Title: Murder at Spindle Manor
Author: Morgan Stang
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Fantasy / Mystery
Format: Paperback / Ebook
Release Date: October 20, 2022
Star Rating: 8/10
*Disclaimer*
Everyone is different and likes and dislikes different things. Reading is no exception. One person’s all-time favorite might seem too bland or too high stakes for another. That being said, the opinions of our judges in this contest are just that, opinions. Just because we let a book go, doesn’t mean it isn’t good. It could be your next favorite, who knows?
If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can learn more about the contest here.
Today we are reviewing Murder at Spindle Manor, which was Philip Chase’s pick for this year’s Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off. You can read their review here. And you can see the finalist spreadsheet here.
Summary
Mysteries abound in Spindle Manor.
For Huntress Isabeau Agarwal, the countryside inn is the last stop in a deadly hunt. Armed with gaslamp and guns, she tracks an insidious beast that wears the skin of its victims, mimicking them perfectly. Ten guests reside within Spindle Manor tonight, and the creature could be any one of them. Confined by a torrential thunderstorm and running out of time, Isabeau has until morning to discover the liar, or none of them—including her—will make it out alive.
But her inhuman quarry isn’t the only threat residing in Spindle Manor.
Gunshots.
A slammed door.
A dead body.
Someone has been killed, and a hunt turns into a murder investigation. Now with two mysteries at her feet and more piling up, Isabeau must navigate a night filled with lies and deception. In a world of seances and specters, mesmers and monsters, the unexpected is hiding around every corner, and every move may be her last.
Our Thoughts
Julia
This is a funny gaslamp murder mystery, with quite some darker bits strewn in. I haven’t read much Agatha Christie or anything similar, and this book proved I probably won’t change that in future.
While I really enjoyed the main characters, especially the huntress and her sidekick, I found the whole mystery bit got annoying and repetitive after a while. Not because it’s not good, but simply because it apparently isn’t my cup of tea.
“Everyone, follow me to this room!” Followed by everyone running here and there, and everywhere, again and again, just felt a bit silly to me.
I even liked the mystery at the start, but for me it dragged on too much. Not as in the pace being slow or anything, but too many twists and turns, and I found myself actively hoping we’d get to the end of it sooner rather than later. I think this exact thing I found too much will be what other people would adore.
The same goes for the way the interrogations and such go. There’s so much back and forth and weird dialogue. I think for those who like this type of story, that’s exactly the charm of it. But for me I’d have probably lost my patience with these people after half an hour.
One of the two mysteries I guessed super early on. Even though I don’t read much mystery, I do read a lot of fantasy and thrillers, so that bit I saw coming from way off.
I did however really enjoy the prose, the ideas behind it, the worldbuilding and the magic, so while it wasn’t a perfect read for me, I was still entertained to the end, though I found one choice there a bit unsatisfactory. The last few paragraphs made up for it, and I closed the book without regretting the time spent on it.
So many words to say, this is quite a good book, just not my personal taste. So, if this sounds like a genre you’d enjoy, do yourself a favour and read this!
Kerry
I LOVED this book; in fact, I enjoyed it so much I’ve read it three times (and I’ve read the sequel twice). I am a true murder mystery fan, and it was the Queen of Crime’s books that got me into the genre nearly fifty years ago at the age of nine. I also love the crossover of fantasy and mystery, so Spindle Manor was definitely a book that ticked all my boxes. Stang has also done exactly what Christie managed to do, pack a lot of individual’s stories into a rather short book without leaving stones unturned or leaving an unsatisfactory ending.
I enjoyed how Stang has taken many of Christie’s tropes but turned them on themselves. Whilst it was the detective’s sidekick who was usually armed, in this case it is our intrepid detective who is the gun lover and wielder. The guests staying at Spindle Manor are recognisable to anyone who has read a Christie mystery: the war veteran, the young married couple, a spiritualist, a blackmailer, but again they’ve been altered to fit into a more fantastical realm. There are other Christie Easter eggs to be found within this novel (but honestly, one can read this book without prior reading of Christie’s novels).
There are ten guests, which is reminiscent of And Then There Were None; the coachman, Homes, will often drunkenly mention murders and ways of dying that are from Christie novels but he always gets it wrong, for example he mentions curtains turning blue but that was wallpaper in Blue Chrysanthemums.
I thought both setting and characters were well written. Our lead detective Isabeau is not perfect and though her employers, the strange, celestial Noble rulers, have a lot of faith in her, Isabeau is only human who makes mistakes and is not as heartless as she purports herself to be (as you’ll see at the ending of this tale).
The fantastical, the monstrous, and the spiritual side to the story are also well written and Stang fits that into the murder mystery quite seamlessly. The prose was perfect for this type of novel and though I’m not usually one for monologues, they are perfect denouements for this type of novel.
Yaniv
I agree with so many things Julia wrote. I enjoyed the characters at first (especially our huntress, companion, and the army veteran who’s kickass) but the intervals of the story felt a bit forced to my taste.
Murder mysteries are a genre I like, and the unravelling of whodunit started out strong but could have played out better. A solid read but not something that I’d necessarily continue beyond this book.
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And again, you can see the list of all the finalists and their scores here. Our judges are Adawia Asad, Julia Kitvaria Sarene, Kerry Smith, Lana Taylor, Robert Max Freeman, Yaniv Rosenfeld Cohen, and Jennie Ivins (me). If you’d like to learn more about us, including our likes and dislikes, you can read about them here.
Any queries should be directed at me, Jennie Ivins, via DM on Facebook and Twitter.
Julia Kitvaria Sarene