Murder at Spindle Manor is a dark fantasy and gaslamp mystery. While mysterious elements aren’t new in gaslamp novels, this novel takes the step into true detective fiction. The setup is a classic whodunnit. A group of people have come to a “hotel” outside of a large city while taking a tour of the countryside. The plot immediately deviates when Huntress Isabeau Agarwal arrives with her coachman (who’s actually a woman) and checks in. At dinner, Isabeau announces to the rest of the visitors that she’s hunting a doppelvyrm—a combination of a doppelganger and a Cthulhu monster—and someone at the table is the monster. She plans to reveal the hidden creature masquerading as one of the travelers. Before she starts in earnest, one of the party is murdered, and the victim is not the monster. Who did it and why becomes the focus of the book.
Hidden agendas, extra visitors, misdirection, all the classic elements of a great mystery exist here. Murder at Spindle Manor isn’t a simple whodunnit, though. Everyone is a bit off-kilter among the traveling party. A mesmer, a medium, and a steam cyborg are just the beginning of the bizarre cast of characters. If I detail more of Isbeau’s investigation, however, I’ll spoil the best parts of the book. Needless to say, the reveals are spectacular. If you’re a fan of the gaslamp genre, you won’t be disappointed.
The pace and descriptions of this novel are also first-rate. This is hard to put down at any point, and I found myself focused for hours. In the past year, I’ve read two very odd but wonderful mysteries, The Seven and a Half Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and Everyone in My Family Has Murdered Someone. This book joins the two to make a trifecta. All three were fun to read, all three had a unique hook, and this one brings supernatural shenanigans in spades.
Yes, I wish one of the more annoying characters was toned down during Isabeau’s interview. I felt that scene was unnecessary, but besides a few character missteps, when this story gets going, it never stops. The doppelwyrm provides the reason they’re all stuck in the manor, which is a creative way of forcing characters to remain at the scene of the crime and separated from the law.Murder at Spindle Manor is creepy entertainment. Readers who like their mysteries straightforward may find the plot too much, but for those who love mixing genres, this is a joy. A taunt pace, gloomy atmosphere, and numerous surprises combine into this dark confection of a mystery novel.