The Romanov Relic is the first book in the Erimus Mysteries series and plonks us right in the middle of Teeside for an engaging and at times very funny detective thriller that delivers an engaging mystery, and some brilliant character moments and dialogue. The plot is pretty straight forward, uniting three cousins (who were previously unaware of each other) as they take over a private detective agency after their uncle is murdered. A large part of the joy of this novel in is the interactions between the trio, as they find out that a) they are related and b) there is a murder to investigate. The dialogue jumps off the page and the banter shines as the story progresses.
Along the way, there is skullduggery, dodgy coppers, and double (and triple) crossing, but our trio of amateur sleuths, along with their friends, take each challenge in hand to reach a rewarding and well deserved conclusion. There is more than enough pace here to sustain the story and you’ll enjoy the personal and professional trials and tribulations of Sam, Philip and Albert. The humour is well entrenched in the dialogue and, at times, it feels like you could be watching a comedy drama or a sitcom. Locations are also given time to breathe and you get a very definite sense of place in the text.
There are niggles. Another proofing pass would not go amiss, as there are a couple of historical errors, and it did take me a while to get used to the staccato writing style. Once I got my head around it, I settled into the tale and thoroughly enjoyed this first outing for the Erimus Detective Agency team. I am certainly looking forward to the next one.
I award 4 stars.
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