Persephone Code by Julia Golding.
Genre: Historical murder mystery
Tags: 1812, drug addiction, murder mystery, secret societies, Illuminati, forbidden love, LGBTQ+, attempted rape, surviving war, adventure
Dora’s brother leaves her a note just before he dies, with instructions to hand the note directly to her. Dr Jacob Sandys is roped in by his friend, the vicar in the area Dora’s brother died in. There are secret societies, snobbery, some chases, and a lot of questions about Dora’s brother, and the society he was involved with, which is called the Hellfire Club.
I enjoyed the adventures this book takes you on, and I wanted to know who the person was who had killed Dora’s brother. The setting was good, with Napoleon still around, so there is uncertainty about what’s going to happen, but there are jaded soldiers who have already fought battles and have survived the terrors.
I enjoyed the twists in the story, and I didn’t see them coming as we went along, which is always a good sign for a book! The characters are flawed, which adds to the realism of the story for me.
I enjoyed the story, and getting to go along with the investigation!
I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley, One More Chapter and Julia Golding.