rather I want to like him but he is so one note. He doesn't have an inner conflict or turmoil to give him depth. All of his issues are in the past and though he tells you about them they don't add much flavor and so his lack of depth really bothers me more than his CONSTANT spouting off about god in like every line out of his mouth. Which does, in fact bother me and leads to issue two...
2: I didn't know I was settling in for 322 pages of "GIVE YOUR SOUL TO JESUS< SINNER!" Somehow, I missed the line on the back of the book that said "Victorian England comes alive in this intriguing new series from one of Christian fiction's favorite authors." I can read Christian authors, my long time devotion to Orson Scott Card is testament to that but I hate being preached at all the time. I hate pushy religious nuts. For me, that element took me out of the story a lot.
3: Issue three: Lady Serafina Trent. From the book: "A wealthy widow of a nobleman, daughter of a famous scientist, and skeptic who only trusts what can be proven.
Meet Serafina Trent. A woman about to take 19th Century London by storm.
It's London, 1857, and everything is at stake for Serafina Trent. A woman of means . . . but not the typical Victorian lady who feels her place is to be seen and not heard."
Exciting, right? Sounds like a heroine you can really get behind. Well dear lady Trent suffers from the treatment a lot of female characters do. In order to get across the idea that she is strong, independent and smart she is written as an insufferable bitch. We are told that her father is a brilliant scientist who raised her the same way. They don't believe in imagination ( I know lots of scientists with active imaginations, its how we get inventions) or fanciful things. Lady Trent is the widow of a bad marriage, though no one will tell you why it was bad for 300 pages, only that he didn't beat her and she watches for signs of her (7 year old) son being like his father when he's out playing and using *gasp* his imagination. Because of her marriage she doesn't believe in love, or puppy dogs or butterflies.
There's an early scene when she's talking to her maid, who tells her that she's being courted by a man she thinks is about to ask for her hand. Serafina tells her that getting married is akin to putting young girls on the bock at a slave market. When she sees her rant upsets the girl her way of toning it down is to tell her " be careful, Louisa. Don't expect too much out of married life." And then she goes to a dinner party, insults most of the guests, including Charles Dickens and solves a minor mystery which is how we know that she's got the goods.
Serafina is mean and insufferable and a know it all a lot of the time, but what really bugs me is when Dylan shows up with his preaching she pretty much lets him run the show. She actually gets to a point where she tells him to think for her. Gag me. C. Auguste Dupin E.A. Poe's original detective character, whom Serafina is supposed to be modeled after never told HIS sidekick to think for him. Holmes never told Watson! I just couldn't really believe that she really did so little in this novel, Dylan did way more detective work than she did.
So why did I give it three starts? Because while it got my goat in those areas it was an enjoyable mystery. I liked the Newton/ Trent family interaction. I still want to like Dylan, I'm hoping in the next book that he'll get some real depth. I'm also hoping that the author will, now that he has established them make both Dylan and Serafina more human. So I rated it three stars mostly on hope because I couldn't bring myself to read the second one on anything less. -
Forget the stars (which I hate using anyway) I'm just going to go ahead and give my review.
I wasn't sure how I'd like it. First of all, I hate the name Serafina, which I know was a dumb reason for hesitation, but still. Names sometimes throw me off. On the other hand, the cover was gorgeous and the name of the book was intriguing. The latter two won out. And I am sooooo glad that they did. I really enjoyed this book. The main characters were the main reason why.
Lady Elizabeth Serafina Trent: (Why couldn't they just call her Elizabeth????) I really liked her. She was a no-nonsense, scientifically minded, black-and-white type of person. She and Dylan are sooooo opposites. Which is why they will make a great couple. :) She seemed very cold and stand-off-ish, but she wasn't stereo-typed in my opinion. Maybe that was what made me like her. She was different.
