Synopsis (from
the publisher):
It's 1934, and the decaying London cul-de-sac of Bleeding Heart Square
is an unlikely place of refuge for aristocratic Lydia Langstone. But as
she flees her abusive marriage, there is only one person she can turn
to ...
Legend has it that the devil once danced in the square -- but is there
now a new and sinister presence lurking in its shadows?
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Bleeding Heart Square
Non-series
Andrew
Taylor
Hyperion (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-4013-1014-1 (1401310141)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4013-1014-1 (9781401310141)
Publication Date: January 2010
List Price: $15.99
— ◊ —
Review: Andrew
Taylor's stand-alone novel Bleeding
Heart Square is a series of interwoven storylines that form a
complex, but satisfying, mystery thriller.
It is 1934 and Lydia Langstone has left her abusive husband to live
with her estranged father. Her mother, of course, would not approve of
her leaving, but her parents have been separated since she was a child,
but she's confident she's made the right choice. It's quite a change
for her, from a life of privilege with servants attending to her every
need, to a small apartment at #7 Bleeding Heart Square. The cobbled
alley is small, too tight to even drive a car into, and legend has it
that "the devil at one time danced in the square." Now there is a
figure skulking in the shadows, who watches everyone as they enter and
leave. He seems especially interested in Lydia, an aristocratic woman
living with her drunken old father. What is his interest in the people
of the square, and more particularly, Lydia herself?
Lydia is but one of the central characters of this most interesting
story. Others include Miss Philippa May Penhow, who has not been seen
since the spring of 1930. Though a journalist, Rory Wentwood, is
suspicious of her disappearance, her common-law husband, Joe Serridge,
who owns the building, insists she left him for another man, and is off
in America, using a letter postmarked from New York City as proof. But
someone has taken possession of Miss Penhow's diary, which details
Joe's affairs with teenaged girls ... and Joe is now receiving decaying
hearts in the mail -- revenge? blackmail? murder?
Bleeding Heart Square is
in many ways an exceptional thriller with riveting characters, a
fast-paced plot, and a moody, atmospheric setting. The tangled web of
deceit and intrigue that draws Lydia into helping Rory investigate Miss
Penhow's mysterious absence and Joe's hold over his tenants, including
Lydia's father, also keeps the reader's attention and interest, up to
the exciting conclusion.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Bleeding Heart Square and to Hyperion for providing a trade paperback edition of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Bleeding Heart Square? How would you rate it?
Non-series novels by this author …
An
Unpardonable Crime
Hyperion (Hardcover), March 2004
ISBN-10: 1-40130102-9 (1401301029)
ISBN-13: 978-1-40130102-6 (9781401301026)
A
Stain on the Silence
Hyperion (Trade Paperback), February 2010
ISBN-10: 1-4013-0284-X (140130284X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4013-0284-9 (9781401302849)
Bleeding
Heart Square
Hyperion (Trade Paperback), January 2010
ISBN-10: 1-4013-1014-1 (1401310141)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4013-1014-1 (9781401310141)
Omnimystery keywords for Bleeding Heart Square ...
Location(s) referenced: London, England.
