Review: A TRACE OF DECEIT by Karen Odden

I've never been a reader of mysteries, but Karen Odden is turning me into one! I read Karen's first Victorian Mystery, A DANGEROUS DUET (William Morrow, 2018) and fell in love with the novel's feisty protagonist, intriguing plot, and convincing Victorian world. Odden's second Victorian Mystery, loosely connected to the first, is even better: A TRACE OF DECEIT (William Morrow, 2019) delves into the dark world of art forgery and auction house corruption as a young female artist struggles to solve her brother's murder and clear his name.

A Trace of Deceit by Karen Odden

Publication Date: December 17, 2019

William Morrow

Paperback & eBook; 416 pages

Genre: Historical Mystery/Victorian

From the author of A Dangerous Duet comes the next book in her Victorian mystery series, this time following a daring female painter and the Scotland Yard detective who is investigating her brother’s suspicious death. A young painter digs beneath the veneer of Victorian London’s art world to learn the truth behind her brother’s murder... Edwin is dead. That’s what Inspector Matthew Hallam of Scotland Yard tells Annabel Rowe when she discovers him searching her brother’s flat for clues. While the news is shocking, Annabel can’t say it’s wholly unexpected, given Edwin’s past as a dissolute risk-taker and art forger, although he swore he’d reformed. After years spent blaming his reckless behavior for their parents’ deaths, Annabel is now faced with the question of who murdered him—because Edwin’s death was both violent and deliberate. A valuable French painting he’d been restoring for an auction house is missing from his studio: find the painting, find the murderer. But the owner of the artwork claims it was destroyed in a warehouse fire years ago. As a painter at the prestigious Slade School of Art and as Edwin’s closest relative, Annabel makes the case that she is crucial to Matthew’s investigation. But in their search for the painting, Matthew and Annabel trace a path of deceit and viciousness that reaches far beyond the elegant rooms of the auction house, into an underworld of politics, corruption, and secrets someone will kill to keep.

My Review

    A TRACE OF DECEIT is a mystery with a heart, a compelling story whose emotional resolution is as important to its success as the solving of the crime. An art student living independently in Victorian London after the death of her parents, Annabel Rowe is shocked to learn that her brother Edwin, an artist so talented he'd once turned to forging paintings to feed his opium habit, has been murdered and the valuable painting he'd been cleaning for an auction house has gone missing. Annabel joins forces with Inspector Matthew Hallam of Scotland Yard to uncover evidence that might pinpoint a motive and a murderer. But for all she is determined to uncover the killer, Annabel's true quest is to understand why Edwin's life veered off into the shadowy underworld in the first place. Was he was truly on a path to redemption when he was murdered? If so, how can she forgive herself for withholding her complete forgiveness for the history of hurt and disappointment they shared? Haunted by the possibility that Edwin died thinking himself unforgiven, Annabel works tirelessly to unearth the dark secrets from deep in his past that contribute in no small measure to the complicated fraud his murder is meant to disguise. 

    Annabel's emotional journey unfolds against a rich and convincing Victorian backdrop. The author combines her intimate knowledge of the art world, gained through years of employment at Christie's auction house, with her deep familiarity with the culture and physical reality of 1870's London to evoke a world that feels as real, and as broad, as the reader's own. Annabel and Matthew dodge carriages and horse dung in the streets, interview lords and ladies in elegant salons, threaten newspaper editors in shabby offices, tour a tony boys' school, sweat out an art auction, and stalk criminals at a market. The crime that results in Edwin's murder originates in a historical event--the 1874 destruction by fire of the Pantechnicon, the state-of-the-art warehouse where the rich stored their excess furniture and art--and cleverly incorporates political and social details that completely validate its execution. The era-appropriate psychology and behavior of the characters, combined with the vivid, believable setting make A TRACE OF DECEIT a delightful, satisfying read.

    Karen Odden is an author to watch. Her skillful writing and profound knowledge of the Victorian era have opened a new world to me, and I'm eager to follow her on her next mystery adventure!

*******

You can read my interview with Karen Odden here. Be sure to return tomorrow to read Karen's guest post, "The 'Mysnomer' in the Label 'Historical Mystery.'"

Find A TRACE OF DECEIT at: 

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound

About the Author

Karen Odden received her Ph.D. in English literature from New York University and taught at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays and chapters to books and journals, including Studies in the Novel, the Journal of Victorian Culture, and Victorian Crime, Madness, and Sensation; she has written introductions for Barnes and Noble editions of books by Dickens and Trollope; and she edited for the academic journal Victorian Literature and Culture. She freely admits she might be more at home in nineteenth-century London than today, especially when she tries to do anything complicated on her iPhone. Her first novel, A Lady in the Smoke, was a USA Today bestseller and won the New Mexico-Arizona 2016 Book Award for e-Book Fiction. Her second novel, A Dangerous Duet, about a young pianist who stumbles on a notorious crime ring while playing in a Soho music hall in 1870s London, won the New Mexico-Arizona 2019 Book Award for Best Historical Fiction. A Trace of Deceit is her third novel. She resides in Arizona with her family and a ridiculously cute beagle named Rosy.

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Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, September 7 Review at Books and Backroads Review at WTF Are You Reading? Tuesday, September 8 Feature at I'm All About Books Wednesday, September 9 Review at Hallie Reads Thursday, September 10 Review at Gwendalyn's Books Friday, September 11 Review at Historical Fiction with Spirit Monday, September 14 Review at Pursuing Stacie Tuesday, September 15 Review at Faery Tales Are Real Wednesday, September 16 Review at Into the Hall of Books Thursday, September 17 Review at Novels Alive Friday, September 18 Review at A Darn Good Read Saturday, September 19 Review at Nursebookie Monday, September 21 Review at Books and Zebras Tuesday, September 22 Review at Passages to the Past Thursday, September 24 Guest Post at Novels Alive Friday, September 25 Review at The Lit Bitch Monday, September 28 Review at Amy's Booket List Review at Chicks, Rogues, and Scandals Tuesday, September 29 Review at Impressions In Ink Review at Writing the Renaissance Wednesday, September 30 Review at Probably at the Library Guest Post at Writing the Renaissance Thursday, October 1 Excerpt at Books In Their Natural Habitat Review at History from a Woman’s Perspective Friday, October 2 Review at Jessica Belmont Review at Jorie Loves A Story Review at View from the Birdhouse

Giveaway

During the Blog Tour, we are giving away one paperback copy of A Trace of Deceit! To enter, please use the Gleam form linked below. The giveaway is open to US residents only and ends on October 2nd. You must be 18 or older to enter. A Trace of Deceit