Mystery
From Goodreads:
New York
Times bestselling author Deanna Raybourn returns with a Jazz Age tale of grand
adventure
On the
verge of a stilted life as an aristocrat's wife, Poppy Hammond does the only
sensible thing—she flees the chapel in her wedding gown. Assisted by the
handsome curate who calls himself Sebastian Cantrip, she spirits away to her
estranged father's quiet country village, pursued by the family she left in
uproar. But when the dust of her broken engagement settles and Sebastian
disappears under mysterious circumstances, Poppy discovers there is more to her
hero than it seems.
With
only her feisty lady's maid for company, Poppy secures employment and travels
incognita—east across the seas, chasing a hunch and the whisper of clues.
Danger abounds beneath the canopies of the silken city, and Poppy finds herself
in the perilous sights of those who will stop at nothing to recover a fabled
ancient treasure. Torn between allegiance to her kindly employer and a dashing,
shadowy figure, Poppy will risk it all as she attempts to unravel a much larger
plan—one that stretches to the very heart of the British government, and one
that could endanger everything, and everyone, that she holds dear.
If you read City of Jasmine you will be familiar with the
setting and some of the characters in Night of A Thousand Stars. This story features Poppy March and
Sebastian Fox and the setting is once again in Damascus and the surrounding
area. There is so much detail in
the description of the area it is like going on a tour of the city in the
1920’s. The book starts with
Poppy running away just before the start of her wedding. It starts like a comedy continues with
comic touches as it becomes filled with tension and danger.
Poppy has never fit in and is trying to find her way in
life. After only one meeting with
Sebastian Julia feels something for him. He disappears after helping her escape from the church
and getting her to her Father’s.
When she thinks he is in trouble she decides to travel to half way
around the world to help him. The
big reveal here is that Poppy is a March and kin to Lady Julia Grey making this
a bridge between the two series.
Look for a few characters from City of Jasmine. Even Gabriel Starke makes a brief
appearance. I found the first and
last third of the book to move very quickly but the middle third to drag a
little. This was Poppy’s story and
there is a lot of dialog that is there to show how she reacts and how she
changes. Sebastian is there to
help but plays a lesser but very strong role. One of the fun elements in the story was how Poppy kept
under-estimating Sebastian.
There were several interesting new side characters. Most appeared and disappeared only to
appear again. Many were not what
they seemed. There were enough
clues that I did suspect the role some of the side characters would play before
the book was over.
The scene is set for additional books set in this time
period. I hope we get to see more
of Poppy and Sebastian. They
should have enough additional adventures to keep them around. If not Poppy and Sebastian maybe some other characters will have their story.
Two additional features in the back of the book are book club questions and a great interview with the author.
I received an ARC of Night of A Thousand Stars from
Netgalley in return for a honest review.
A Murderous Relation by Deanna Raybourn
Deanna Raybourn has once again written a mystery that does not rush in but gives the reader time meet the characters and become immersed in the story. Set at the turn of the century the background is careful crafted, the characters fully developed, and the descriptions true to the times. Like previous books the dialog is often humorous and adds depth to the actions of the characters. 
by 
by Deanna Raybourn lets me catch up with two of my favorite characters, Lady Julia and her husband Nicholas Brisbane.