Mr. Dylan Tremayne: Can I say how much I love Dylan? He was amazing! And as I said before, he was everything Serafina was NOT. Number one, he's an actor...so he specializes in dramatics and fantasy. (A big no-no in Lady Trent's opinion.) He is a very fun-loving, happy-go-lucky kind of guy. I adored him. (And the accent I pictured in my head just made him cuter.) Besides all of that, he was extremely good looking! Many have said, while reviewing, that he was very "preachy." And that threw some people off. Yes, he did talk of God a lot (This is a Christian book, I will remind people. I am a Christian, and I will let you know that I hate fake religion in a book. You know, when people spout out Bible verses that they probably don't even understand at the drop of a hat just to prove that they are a Christian.), but it didn't seem extremely fake. I'll admit, at times it got to be a little much (and by much I mean it was occasionally non-realistic), but he never really pushed the issue onto Serafina. He mostly just threw something about God into the conversation to make Serafina give the issue a little bit of thought. He didn't brow-beat her with it. So, I thought that Morris wrote that fairly well. Not perfect, but O.K. Better than some others I've read. Either way, Dylan was amazing. Nuff said.
The Mystery: I'll admit it was an unsavory topic. I'm sorry but the woman was...well...known for her affairs, if you will. So, obviously, Dylan and Serafina had to check out known lovers in places that weren't so nice as well as look for a woman of unsavory reputation to help clear Serafina's brother's name. Happily, I wasn't so focused on the dark side of the story as I was about the mystery being solved. So, that was a very good thing. Oh, and I did have the mystery figured out. It wasn't too difficult. Not completely obvious, but not that hard. Either way, I enjoyed that part as well.
The Writing: Having never read Gilbert Morris's writing before, I didn't know if I would like it or not. In this book, I did. I thought he wrote the story well.
One Problem: Lady Trent's husband is dead. You know from Serafina's thoughts that he wasn't a nice guy. But, you don't find out WHY until a single paragraph near the end. (THANKFULLY!) I wish that I hadn't found out. Not the last thing I want on my mind before I go to bed (which was where I read the majority fo the book). Seriously, why couldn't it have been a simple case of spousal abuse or the fact that he constantly cheated on her or something. I hope that it isn't mentioned in the rest of the books because I want to read them. -
The title was so intriguing, I couldn't help myself! This is the first book I've read by this author. I'm not certain if I'd like any of his other series, but I do like this one.
Lady Trent is no ordinary heroine. Yes, she's plucky and smart and independent. But she's also a scientist in her own right -- she can even perform autopsies! Yes, there is a "secret" that has made her keep her emotions in check, to the point of being icy to everyone but her beloved son, David. She is a rational woman. And she becomes the strength and sense for her family when her younger brother, Clive, is arrested and throw in jail for murdering the actress who publicly humiliated him just the night before.
Because the circumstantial evidence is so strong against him, Lady Trent decides to do her own investigating. Because her brother's alibi is only drunken memories of being in unsavory places with unsavory people, Lady Trent has to team up not only with someone who can protect her, but who can also navigate the seamier side of London. That man, of course, is very handsome. And an actor. And most surprisingly, a Christian man, who lives and breathes his faith.
Will these two people from such different worlds be able to find the evidence needed to prevent Clive from hanging? Will they find friendship or even love along the way? And if they do, how will they overcome their differences in backgrounds and faith, or lack of it?
I did enjoy the book, and I found the mystery to be well-written. The whodunnit seemed obvious to me in the last 1/3rd of the book, but it was played well, with plenty of red herrings.
As I was reading, it struck me that this book reminded me of The Lady Julia series by Deanna Raybourn. Or rather, a version of Lady Julia that integrates faith and Christianity. There are many similarities between the two stories and the two heroines.
What I wasn't so sure that I enjoyed is that the actor, Dylan, has such an easy faith, and yet he has no problem breaking and entering to find clues for Lady Trent -- and more than once! Dylan didn't hesitate, nor did he talk about feeling guilty or asking for forgiveness. That seemed odd to me for a character that is so obviously a man of God.
And I wondered at the characterizations of Lady Trent's family. Her father and mother seem so... out of it. They're virtually useless in solving or resolving the matter with Clive. I'd thought, at least, that her father (a noted scientist and doctor) would be able to provide an important clue.
I also see a very "American" sensibility in a Victorian book. The class boundaries are clearly crossed with associations, friendships, and romance. Love over-rules all....
But I'm intrigued enough to venture into Book #2.
