Murder at Spindle Manor (The Lamplight Murder Mysteries)

This came to my attention via Mark Lawrence’s SPFBO competition where it got the top prize.This was a classic murder mystery ‘whodunit’ with fantasy and supernatural elements.I couldn’t put this book down once I started. Bravo!

A finely woven fantasy murder mystery, fantasy mysteries are a rare sub genre who I do enjoy reading when I find them. I found this full of interesting ideas and it touches upon other sub genres of fantasy. Steampunk, cozy, and dark fantasy.Morgan shows great promise of things to come, and I hope he’s got more cases for Izzy and Evie for us to enjoy.Highly recommended to all my goodreads friends who like fantasy murder mysteries

I'm not a massive reader and got recommended this book. I finished it within a week. Made me fall in love with books again, 10/10!

A well-constructed fantasy mystery with some humour and some dark corners. One or two elements of the fantasy seemed overdone to me (why was Colonel Thrawn sustained by a steam engine she carried on her back?) but the mystery was very tightly written. It held my attention to the end - and no I did not spot "who done it".

What I expected going into Morgan Stang's Murder at Spindle Manor were approximately:Poirot with spiders.What I got:Tarantino-esque steampunk psychic spider-horror with a fantastic command of pace, prose, plot and mystery.Firstly, good grief this is beautifully written. It delivers the (very well imagined) setting so gently, so carefully, that I never even felt it enter my brain.The murder mystery trope is immediately inverted. The mystery is in who our protagonist is going to murderSomebody is a monster wearing the skin of their victim, and our protagonist, a Huntress named Izzie, is here with a suitcase full of guns and a sharp, logical mind to put an end to its killing spree.I was hooked immediately, but TEN guests, all of them hiding something?Usually, a large cast loses my attention. It takes great patience and a gentle hand to engage me with so many characters.Take it as an immense complement then, that I could tell you every characters name, relationship to the others, and what happened to them.The cast stand out so well from one another, and as the story unfolds we are treated to revelation after revelation. From one hour to the next things get wilder and worse. The clock is always ticking down, another clue is always coming to light.And the ending. God, did I love the ending.I honestly wanted to clap every time Izzie put her shotgun against some horror's head and pulled the trigger.It's evocative, it's efficient, it's everything I love to read. Finished it in two consecutive sittings.It has so much style, but knows when to restrain itself. It honours a classic genre without being trapped by its conventions, and puts its own fantastic twist on Agatha Christie's style.I adored it. Top marks, and I'll be reading more of Stang's work in the future.

Like most fantasy books, 'Murder at Spindle Manor' has some housekeeping to do at the beginning to set the scene and familiarise the reader with the world and some of the rules that govern it. As a murder mystery it also needs to introduce a cast of characters for us to learn about, probe, and cast our suspicious eyes over.If I had one criticisim, hence the four stars, it's that this section can take a while to play out, although the reasons for it are understandable given the context. And they're worth it.A lot of books begin to sag towards the middle. It's a common problem facing authors (trust me). But this is where 'Murder at Spindle Manor' comes alive and finds its rhythym, sweeping the reader away on a first-class murder mystery rollercoaster. The action rises and falls superbly, always pushing forward towards the next revelation, the stakes rising, the pacing absolutely spot on.To illustrate this, I consumed the rest of the book in one gargantuan six hour sitting, which for me is almost unheard of it. I was absolutely sucked into the mystery, enthralled, and delighted to follow every twist and turn towards the finale.The characters were superb. Each had a distinct voice and a personality that popped off the page. They weren't simply pawns being shifted around for the convenience of the story, they felt like real, complex people with histories (and secrets...), who actually lived in the world they inhabited, as they shared their personal stories and at times traded bitter barbs with one another.For bonus points, I was even able to guess at least one of the big reveals towards the end. In that aspect 'Murder at Spindle Manor' succeeds where so many mystery books/shows/movies fail, having given the reader all the clues and evidence they ever needed to solve the case and its various twists, sometimes with multiple hints that - like all the best mysteries - seem obvious in retrospect.All in all a superb book, thoroughly worth the price, extremely well crafted and intriguing to the end.

A cracking murder mystery set in the isolated Spindle Manor, with a delicious side serving of shapeshifting body horror.

A really clever supernatural murder mystery. Ghosts, monsters and a human wearing Demon! I couldn't guess who the murderer was it who the Demon has taken over. I thought the plot had gone off track and the Demon escaped but it was cleverly revealed. Would love to find out more about the Huntress, as the story focused more on the guests and plot which is refreshing. It has a sliver of Agatha Christie in it. Enjoyable

(4.5 stars rounded to 5)This book was a delight. The idea of a fantasy murder mystery appealed to me, and MASM did not disappoint. It combines the best elements of both genres, doing an excellent job at subtly world building the fantastical elements while also maintaining a very Agatha Christie tone.I knew I was in excellent hands from the chapter when our cast of characters was introduced. Despite the number of characters we learn about in a short time frame, the author does a superb job of creating a memorable picture of each. The cast came alive instantly, and I never felt lost remembering who was who. Better yet, the characters are interesting, full of intrigue and humour and just a touch of something potentially sinister (or in some cases, more than a touch), making the story fun and effortless to read.The world-building, as previously mentioned, is excellent. Every supernatural and strange element is woven in so naturally that almost no part of it felt out of place. The setting is evocative and intriguing, and the visuals created by this setting are equally strong.I enjoyed the main character. This is not a character driven book by any means (nor should it be) but there is just enough depth to make the character feel fleshed out, and seeing her excel at her work and show off her talent and acumen is always fun. She is capable and clever, but still has to work for her answers.There are two mysteries being solved here. I felt the first of the two mysteries introduced was surprisingly subtle, as the story focuses mostly on the second. Most of the clues, investigating, and deductions made during the story are concerning the second mystery that arises, which isn’t even the reason the main character is there. It works well enough narratively, but I was perhaps a bit disappointed that more focus wasn’t given to the former. I also felt there is a stretch in the middle of the book that seems to lose a bit of focus and momentum, making that section of the investigations a tad underwhelming.I was quite nervous for a moment that the book was going to fail the landing. The conclusion felt like it was going to be fairly unsatisfying, and leave several points unaddressed, but in the end, the story was tied up in the perfect way. Everything came together, and I thought the end answer to both mysteries (but particularly the first) was handled in a very satisfying way.(I’m not going to linger here long, but there was one logical hiccup in the opening chapters that bothered me quite a bit, because a fair bit of deduction was tied to it. But honestly, it doesn’t affect the overall plot much, or my overall enjoyment of the story, even if it annoyed me at the time.)Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise in every way. I’m not at all surprised it won SPFBO 9, and I will certainly read more by this author.

