Books 2019 - The Fourteenth Letter by Claire Evans

[byslantedlight]

Mount TBR so far = 7/24 (still!)
Lj Book Bingo Masterpost

One balmy June evening in 1881, Phoebe Stanbury stands before the guests at her engagement party; this is her moment, when she will join the renowned Raycraft family.
As she takes her fiance's hand, a stranger with a knife steps forward and ends the poor girl's life. Amid the chaos, he turns to her groom and mouths; 'I promised I would save you.

Sounds quite good, right? I was quite looking forward to this from the blurb and premise, and because it was set in 1881, which is a year I've been writing in, but it didn't take long to realise that I was going to be sorely disappointed. I finished it so that I could fill in my lj book bingo square - and that was really the only reason. It started out okay, but nothing grabbed me as I carried on reading, nothing really seemed true or real, and the story just sort of splatted in all directions.

I almost liked William and Harry (were they really the best names to choose for the heroes?!), but even they weren't consistent enough for me to feel as if I properly knew them. I'd think I did, and then they'd do something that seemed out of character, or just generally meh. There was a stock fast-talking fast-shooting don't-care American character who was really annoying, even though she was supposed to be the toughie-with-the-true-heart-deep-down, and the villains were too evil and foreign and well-connected to be believed. The whole thing just felt very chapter-by-chapter, too, dotting around here and there and never settling into anything.
Fewer characters in general would have helped too - I was dizzy trying to keep up with them all...

And don't get me started on the use of real historical characters but with apparently random characterisations. Why would you do that? It's disrespectful and pointless - why not just make them original characters to start with? It felt a bit like the author was trying too hard to create some world-history-level conspiracy, but fitting people she wanted into her story rather than fitting her story around actual people and history. I've read loads of interesting books based around real historical people, and they were better because they didn't play fast and loose with them. And saying in your acknowledgements "Any factual errors in this book are entirely my own, and I'm not sure I care all that much. It's fiction, after all", having just written half a dozen pages explaining the history of the time and how well your novel fits into it? Just doesn't wash! Gaah!

And there were definite modernisms and anachronisms, and... just... No.

And then I went back and read the author biography at the start of the book, and it turns out that this woman worked pretty high up in the BBC for years, and it made me want to cry. On the one hand, I suspect it explains how this was published (or perhaps not properly edited) - but on the other hand, maybe it helps to explain why I've just not felt that close to many BBC shows in the last dozen years or so...

But - well, I got to the end at last, and I can actually clear it right off my shelf and into a charity bookshop, and it fits a square, so yeay. It might even have been a Mount TBR, but for the life of me I can't remember when I bought it, and it might have come from a post-Christmas spree, so I shall be good and not include it..

Comments

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess you can look at the bright side of things, you were able to fill another square. *g*

You're a better woman than I am, because, going by your review, I doubt I would have finished the book. I've found that, the older I get, the less patience I have for that sort of thing. Anyway, sorry to hear that the book was such a disappointment.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I must admit that I felt quite virtuous with this one! I almost couldn't quite believe as I was reading it that it was that bad - but I think I was influenced by the hype of the reviews on the cover too, assuming that it must be pretty good. But of course just cos someone can get endorsements from big companies, doesn't mean what they do is right... look at politics!

But as you say - the book's done and gone and another square covered now! And I had a feeling that square was going to be tricky too, so yeay! *g*

[keli]

That first quote sounds really good. I’m sorry it ended up being not so good.

[stellar_raven]

Sorry it didn't work for you. :( But congrats on another book down!