The Phantom of the Marshes Hal Bishop Mysteries Elizabeth O'Connell 9781520978741 Books

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After their eventful outing at Foxfire Manor, Jem Bishop and his brother Hal have returned to London in hopes of making progress on their on their own mystery their father's death. But they are getting nowhere, until a letter arrives from Andrew Marsh, the son of the industrialist who manufactures the aether-engines their father became famous for. The letter describes a terrible curse--and soon Jem and Hal are on their way to Birmingham on the trail of another case. But as the death toll rises and the connection to their father's work becomes clear, Hal and Jem find themselves on the wrong side of the law--and the spirits.

The Phantom of the Marshes Hal Bishop Mysteries Elizabeth O'Connell 9781520978741 Books

I really enjoyed the first book in the series, The Rowanwood Curse. I thought it was engaging, fresh, and a most enjoyable read. I couldn't wait for the second installment, The Foxfire Lights. That, too, was great fun. It kept my interest riveted in the characters and the pages turning with the suspenseful plot line. Sadly, The Phantom of the Marshes was a disappointment to me, when measured against the previous offerings. It seems tired, often repetitive, and slow-going in parts. I feel it would have benefited from some judicious editing; for example, the numerous and similarly-worded descriptions of Hal's smoking habit and his "shuffling" of papers could have been limited. Further, the main character, Jem, an apprentice in magic to his brother Hal, is a very sensitive young man with an acute physical ability to feel the presence of magic and spells. As important as this point is to the story line, I can't help but feel that the constant descriptions of Hal's headaches, stomach upsets, irritated throats, etc., are counterproductive. Each step of the way, that poor young man is tormented with his physical ailments and the reader is annoyed with the same banal descriptions ( the "acrid" smell of smoke and iron, the throbbing head, the churning stomach etc.,etc.) Perhaps more irritating (and certainly surprising) to this reader is how some of the characters now seem cliched while others are so sparsely sketched as to be uninteresting. This is in contrast to the earlier books in which the characters were far more complex and fleshed-out. I was intrigued by them and wanted to know more about their backgrounds, what made them tick, and I was interested to see how Hal and Jem's previous experiences would affect their development. Indeed, Hal seems to me to have simply regressed into a rude and arrogant obsessive. While the reasons for his obsession are hinted at, they are not really explored and are, therefore, not well understood by the reader. That is a pity, as they would have illuminated Hal's character and created a more sympathetic persona for him. At the same time, Jem seems to have not progressed at all, either in his magical knowledge or in his personal development. One would imagine that, given his intense experiences in the first two novels, he would have grown by leaps in each category. Hal treats Jem as a green novice and withholds a good deal of pertinent information on their investigation from him (and thus, the reader). I guess that means that we aren't up to managing the info, either. It's pointless even to try to guess at the "whodunit" element because there's so little information for us to work with. Hal simply arrives at his insights while in a sleep-deprived haze of tobacco. The rest of us (and that includes Jem) must await Hal's dramatic presentation in a "Hey, Presto!" moment. This is simply not a satisfying resolution and it is not up to the author's previous standard. I really hope the next installment sees Hal and Jem fully back in their stride.

Product details

Series Hal Bishop Mysteries (Book 3)
Paperback 218 pages
Publisher Independently published (April 15, 2017)
Language English
ISBN-10 152097874X

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Tags : The Phantom of the Marshes (Hal Bishop Mysteries) [Elizabeth O'Connell] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. After their eventful outing at Foxfire Manor, Jem Bishop and his brother Hal have returned to London in hopes of making progress on their on their own mystery: their father's death. But they are getting nowhere,Elizabeth O'Connell,The Phantom of the Marshes (Hal Bishop Mysteries),Independently published,152097874X,Fiction Fantasy Historical,Fiction Mystery & Detective Traditional British
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The Phantom of the Marshes Hal Bishop Mysteries Elizabeth O'Connell 9781520978741 Books

The Phantom of the Marshes Hal Bishop Mysteries Elizabeth O'Connell 9781520978741 Books

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