Blog Tour & Review – Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden

Happy Friday, everyone!

Thanks to AustenProse and to Crooked Lane Books for the gifted copy in exchange for my blog tour spot

UNDER A VEILED MOON – Karen Odden (Released October 11th, 2022)

Book Description:

In the tradition of C. S. Harris and Anne Perry, a fatal disaster on the Thames and a roiling political conflict set the stage for Karen Odden’s second Inspector Corravan historical mystery.

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule.

For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.

As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.

My Thoughts: 4/5 stars – This wasn’t my first by Karen Odden and I can guarantee it won’t be my last! When picking up UNDER A VEILED MOON, I wasn’t aware it was book two in a series, but it wasn’t hard to follow the story and characters without having read book one. So this can be read as a standalone if the premise piques your interest. I love thrillers and mysteries, but I have an equal amount of love for historical fiction. I think what I love the most about the genre is that you can also have incredible mysteries intertwined – there’s nothing wrong about a different time period and location! The other clearly does her research and the atmosphere she creates is so easy to get lost in. I plan on getting book one and reading it before (hopefully) another book releases in the series. If you love historical fiction and detectives, then I highly recommend this, especially for the fans of C.S. Harris and the Sebastian St. Cyr series.

Advance Praise:

“[An] exceptional sequel . . . Fans of Lyndsay Faye’s Gods of Gotham trilogy will be enthralled.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Victorian skulduggery with a heaping side of Irish troubles.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Charismatic police superintendent Michael Corravan is back in a gripping sequel about the mysterious sinking of the Princess Alice. Odden deftly weaves together English and Irish history, along with her detective’s own story, in a way that will keep readers flipping pages long into the night.” —Susan Elia MacNeal, New York Times bestselling author of Mother Daughter Traitor Spy and the Maggie Hope series.

About the Author:

Karen Odden earned her Ph.D. in English from New York University and subsequently taught literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays to numerous books and journals, written introductions for Victorian novels in the Barnes & Noble classics series and edited for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture (Cambridge UP). Her previous novels, also set in 1870s London, have won awards for historical fiction and mystery. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and the recipient of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Karen lives in Arizona with her family and her rescue beagle Rosy.

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Read an exclusive interview with author Karen Odden