‘Preserved’ by Fiona Sherlock is the beginning of a sparkly new series featuring January Quail, an antiques journalist who turns to amateur sleuthing when she finds her job is on the line.
Fiona is quite a quirky and eccentric lady, she prefers the old fashioned rotary phones to our normal phones of today and even wears corsets. Her preference for the past even stretches to wishing we were still living in previous centuries. She even drinks Creme de Menthe, not a normal everyday drink really! The fact that she couldn’t care less about how different she seems just adds to her charm and creates some funny moments throughout.
January goes to investigate what is first assumed to be an archaeological discovery of a bog body from the past. Only for the historical find to be rather more recent and with a car also! With this conclusion coming to the fore, January discovers it to be much more alarming and sinister than she expected.
A good start to January’s adventures for me. Set in Ireland this story brings us a unique angle on a murder mystery, one that is as unique as its main character. I enjoyed getting to know January with her little foibles and quirks. A character that I warmed to and a setting that I found myself so interested in I had to read until I knew it all!
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and Fiona Sherlock for the copy of the book for my review on the publication day push.
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 