Author of multiple absorbing stories, including the Carol award winner The Lost Melody, Joanna Davidson Politano does it again with The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House, delivering an exemplary historical romance led by an endearing character and set in a house shrouded in mystery.
In 1901 while working at her aunt’s curiosity and clock repair shop in Shropshire, England, Sydney Forrester learns she has inherited a house from her great uncle, Emmett Sinclair, who was an acclaimed inventor. Blakely House is an unusual house fraught with mystery and fascinating machinery that will draw readers in. The house is inhabited by an interesting group of people, including pirates and adventurers who were rescued by Emmett after their ships wrecked on the shores nearby.
When Sydney goes to visit the property, she is met with hostility, as her relatives devise ways to prove Sydney was involved in her uncle’s death. But while at first Sydney’s relationship with the head of staff at Blakely House (and Emmett’s former righthand man) is cool and distant, in time, a friendship develops between them. Sydney learns about her uncle’s intriguing story and is captivated by the gadgetry and inventions in his house, including one project she is determined to work on herself, while the appearance of an unexpected stranger on the shoreline adds to the suspense of the story.
The novel is layered with various mysteries and characters’ stories that connect beautifully. Chapters begin with snippets of Emmett’s letters to his beloved Sophie, a mysterious woman whose connection to the house, and to Emmett, Sydney is determined to uncover. Sydney is a delightful character with an eccentric nature and a brilliant understanding of machinery. Her faith journey is also tactfully explored.
Set in an atmospheric house packed with thrilling mysteries, The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House is a splendid story that will win readers’ hearts.