An able huntress and her trusty young coachman (woman) track her latest monstrous quarry to an old inn on the outskirts of Lamplight on the night of a terrible and unnatural storm. Trapped for the night by will-o-the-wisps alight in the woods as much as the raging storm, uncovering the identity of her hounded killer will be far from the only mystery laid before our huntress as she contends with the strange, contentious guests, as well as the secrets of Spindle Manor itself.Tim Burton does Agatha Christi in this was a wonderful introduction to a uniquely creative world of gothic mystery.Really, this was more Clue than Murder On The Orient Express. It is humorous and lighthearted. It's characters are as energetic as they and varied, and fill Spindle Manor with life and color. Evie the Coachman (woman) is the comic Dr. Watson to stolid Huntress Isabeau Agarwal's Sherlock Holmes. Together, they were a treat to read, and I was routing for them all the way.The cast and the world lead here. Each person staying at Spindle Manor is a unique and engaging character with a distinct voice, and each of them serves to reveal to the reader a little more of the larger world. There is a partially steam powered colonel, a professor of mesmerism, a defunct medium, a living-doll girl who's mouth is sewn shut, and more!The more we read, the further we are drawn into this world where the sun never shines and gaslamps drive back malevolent sprits. It may have been nice to understand more of these things, but the world feels wonderfully designed and so entirely immersive.Or huntress is calm, cool, and armed to the teeth. And that's good, because she'll need to be. She is thorough in her work and also wonderfully to the point. Matters come to a head quickly at Spindle Manor, and the steaks couldn't be higher, or so we're told.The truth is the mystery of the hunt that brings our main character to Spindle Manor becomes an afterthought as the other, more pressing mysteries of the story unfold. The absolute urgency of Isabeau's hunt and the grave consequences that will befall her should she fail in it are unceremoniously brushed aside by the end of the story, and that's too bad.But the mysteries and characters and the many complications and surprises of Spindle Manor make up for this weakness in spades. Though it could have been tighter at times, the story is wonderfully active, and the world overflows with exciting imagination. The final chapters also introduce a profound and understated humanity to our protagonist that left me aching to read more. Imagine my delight to find there is already a sequel!In short, this story is a triumph. I have never read anything quite so lively. It has all that I love in gaslamp turn of the century mysteries, and much, much more. I can't wait to see what Stang has in store for me in the next chapter of what I hope will be a long running series of the adventures of huntress Isabeau Agarwal.I do not exaggerate when I say I would be grateful to continue reading Stang's stories of Lamplight for the rest of my life. I feel enriched for having encountered her work. I highly recommend Murder at Spindle Manor!

This was so fun and made me more than curious to read the rest of the series.

Minor SpoilersWhat an amazing read.This is the first book I've read from Morgan Stang although I was trying to read his/her fantasy before - then I changed to this because I was on vacations and I want to take with me a fantasy , sci-fi novel and something different so I took this one which is a steampunk mystery book.In this novel we are very quickly introduced to our main protagonist Isabeau Agarwal and to a myriad of characters which will be the main focus of the mystery. It's very similar with Murder on the Orient Express on that regard. Something happens and our main character will interview everyone and so on.So what's this tale about, well it's a tale about a huntress which works for the rulers of the land called the nobles (don't know why it remind me of Vampire hunter D) and she is tasked to find a monster very keen with doppelganger. They are worried that if this doppelganger arrives to a major city will kill without any problem and will make havoc of it because this doppelganger is capable of not only assume the identify physically but psychologically.Whilst she is tasked there with her very humourful sidekick a murder occurs and the first investigation becomes almost a side-note. We have mystery, kind of horror, steampunk and fantasy all together in a manor filled with mysteries and besieged by lightning."Murder, most foul"Again, this is very very steampunk feel with mesmers (magic kind) and mediums. There are monsters, necromancy and such and did I mentioned funny?"What?""A gun. You know, in case one of them tries something.""No, you can't have a gun.""Well then. That's seems fairly dismissive of my well-being. But so be it.And don't let me talk about Chapter 13 haha...I really really loved this. It's light hearted and it was really marvellous find. The first 20 pages were a bit confusing but I wrote some notes, I made some connections and in the end really enjoyed. And the mysteries really were pretty good.93/100 and unto my favourites. Going to read the second and the third novel (which is going to be released this month) in the next few months. Wanna prolong my feeling.One interesting thing is , who was that woman that missed the sun?

4.5/5, this was simply a delight to read. Fast paced, good story, memorable characters, an engaging mystery and great prose. The vibes are great too, almost feels like a comedy at places. Very charming world too, I would love to read a bigger novel set in this world!Docking off a .5 because some of the dialogues towards the end are a bit too long winded.