Of Hoaxes and Homicide

[cornerofmadness]

Of Hoaxes and Homicide by Anastasia Hastings

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I won an arc of this from GR so I hadn't read book one (and probably won't due to it being referenced a lot in this unsurprisingly) It's told from the viewpoint of two sisters, the level headed independent Violet (most of the story is hers) and her rather vapid half sister, Sephora.

Violet has inherited her aunt's Agony Aunt news column (think Dear Abbey) but one of the letters she's meant to give advice on leads her to help find the well to do daughter of a worried mother after the girl has run off to join a cult, the Children of Aed. Trying to learn more and help get this girl back, instead of just give advice, appeals far more. Once there - finding people more in tune with nature and sustainable living than the sordid stories of Count Orloff about orgies and human sacrifice - Violet realizes she knows the girl in questions, Sephora's friend who was supposed to be away visiting families.

When the head of the children of Aed promises the girl off to marry a middle aged man, Violet wants to intervene. Only the man ends up dead and Sephora's friend is blamed. It's up to Violet to find the real killer while fending off strange feelings about the Children of Aed and her feelings for an investigator from the United States.

In the meantime, Sephora wants to help (as she was raised to be the perfect lady by her mother which means more concern over fashion than thinking and feels she needs to prove herself). To do so she enlists a police man (she has fond feelings for from last book) and following Violet's maid and confidant who is acting on Violet's orders.

It was a delightfully different plot with the cult and Violet is very likeable (Sephora isn't bad either). I thought it resolved well and I'd like to see more of the series in the future.



View all my reviews