Rating: 
Summary: A haunting mystery
Review: This wonderful book definitely stays with you after reading it, which you're likely do quickly as it's extremely difficult to put down. Everything from the places and characters to the intense hauntings is written with blessedly tight prose, consistently moving forward this uncommon mystery. I'm absolutely looking forward to spending more time with Penny and Ringan, the rest of the Broomfield Quartet, and hopefully the Right Hon Albert Whychsale, and truly cannot wait for the next book in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Charming supernatural mystery
Review: When Ringan Laine, folk musician and historic house restorer, acquires a house in payment for a job, he and his long-time lover, theatre producer Penelope Wintercraft-Hawkes, find that they're not the house's only occupants. Through detective work, they look for a way to deal with their spectral houseguests.The book features a charming British setting and characters, plus an added fascination for those of us interested in traditional folk ballads. In marketing, it may suffer from being "neither fish nor flesh nor good red herring." It has many of the aspects of a "cozy" mystery. It also has the supernatural aspect, although designed more to intrigue than to terrify. It would be a shame if genre-driven marketing fails to find a way to effectively market this charming whatever-it-is, which should appeal to mystery and supernatural readers; persons interested in traditional music; and Anglophiles. As a fan of series books, I'd say that The Weaver and the Factor Maid also has many of the elements that can support a successful series. Ringan's musician friends and Penny's theatre work should offer many logical ways for them to become involved in supernatural mysteries. There are also a gracious plenty of spooky ballads from which to draw stories. I'm looking forward to the next installment, The Famous Flower of Serving Men.
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