When I read the synopsis of Brandy Schillace's The Framed Women of Ardemore House, I couldn't resist. A transplanted American in the depths of Yorkshire? A book-loving heroine who just doesn't fit in? A derelict mansion with secret rooms? A neglected garden? A missing painting? A murder? It's as if the author knew all my hot buttons and tried to press as many of them as she could in one book. Was she successful? Yes, she was!
Jo's voice immediately drew me into the story. Her inheritance is an estate that's been vacant since 1908. It's in bad shape, but at least there's also a cottage she can move into. When she first arrives, the solicitor tries to shuffle her off to the cottage and away from the ramshackle country house, but "Jo was standing in front of Wuthering Heights, and no, she did not want to go poke around a cottage." I don't blame her, especially when she goes inside and "...her heart leapt; she'd caught a glimpse of distant book spines. 'It's a library?' she asked."
This book may be Jo's show, but Schillace surrounds her with an excellent supporting cast. There's the lovestruck Welsh antiques dealer, Gwilym; Tula, the innkeeper's wife who's a fellow outsider; and DCI James MacAdams, who "looked like Sam Spade tangled with Columbo and got the worst of it."
The solution to the mystery was something completely different, and I didn't pick up on it although my hindsight showed me where clues had been planted all along the way. I was even suspicious of a character whom I should have been suspicious of, but I couldn't figure out how that person fit in. I love it when that happens!
If you're in the mood for a fun read, by all means, pick up The Framed Women of Ardemore House. The ending is rather open-ended, and I'm really hoping that I'll have a chance to see Jo Jones again. I love her.
Jo's voice immediately drew me into the story. Her inheritance is an estate that's been vacant since 1908. It's in bad shape, but at least there's also a cottage she can move into. When she first arrives, the solicitor tries to shuffle her off to the cottage and away from the ramshackle country house, but "Jo was standing in front of Wuthering Heights, and no, she did not want to go poke around a cottage." I don't blame her, especially when she goes inside and "...her heart leapt; she'd caught a glimpse of distant book spines. 'It's a library?' she asked."
This book may be Jo's show, but Schillace surrounds her with an excellent supporting cast. There's the lovestruck Welsh antiques dealer, Gwilym; Tula, the innkeeper's wife who's a fellow outsider; and DCI James MacAdams, who "looked like Sam Spade tangled with Columbo and got the worst of it."
The solution to the mystery was something completely different, and I didn't pick up on it although my hindsight showed me where clues had been planted all along the way. I was even suspicious of a character whom I should have been suspicious of, but I couldn't figure out how that person fit in. I love it when that happens!
If you're in the mood for a fun read, by all means, pick up The Framed Women of Ardemore House. The ending is rather open-ended, and I'm really hoping that I'll have a chance to see Jo Jones again. I love her.
So much to like I'm not sure where to start! Jo Jones is a strong female lead who is neurodivergent, links her present circumstances to classic literature like Wuthering Heights & Jane Eyre, and is trying to solve a mystery in the present day and her family's past. The supporting characters are also delightful - the rumpled, divorced detective, the local historian, the kind innkeeper. The plot is twisty enough to keep you turning pages but not so complicated that you want to give up. I truly hope this is the beginning of a series.
