Under a Veiled Moon by Karen Odden Book Review - Blog Tour

Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books>br> Series: An Inspector Corravan Mystery (Book 2)
Length: (336) pages
Format: Hardcover, eBook, & audiobook
Genre: Historical Mystery, Detective Mystery, Victorian Mystery

Synopsis

September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule.

For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.

As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.

My Thoughts

Michael Corravan has temporarily taken over as superintendent of the Wapping River Police. When a body is discovered on one of the Thames stairs, the police assume it is payback for an unpaid gambling debt. Before Corravan can become too involved in this case a disaster happens on the river, a collision between the collier Castle B and the pleasure boat the Princess Alice, with horrendous loss of life. Corravan hands the murder case to Scotland Yard and focuses on the collision which is being blamed on the Irish, as the contentious issue of Home Rule for Ireland is once again being debated. Eventually, the two cases cross.

As the story unfolds, more details emerge of Corravan's past, especially the years he spent growing up in Whitechapel with the Doyles and the reason Ma Doyle urged him to flee, not knowing or considering the effect his departure would have on the family and the strain it has now placed on his relationship with Colin, the youngest and only living son of Ma Doyle. Corravan regrets his actions back then and, after some soul searching, realises there were some things he could have done better, but as he was only nineteen years old at the time, cites his youth as the reason for his insensitivity. When he learns that Colin may be mixed up with an Irish gang, he wants to make amends but his intervention only alienates him further from Colin.

Anti-Irish sentiment is rife and the unfairness of it touches Corravan deeply. Although his personal life becomes entangled with his investigation, he remains level-headed and objective throughout.

Harry, the young medical student and another Coyle relation, is absent from most of this novel, as is Belinda , the novelist who is Corravan's love interest. However, both return from their various travels when Corravan needs them most.

Once again Corravan is pressured to bring a swift closure to a case even if it means blaming the wrong people. The Government, his superiors and biased newspaper stories make his investigation more difficult. His attempt to rescue Colin from his reckless decisions draws him back into Whitchapel and his past.

Under a Veiled Moon is another exciting case involving Michael Corravan. What begins with a murder becomes a complex plot involving corruption, anti-Irish sentiment and a real life disaster, with underlying themes of regret and revenge. I'm hoping Corravan's next case is just as exciting!

Author Interview

Read an exclusive interview with author Karen Odden

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Meet the Author

Karen Odden earned her Ph.D. in English from New York University and subsequently taught literature at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has contributed essays to numerous books and journals, written introductions for Victorian novels in the Barnes & Noble classics series and edited for the journal Victorian Literature and Culture (Cambridge UP). Her previous novels, also set in 1870s London, have won awards for historical fiction and mystery. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and the recipient of a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Karen lives in Arizona with her family and her rescue beagle Rosy.

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