The House of Eyes

This is the first Connie Carew mystery and it is an exciting start. Connie is an orphan and lives with her two aunts and one aunt’s, Dorothea, second husband.  Dorothea’s daughter Ida was kidnapped as a child and this has left her a sad and broken woman who never leaves the house.  Then she is persuaded to attend a séance and there Ida appears.  Even more miraculously she appears on the doorstep to apply for the post of under maid.  Is Ida who she says she is or is she an imposter?  What role does the orphanage where she grew up play?  And what are Aunt Dorothea’s husband and his dodgy son up to?  Only our intrepid heroine Connie can find out!

This is another period detective story with plucky young gels rejecting the role that society has set out for them.  Connie longs to carry on her parents’ profession of anthropology and is curious about everything and everyone around her.  Ida is very beautiful and loves all the dresses and balls that are her new life, but still remembers her life in the orphanage and displays the strength and fortitude of someone who thought they would have to make their own way in life.  My favourite character is Lady Lavender Lamont a suffragette and all round good egg but totally eccentric.

A well-paced detective yarn with likable characters and a good start to what looks as though it could be a welcome series for fans.