Hounds of Autumn

Hounds of Autumn is a steampunk murder mystery written by Heather Blackwood. I had heard the term steampunk before, but before reading this novel I did not know for sure what it was. Turns out it's a branch of science fiction that features steam-powered machinery, oftentimes set in 19th century Britain (Victorian era) or America's Wild West. It was new to me, and I found it to be fun and interesting. (Note to self: try out some more steampunk).

THE BLURB:

They say that the moor has eyes.

It is 1890, and the windswept moors hold dark secrets. Chloe Sullivan is an amateur inventor whose holiday takes a dark turn when her friend and colleague, one of the few female mechanical experts in the British Empire, is murdered.

A black mechanical hound roams the moors, but could it have killed a woman? And what secrets are concealed within the dark family manor?

Accompanied by her naturalist husband and clockwork cat, Chloe is determined to see her friend’s killer found.

But some secrets have a terrible cost.

MY THOUGHTS:

This was a fairly enjoyable read with decent writing. The author was successful in creating a haunting ambiance for her murder mystery set on the moors of Great Britain. The mechanical elements were fun and quirky (such as Giles, the mechanical pet cat.) The protagonist is intelligent, curious, and driven. As one of very few women in her field, Chloe has an ally in her husband, Ambrose. He respects her and helps her maintain a life in the pursuit of learning and invention that most other women are not allowed in their world. 

In the end I can't say I was too attached to any of the characters or cared too much about what happened to them, but still I enjoyed the book overall because of two of the aforementioned points - the steampunk aspect was new and interesting to me, and the story was stirringly haunting.

MY RATING:

3 booksies

Author website: http://www.heatherblackwood.com/

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