The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne by Elsa Hart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It’s not often that I find a new approach to murder mysteries, but The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne was a definitely unique offering. Set in London in 1703, the book centers on the untimely death of a renowned collector. In perhaps the forerunner of “citizen science,” the collectors accumulated and cataloged specimens from around the world in curiosity cabinets. Lady Cecily Kay, a woman possessed of a most “unfeminine” interest in questions, has been sent home from Smyrna after expressing too much interest in her husband’s business affairs; she has traveled to Sir Barnaby’s home to identify her plant samples and is on the scene when he is murdered shortly after leading a tour of his collection.

Lady Kay joins forces with a childhood friend–a gifted illustrator who happens to also be staying at Sir Barnaby’s–and the two women track down lead after lead in an attempt to save an innocent man from the gallows. This is a nice addition to the historical mystery genre.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for access to a digital ARC.



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Lady Helena Investigates

I enjoy discovering new series to read, and think I’ve run across a good one.  Unfortunately, only the first book has been published, but I’m hoping for more.

A young widow in Victorian England is confronted with the untimely death of her husband and a French doctor who is convinced the death was no accident.  Lady Helena has a meddling family and a tragic history in love, but also possesses a stubborn independence that leads her to investigate her family history.  The sixth of seven children, Helena has the unfortunate nickname “Baby”, and is frequently treated as such by her much older siblings.  Helena realizes that, due to her age, she knows little about her parents (her father died when she was 19 and her mother has been slipping into dementia since his death).  As a widow in mourning, her social options are limited, and she begins reading her mother’s journals to re-kindle an interest in herbology and to discover her mother.  Of course, some things are better left in the past.

This is a well-written book with engaging characters (though perhaps Helena didn’t need quite so many older siblings).  I look forward to the promised future books in the series.

I received access to this book from NetGalley.