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Rating: 
Summary: A very light mystery, but intriguing just the same.
Review: The main thing about this mystery is that it takes place back in the late 1800's when women in the workforce (especially one working as a private eye) was virtually unheard of. After losing her child and her husband, Jasmine Malloy remained employed at the Selkirk Detective Agency. Jasmine is asked by a wealthy family to locate their daughter who has run away. The storyline was very straight forward and enjoyable without a lot of added fluff and minutae that a lot of authors use in order to make a story longer. Though definitely not categorized as a thriller, or even particulary deep, the story maintained a steady, interesting beat, and I will definitely look for more by this author.
Rating:
Summary: A very light mystery, but intriguing just the same.
Review: The main thing about this mystery is that it takes place back in the late 1800's when women in the workforce (especially one working as a private eye) was virtually unheard of. After losing her child and her husband, Jasmine Malloy remained employed at the Selkirk Detective Agency. Jasmine is asked by a wealthy family to locate their daughter who has run away. The storyline was very straight forward and enjoyable without a lot of added fluff and minutae that a lot of authors use in order to make a story longer. Though definitely not categorized as a thriller, or even particulary deep, the story maintained a steady, interesting beat, and I will definitely look for more by this author.
Rating: 
Summary: a pleasant read even if the mystery bit was a lightweight
Review: While I rather enjoyed reading "An Unmourned Death," I must own that mystery-wise, it was not that much of a spectacular read. Indeed, the manner in which Jasmine Malloy, our detecting heroine, finally solved the mystery and arrived at the truth, had me flabbergasted. Also, some of the plot resolutions felt incredibly rushed as well -- in particular the subplot resolution involving Robert Renstone and Julia Beaumont. On the other hand, if you're looking for a historical novel that deals with the challenges that women face daily (whether it is professionally or socially) and how much women are dependent on the good will of the men in their lives (whether it be fathers, brothers, husbands or employers) than "An Unmourned Death" should definitely satisfy.The plot is pretty much what has already been outlined in the book synopsis: Jasmine Malloy, one of the Selkirk Detective Agency's more resourceful operatives, is sent to Renstone Hall to look into the disappearance of Lord and Lady Renstone's 16 year old daughter, Phoebe. The inhabitants of the Hall prove to be a rather peculiar bunch: there is Lord Renstone, who turns out to be a rather uncouth and loathsome individual and who doesn't seem to be too concerned about his only daughter's disappearance; his subdued and colourless wife who seems to have acted out of character in hiring a detective agency to look for her daughter; Phoebe's two brothers -- rakishly handsome Alistair and bookish Robert; and Alistair's rich fiance, Julia, whom younger brother Robert seems to be hopelessly in love with. Jasmine does her best, but is soon frustrated. Phoebe seems to have had few real friends (save a maid who left because she was pregnant) and no one in her family can shed any light as to her frame of mind or why she would have run away. And then Lord Renstone is murdered. Could Lord Renstone's death have anything to do with Phoebe's disappearance? Or are the two incidents mutually independent of each other? Jasmine is determined to discover the truth. "An Unmourned Death" was an agreeable enough read so long as you're not expecting a murder mystery along the lines of an Anne Perry novel. Personally, I would preferred a slightly more complex murder mystery with more pages that dealt with the investigation into Phoebe's disappearance and Renstone's murder, and a little less of Jasmine's potential romance (which took up far more room than it should have, I thought). However I couldn't help but be charmed by Jasmine Malloy who turned out to be intelligent and engaging. So, I definitely would read another Jasmine Malloy mystery novel. As far as this particular novel goes, it was a rather agreeable read in that it accurately portrayed certain social issues. As a mystery novel however, it was a bit of a lightweight.
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