Scholarly Pursuits: A Victorian San Francisco Mystery
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4.1 • 14 Ratings
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
"Something is rotten in the state of Berkeley" --1881 Blue and Gold Yearbook, University of California: Berkeley
In Scholarly Pursuits, the sixth full-length novel in the USA Today best-selling Victorian San Francisco mystery series, Locke explores life on the University of California: Berkeley campus in 1881, where Laura and her friends face the remarkably modern problems of fraternity hazings, fraught romantic relationships, and fractious faculty politics
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While Annie and Nate Dawson and friends and family in the O'Farrell Street boardinghouse await a blessed event, Laura Dawson finds herself investigating why a young Berkeley student dropped out of school in the fall of 1880.
No one, including her friend Seth Timmons, thinks this is a good idea, since she is juggling a full course load with a part-time job, but she can't let the question of what happened to her friend go unanswered. Not when it means that other young women might be in danger.
This cozy historical mystery of romantic suspense is set in the period immediately after the fifth book in the series, Pilfered Promises, and two novellas, Kathleen Catches a Killer and Dandy Delivers. However, it can be read as a stand-alone.
Customer Reviews
Love the series, but disappointed in this one.
I really and truly love Locke’s Victorian San Fransisco series.
I have read all of the series including the novellas, and like any series they vary in plot and character interest. My absolute favourite is Uneasy Spirits, which I have reread several times. I do appreciate all of the short stories and novellas as well, giving us broader insight and scope of the world these beloved characters are living in.
I would give this one 2-2.5 out of 5 if I could, which is sad. I preordered and was waiting patiently (or impatiently for it), and it was honestly a let down. To start with, there are a ton of typos and errors, INCLUDING the wrong names of the characters being used (one of which is a dead character... is this The Walking Dead?). I realize these books are self-published, but standards!!! Secondly, we see so little of the characters we’ve become loyal to that it’s barely part of the series. This story focuses on Laura and a new character Caro. Caro is very two-dementional, self-righteous, and honestly not a character you feel like spending time with through a whole novel. Laura’s interactions with Seth are interesting and satisfying, but are very minimal (Laura has become more interesting herself over time). You barely spend any time with Annie and Nate who are the main draws of the series, and the rest of the boarders and friends are barely mentioned. On top of all this, the plot is really jumpy, leaving out details and gaping logic holes. The ending is very predictable, and not at all satisfactory.
The best way I can describe this novel is that it felt like a draft, not a final product. Hoping for much more in future stories!!!
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