Limelight: 1 (Penny Green)

The story is wonderfully written and the characters endearing. However the climax was very much anticipated. The secret Life of Lizzie could've been a little bit more interesting as well.

The solution was not so surprising and at times it looked like the mystery was not that cozy too.The last point was a little discouraging for me but I concede that not everyone may feel that way.However, for most part, the story telling was quite pleasantly readable, specially if you are reading on the go.

Wow. Simply awesome and very intriguing Victorian Era murder mystery. I have never tried reading Historical thriller. This book has got me hooked from the beginning till the end.The story begins with PC Preston hearing a scream and gunshots fired at Highgate Cemetery. He decides to investigate and finds an extremely faint light shining beyond the archway. He walks towards it.Former Reporter with Morning Express, Ms. Penny Green steps out of the reading room at the British Museum, only to be accosted by Detective Inspector James Blakely. He requests her to help him solve the baffling murder case of the famous theatre actress, Lizzie Dixie. Ms. Green is stunned because she had already died five years ago while a steamer Princess Alice in 1878. How can a person die twice? She asks Blakely to get her reinstated in her previous job so that she could help him. He obliges her and she revisits the place with the detective where Lizzie's body was discovered. Lizzie's husband Joseph Taylor has already identified her body. Ms. Green watches the play ' Sinbad The Sailor' and stops to offer her condolences to Taylor and his step daughter Annie. He doesn't give out much information and is rather rude. Next day, Penny gets a message from her former editor Mr. Sherman asking her to meet him. He lashes out at her after receiving a complaint from Taylor but also gives her job back with a special permission to help Detective Blakely. She meets Sebastian Colehill who introduces her to his family. He hands over Lizzie's diaries to her so that she could uncover some clues as to why Lizzie faked her death five years. A couple of spine chilling attacks follow Penny and Annie. Penny escapes unharmed from a bomb blast that destroys the train carriage in which she has been traveling. She loses the diaries. Annie gets shot at while she is performing on stage. Penny notices a weird man while attending Lizzie's second funeral. She also receives two mysterious letters warning her to drop her investigation. Who is the mysterious guy at the funeral? Has he killed Lizzie? Who has sent the threatening letters to Penny and attacked Annie? Why did Lizzie disappear for five years and why has been she murdered? Grab this fascinating thriller to discover Lizzie's dark secrets and her murderer.

This is a fun female reporter/sleuth adventure set in the Victorian era, which is very well researched by the author from the suffragette movement, the unfolding Irish uprising to what foods were typically eaten at different times of day and how people from different classes entertained themselves.The story was quite intriguing and the twists and turns to uncover the mystery were engaging, while the back stories of the lead characters were interwoven with the main narrative and rounded them out nicely. Some parts of the book seemed a bit pointless, and, while interesting, felt as if they were just padding or included, because the author had wanted to use the information she had uncovered in research, relevant or not.Penny Green is a very likeable, forthright, but also quite naive protagonist, and I am not too convinced by her sleuthing skills; thankfully that is what Inspector Blakely is there for and they make an interesting team and their budding romance is sweet and believable for the time period.However, the way they bungled the ‘undercover assignment’ was pretty cringe worthy and hard to believe that an inspector would be so amateurish.The narrator Gabrielle Baker did a brilliant job portraying a Northern lass, without sounding too broad and common and really enhanced the story for me.I received this book in audio book format free from the author and am leaving this review of my own volition.

I'd not heard of this series before, so was quite pleased to stumble upon it through an Amazon search. Not being sure what to expect, I launched into the story and was very much taken by Penny's narrative of the search for the murderer. I thought it was very nicely done, and the sprinkling of detail and real world events just rounded things off nicely.Very nicely crafted and I've already grabbed book 2 before writing this review. I want to see more of Miss Green's adventures.Also of note, I love the cover art for these titles 😀,I also enjoyed the additional detail in the very back which gives some historical detail. An excellent idea!!

Penelope Green is a lady in all sense of the word, except perhaps by wealth in that she relies on her job as a reporter to pay her rent on an attic room in a boarding house where it is a struggle to cover her expenses each week. Penelope is proud, independent and craves a career she is good at, but this is the 1880's and she has to hide her intellect and abilities from misogynistic colleagues who like to remind her she is only tolerated in their masculine profession, while content to let her do all the work. By necessity she is modest and discreet, but has the ability to choose herbattles and ignore unimportant irritants, like constant hints that she should should marry and have children.Her skills lie in her unassuming manner in that she is non threatening so people tend to talk to her, thus, as well as writing insightful articles for the Morning Press, she also solves crimes.In this story the murder victim was a friend and Penelope is determined to find out who killed her, even though her employer and even the police disagree with her opinions. She doesn't demand, bully or crash through barriers, but is methodical and thorough and gets there in the end.I look forward to reading more about Miss Green, intrepid reporter.

This is the first book in the Penny Green series but I have read others in the series and found that they easily make sense and are just as enjoyable as a stand-alone book. Penny is a reporter for a newspaper but quickly becomes involved with James Blakely a police officer from Scotland Yard when he asks for help to solve the murder of a woman who they presumed had died 4 years earlier in a boating accident. However there is someone attempting to stop her from helping to solve the case. The story takes place in the late 1800’s when ladies were expected to marry, stay at home and produce children. Penny is the exception and it’s extremely unusual for a woman to be a Fleet Street reporter. A beautifully written book and I recommend it highly.

First encounter with a new detective and four stars for effort. Having said that I enjoyed this book very much and will try the next one to confirm opinions made. Late Victorian London, a bookish young lady Penny Green is an impoverished journalist wrongly dismissed. She meets a young police detective (possible future love interest) is recruited to help him solve a murder, gets reinstated and we are off . The murdered person, an actress/courtesan was a friend of the journalist and the story involves the theatre, circus and parliamentary goings on. Good atmosphere and historical detail, an engaging heroine but a tad drawn-out tale not to mention snail-speed slow. However just right for a miserable day taking your ease. Easy flowing dialogue, almost cinematic action (Americans would love the settings, all Hansom cabs and fog). I can see interesting future stories ahead. There is so much scope in the characters, period and London.