A Heritage of Shadows
by Madeleine Brent
Blurb:
When Hannah MacLeod, established independently in Paris, the secrets of her past well hidden, takes pity on an Englishman who has been assaulted, a sinister train of events is set into motion.
My Reaction:
I've read and enjoyed six of Madeleine Brent's novels, before this one. I believe I started with what is probably the best of them, Moonraker's Bride. Though "Madeleine Brent" is the pen name of a male author, he did a marvelous job of writing a female perspective and creating strong female characters. I've enjoyed everything of his I've read, so far. Nothing else has quite matched Moonraker's Bride, in my opinion, but they've been very readable. They tend to rely on some unbelievable coincidences, and they're formulaic, but they're still highly enjoyable.
While A Heritage of Shadows fits that same "proven formula" in many ways, in some key elements it's significantly different. To spell out how it differs, however, would reveal a huge spoiler, so I won't go into it. Suffice it to say that it's much darker in subject matter than everything else I've read from this author. I didn't care for this, and unfortunately, the way that the heroine reacts to certain events in her life makes her less relatable to me. I suppose I understand what the author was going for... The character has a defense mechanism that has allowed her to survive shocking and horrific experiences—but at some point it's frustrating to see someone keep turning the cheek. She's a little too perfect for me. I can't completely believe in her absolute self-control and lack of negative human emotion.
I do like that we get a fair bit of interaction between the hero and heroine, but... Well, it leads to more spoilers if I get into details. I just didn't find this book quite as enjoyable to read, for a variety of reasons.
