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R.S. Maxwell

Through a Darkening Glass: A Novel Paperback – Jan. 1 2023

by R. S. Maxwell (Author)

4.1 5,662 ratings

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A mesmerizing World War II mystery about a Londoner who flees the city to write a novel and finds a truth stranger than fiction.

England, 1940. Literature student Ruth Gladstone evacuates Cambridge University for Martynsborough, a tiny English village with a shadowy history. For Ruth, retreating to a forgotten corner of the country is more than a safety maneuver; it’s an opportunity to end an undesirable engagement and begin writing her first novel.

But upon her arrival, Ruth learns of a ghostly wraith haunting the villagers after decades of silence. Although Ruth is enthralled by the legend, the locals are less charmed by the wraith’s return. They blame the evacuees―and among them, Ruth―for stirring up restless spirits.

Undeterred, Ruth joins forces with Malcolm, an injured soldier, to unravel the mystery of the wraith. As Ruth and Malcolm draw closer to the truth, they’ll unearth long-buried secrets that could threaten them both…even as they craft a forbidden love story of their own.

Print length

336 pages
Language

English
Publication date

Jan. 1 2023
Dimensions

13.97 x 2.54 x 20.96 cm
ISBN-10

1662501064
ISBN-13

978-1662501067
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From the Publisher

Product description

Review

“Maxwell’s debut novel is definitely not your traditional ‘murder in a quaint village’ historical mystery.” ―Library Journal

“This intriguing historical with mystery, romance, and gothic overtones will keep readers thoroughly engaged while putting a surprising spin on the English village story.” ―Booklist

About the Author

Having earned an arts degree from York University many moons ago, R. S. Maxwell continues to read and study voraciously across multiple subjects that include cookery, gardening, English literature, music, art, and art history. Maxwell, who resides in Toronto, can typically be found working on another novel.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lake Union Publishing (Jan. 1 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1662501064
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1662501067
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 318 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.97 x 2.54 x 20.96 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #140,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #891 in Ghost Mysteries
- #1,338 in Amateur Sleuths
- #10,710 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.1 5,662 ratings

About the author

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R.S. Maxwell

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Having earned an Arts degree from York University many moons ago, R.S. Maxwell continues to read and study voraciously across multiple subjects that include cookery, gardening, English literature, music, art and art history. Maxwell, who resides in Toronto, is currently working on a new novel. Please visit rsmaxwell.net for author news and updates.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

5,662 global ratings

5 star		41%
4 star		35%
3 star		18%
2 star		4%
1 star		2%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Beat Bucher

Amazing wartime story!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 8, 2023

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I enjoyed reading this book as it dived into WWII England"s Backcountry and remind me of those days when everything was simple and down to earth.. really recommend this book.

Helpful

canadianreader

Well-paced, well-written cozy mystery

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 1, 2023

A perfect read for a dark, dreary Fall evening leading up to All Hallows’ Eve!

I’m glad I took a chance on this WW2 historical fiction book because it was a unique blend of history, mystery and ghost hunting! It opens with an evacuation at Cambridge University due to unexploded ordnance and continues with Ruth’s retreat to the countryside in order to finish writing her book and provide a clean break. As more evacuees settle in fictitious Martynsborough, locals fear they have angered the ‘restless spirits’ but, for Ruth, it offers a distraction and she enlists the help of her neighbour to help investigate. She gets more than she bargained for!

So often with wartime historical fiction, the focus is on the battlefield or forces fighting against occupation. It was nice to have a homefront focus for a change. That being said, I didn’t feel the tension or suspense that I was expecting with a mystery. I would have eagerly traded the forbidden romance subplot for a nail-biting ghost appearance. Regardless, it was a well-paced, well-written cozy mystery highlighting buried secrets and offering a unique wartime fiction premise.

Congratulations on a terrific cover! This beautiful Atlas moth captured my attention and I had to know how it related to the title and the story… if you look closely, the peacock makes an appearance!

I was gifted this advance copy by Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

EV

Childish and unauthentic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 8, 2022

Verified Purchase

It took me a while to work out why I was not enjoying this story. I try to choose genres I don’t usually read when selecting free Kindle offers. So I chose a ‘gothic’, historical. A mistake this time. There is something wrong with the dialogue; it does not feel authentically English. Some obvious mistakes include a reference to ‘pants’ instead of ‘trousers’, and ‘walking’ rabbits to someone instead of bringing or carrying. It seems that the author lives in Canada, perhaps she should have based the story there?
Women flit about in white dresses, apparitions flit about in white dresses, old ladies have secrets. Maybe the ‘obvious’ doesnt happen but I decided I couldn’t be bothered to read any further to find out if I was wrong.

14 people found this helpful

Gilly

Historical inaccuracies and Americanisms

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 11, 2022

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Pants? Bangs? Purse? Do you mean Trousers, Hair (?) Handbag? Way too many Americanisms that grate. If it's set in Britain use British words. If you don't know them, do more thorough research. That brings me on to the anachronistic parts;
"A plate'll be 4p" says the landlady...4p? Decimalisation didn't come in until well after 1969. 4d is the amount she would have asked for. Yes, it's pronounced four pence, but written 4d. A bit of research would've done wonders. It's a good job the book was free because it irritated me so much, I couldn't finish it. Oh, and it's highly unlikely you'd hear lots of crickets, especially that far north. Do. Your. Research.

13 people found this helpful

Closet Romantic

Enjoyable story, annoying Americanisms and missed errors.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

I liked the idea behind this story set during WW2. It’s an easy read and quite well written, nothing to challenge the reader. What did jar were the Americanisms - bangs and pants being the worst. And fact checking errors - the UK coinage changed from £.s.d to £.p in 1971 so the pub meal should have been 4d. And peacocks lose their long tail feathers in early autumn. They wouldn’t have had them at Christmas time. A better editor should have spotted these.

9 people found this helpful

rainbowgirl

Truly awful!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 9, 2022

Verified Purchase

Honestly, one of the worst books I have read in a very long time. I kept going more for the (unintended) comedy value of the terrible writing than any real interest in the outcome. The plot was nonsensical and the characters dull. The author seemed to lack a consistent style and voice and how ridiculous to put American words and expressions into the mouths and thoughts of English characters most of which are rarely, if ever, used in the UK today, let alone in the 1940s. My advice? Avoid.

8 people found this helpful

The Passionate Writer

Almost, but not quite, hits the intriguing story mark

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 5, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is an intriguing story, with many revelations dotted throughout, that maintains interest to the end even though it stumbles occasionally with lack of flow to the writing. It almost seems, at times, as though bits have been added after the story was written as there are pages which just seem to halt what would otherwise be a good narrative flow.

The author has clearly taken pains both to research the background to the story and fit in a good smattering of historical happenings. Even so, occasionally the conversational English sounds forced and false as well as colloquialisms which falter towards Americanisms. For example the use of 'purse' instead of handbag and, worst of all, the repeated reference to hair 'bangs' instead of 'fringe'. These really should have been edited correctly.

Get past these mild annoyances, however, and the story has charm, deals with peoples lives in a small village remote from the war, though they are still affected by it, and gives a good idea of what life was like under wartime and contemporary social restrictions during this period. I enjoyed it but felt that, under the control of a good editor, it could have been so much better.

7 people found this helpful

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Through a Darkening Glass: A Novel Paperback – Jan. 1 2023

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About the author

R.S. Maxwell

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