Review: Miss Moriarty, I Presume?

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? was just as excellent as I was expecting and hoping! Everything that I’ve loved about all the previous books is here in full force. AND we get some peeks of some characters we’ve been missing; and a few we haven’t been missing so much.

I’ve talked a lot about Charlotte and how much I love her, and that doesn’t change in this book. If anything I love her more than ever. But I want to take a few moments and talk about Livia a bit more.

In the beginning Livia was such a background character – purposefully. She didn’t like being in the spotlight, she melted herself into the wallpaper. Livia didn’t attempt to draw attention and was incredibly unsure of herself. Seeing her gradual development and growth throughout this series has been wonderful. I was worried, a little, initially that her growth was going to be dependent on a man. And maybe some would argue the initial catalyst was, but even if you did everything since then has been all her.

She’s come from assuming that everyone thinks the worst of her to reminding herself that she is worth more. I’ve loved seeing her growth and desperately want her happy-ever-after. I’m deeply invested in her love interest as well.

Speaking of Mr. Marbleton, we get some updates on him here. I won’t say too much, because I don’t want to spoil anything, but I was so happy to see him again! I also have a much greater appreciation for his cunning and skills.

Especially after actually meeting Moriarty, himself. *shudders* So often in books and movies the “Big Bad” is built up to be this completely villainous person that is just evil. And, frequently, they don’t live up to it. They’re not smart enough, not quick, not charming…just not enough umph to actually be the main villain. Moriarty is more than he’s been built up to be.

He’s so incredibly menacing that I was on the edge of my seat reading. It’s not smoke and mirrors, it’s not overbuilt. He is every bit the threat they believe him to be. And after meeting him, they know him to be an even bigger threat than they previously assumed. Because now they’re on his radar, not simply working around the fringes of his existence.

Not only does Miss Moriarty, I Presume? have an intriguing mystery (within a couple of other mysteries), but it does a LOT to advance many overarcing story-threads.

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? is fraught with tension, mystery, intrigues, and passion. After spending the last couple of weeks flying through this series, I’m not sure how I’m going to handle the more-than year wait to the next one.

I deduce re-reading is in my future.