Book Review of The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh

 

Name of Book: The Tumbling Girl

Author: Bridget Walsh

ISBN: 978-1-913547-51-6

Publisher: Gallic 

Part of a Series: Variety Palace Mysteries 

Type of book: Mystery, Victorian Era, 1876, England, lower class, new money, singing, acting, secrets, different acts, lack of money 

Year it was published: 2023 

Summary:

The first in a sharp, witty series of Victorian mystery novels, The Tumbling Girl sees an unlikely duo team up to solve a grisly spate of murders.

1876, Victorian London. Minnie Ward, the feisty scriptwriter for the Variety Palace Music Hall, is devastated when her best friend is found brutally murdered. She enlists the help of private detective Albert Easterbrook, who already has his hands full trying to catch the notorious Hairpin Killer. But Minnie can't help getting involved in the investigation, and as the bodies begin to pile up, Albert's burgeoning feelings for his amateur partner start to interfere...

A dazzling debut for fans of Sarah Waters and Elizabeth Macneal, and shows like Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

Characters:

Main characters include Minnie Ward and Albert Easterbrook. Minnie Ward is best described as jack of all trades at Variety Palace Music Hall, and seems to be the glue holding things together. She is caring, determined and brave. She is also of lower class and feels she owes a lot to people who have helped her out in her life. Albert Easterbrook is best described as coming from "new money" who is a boxer on the side as well as a detective. He is also estranged from his family. He has a very big heart towards the poor and will do what he can to solve the mystery. He also understands his limitations and will ask for help when he needs it. The secondary characters are just as a good and memorable as the main ones because there is Minnie's boss Tansie who is gruff and who is the heart of the Variety Palace Music Hall as well as the servant teenager who helps Minnie and acts as her bodyguard and few others. 

Theme:

Things are not what they seem

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Minnie's and Albert's points of views, with at least seven interludes and some participating characters fleshing out the mystery. Although a mystery, the plot doesn't rush and it definitely achieved a perfect balance between various aspects of the story, from personal relationships where I find myself really liking Albert Easterbrook's interactions with Minnie and other women to the complex characters as well as mystery itself. The story also felt as if it was 1870s instead of anachronistic. 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

 I was born in London and now live in Norwich with my husband and two dogs. After a degree in English Literature, and a few abortive career choices, I found my home as an English teacher for 23 years. I completed my PhD in Victorian domestic murder at London University in 2009, but my fascination with Victorian crime never left me. In 2019 I completed the Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) MA at UEA where I was awarded the David Higham Scholarship and received the UEA Little, Brown Award for Crime Fiction. I am represented by Isobel Dixon at Blake Friedmann.

The Tumbling Girl, the first in a series of crime novels set in the 1870s and featuring an intrepid, working-class heroine and her somewhat posher sidekick, will be published by Gallic in 2023.

Opinion:

There is definitely a lot that impressed me about the novel: one is the attention that is paid to the slang of the time as well as the scenery and the characters. I also enjoyed the mystery itself as well as the characters. I also found myself very interested and invested in how the story will turn out, and I am definitely hopeful that I will have a chance to read the future installments. I also would personally ask if in the back there can be a glossary or whatnot of various slang terms that were used because I honestly had no idea what some of the words meant! (I don't know what Stanhope means honestly) and although the author does provide some of the meanings and words within the story (with some characters trying to educate Albert Easterbrook in the lower class speech) it was in different pages. 

This was given for review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)