Jayne Barnard

In this light-hearted adventure, Maddie Hatter (just one of her names...) follows the trail of a missing explorer and his priceless finds through a quirky steampunk world.

The worldbuilding was distinctive but fairly light, which I enjoyed. Personally, I don't like getting bogged down by "rules of the world" to the extent I can't follow the story. We have a multi-part mystery with a fair cast of suspects. The reader is quite explicitly led through Maddie's deductive process with various points explained, so there's little risk of getting lost in the plot.

I'd say this is a low-tension story. When Maddie's stuck regarding where to go next, various parties show up to help her. Additionally, although she has ongoing concerns about being "outed" in her real identity, she doesn't experience any serious consequences to pay off her anxiety. Both these aspects felt a bit convenient, with not much sense of payoff.

Overall, a quick, gentle read with some interesting steampunk aspects.… (más)