I adore the Gothic atmosphere Abigail Wilson creates in her Regency novels. Even descriptions of perfectly mundane details, such as the room the characters are in and the time of day, are carefully calculated to perpetuate that delicious sense of uncertainty and nervousness: On Saturday night, Aunt Jo and I gathered in the drawing room, the dark night lurking beyond the curtains, a chill hovering just beyond the reach of the large fireplace.” I get tingles all over again just typing it. Couple that with a plot that really did take me by surprise in the last quarter, and you have the makings of an unputdownable read.

There were a few aspects, though, that I felt didn’t quite reach their full potential—in particular, the main characters. I’m a bit of a sucker for a Gothic hero—the more complex the better! And I did like Lewis Browning, but in some ways, that was the problem. He was a little bit too easy to like, whereas I would have preferred there to be more mystery or even broodiness about his character.

And then there was Rebecca, whom I have to admit annoyed me at times, particularly the way she went about trying to discover information about her brother’s death. She didn’t really think through some of her actions (even as she justified them to herself and the reader), and she was a fairly flat character overall. I would have loved to have seen her grow more as a person.

The romance develops subtly for the most part—just the way I like it in a Gothic—but I have to admit I sometimes wondered what Lewis saw in Rebecca. She didn’t do a lot to endear herself to him. But for those who are looking for great atmosphere and an intriguing mystery in their next Gothic read, this one is sure to satisfy.