Braddon surprised me with this one. If you read enough of these types of novels, you can pretty much count on the happy ending. Braddon didn’t give us one this time, not entirely. Oh sure, the big problems come to rights and the villains are punished (although none by the law), but not everyone comes away with a nosegay and a puppy. The body count is high and there is lingering sadness and a ruined life. I think the book is more powerful as a result.

I did enjoy it though. It’s as over-the-top as I’ve seen from her yet and, bonus, we get a ton of screen time with the villains. I love it when she does that. All the misery and discord they sow is well and truly felt and for a while there, I wondered if our tragic heroine would remain friendless for the entire book. She doesn’t though she goes through a damn rough time. About half-way through, she starts to fight back and it’s nice to see a female character have some agency instead of just being a victim all the time.

Like many a sit com and rom com, the hub on which the plot turns is misunderstanding. Suspicions turn people against our heroine and of course she doesn’t talk to anyone or explain in time to be saved. She’s oddly trusting given her background and lets herself in for a lot of lying and manipulation. The other element most essential to the plot is coincidence and serendipity. Braddon gives us about a million characters tied up in a few storylines that satisfyingly intersect in the end. I wish that she’d brought back certain lines sooner than she did, but eventually you meet people again that you mostly forgot about by being caught up in the main narrative. All-in-all a ripping tale well told. ( )