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| Boldwood Books 20 March 2023 Alardyce Trilogy #3 My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and to Rachel's Random Resources for the invitation to the blog tour |
Edinburgh 1896
Amy Alardyce's once-perfect life is in tatters. Her eldest son, Robert, has come of age, become the master of his own home, and married his childhood love Jane. But with maturity has come a terrible legacy, and the dark desires Robert inherited from his evil father Matthew, are fighting to get loose.
Whilst Jane is working hard to get her and Robert accepted into fashionable society, poor women are being hunted on the streets of Edinburgh, and Amy fears her son is to blame. And once the infamous Inspector Murphy takes up the case, Amy has to face a stark choice - denounce her son as a monster or risk her own safety to protect him from the consequences of his lethal actions.
📖 My Review...
I have read each of the books in this Alardyce series of gothic novels and each one gets progressively darker as we delve further into the twisted mind of Robert Alardyce who we have seen grow into a very troubled young man. This third book in the series follows on directly from where book two left off and we meet again with seventeen year old Robert as he is newly established in his own household with his lovely wife. However, all is not well in Robert's life and he must fight the demons which threaten to engulf him, and place in danger all those who care about him.
The author has captured the very essence of the tragic gothic novel and has given us a desperately troubled individual whose antics on the page are deeply compelling and more than a little shocking and yet there are also moments of empathy and compassion especially when we see Robert interacting with his young siblings. The squalor of Victorian life is captured in some detail as is the social mobility of the upper classes who seem to flit around on quite a superficial level and Robert straddles both of these lives with a troubled uneasiness.
His Fatal Legacy can be enjoyed as a standalone as the author gives enough detail to pick up the back story, however, if you enjoy dark and dangerous Victorian gothic then my advice would be to start at the beginning and get to know Robert Alardyce for yourself and ponder over the disturbing dilemma of nature over nurture which this author brings to life so convincingly. I'm not sure if there is to be any further stories in this series however, the ending of His Fatal Legacy certainly lends itself to a continuation which would make for interesting reading.
About the Author
Heather Atkinson is the author of over fifty books – predominantly in the crime fiction genre. Although Lancashire born and bred she now lives with her family, including twin teenage daughters, on the beautiful west coast of Scotland. Her gangland series for Boldwood, set on the fictional Gallowburn estate in Glasgow begins with the title Blood Brothers.
Twitter @HeatherAtkinso1 #HisFatalLegacy
@BoldwoodBooks #BoldwoodBloggers Instagram @bookandtonic
@rararesources
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