I was disappointed in th book. First—too many characters with no importance to the plot. The author must be honing her writing skills as th book was incredibly long and mostly unneeded. The idea of dead photographs was engaging and made me want to really read the book originally, but was disappointing as it was not delved into at all. I know this was a real practice in Victorian time period. I thought the title was a clue to a true Victorian mystery but not so. Interested that some writers looked up references and i was impressed. I admit I was not familiar with artistic problems that were at play so I must not be too critical of what was going on.
I’m not a huge fan of dual timelines, but this one was well done, and I definitely enjoyed myself. It does take a bit to get into the flow of the book, so I would rate it 4 stars. Thanks!
I enjoyed it a lot. I’m a fan of dual timeline stories, and it was fascinating to see how the earlier timeline informed the present one, and the impact of the past on so many people in the present. The conflicts in each story, past and present, propelled the action forward and kept the characters interesting, and the quasi-supernatural elements like the sentient Culpepper house, provided a touch of mystery.