I was offered a copy of this book as part of Blackthorn Book Tours with a request for an honest review. This review may contain spoilers.
This was a fascinating read for me. First, it’s one of my favourite genres: detective/mystery with a spattering of supernatural (if this is something you like too, check out A Name in the Dark, Catch Lili Too, and May Day). Second, it goes against the usual main character archetype for these mysteries (see above recommendations). Letitia Hawking is not your typical snarky, confident badass, and this meant an entirely different angle for the novel, one that was both beyond interesting and compelling to read. Third, it’s set during the 1920s, which is one of my favourite time periods for supernatural stories.
Letitia was the highlight of this book for me. She’s strong and confident in a really understated way, and she sticks to her morals. She is incredibly private and constructs a persona with which she can aid the grief-ridden relatives of the dearly departed. More than anything, she puts her own healing and mental health first and refuses to relive murders of investigate the disappearances of young girls until it becomes personal for her. This is incredibly refreshing – normally female characters put themselves second for everyone else, so Letitia was a breath of fresh air. She treats her work as a penance for her past transgressions, making her a brilliantly well-rounded character.
I’m not a massive fan of romance subplots, especially when they feel inserted for the sake of having a romance. However, Behind the Veil treated the romance with delicacy. The relationship wasn’t rushed, and was treated with the decorum and hesitation that would be expected at the time. The settings were beautifully described and unique, and the secondary characters surrounded Letitia were fantastic.
No book is perfect and this is no exception; the main fault I found was with the clarity of the plot. I wasn’t entirely sure what the plot was until around halfway through, and it wasn’t entirely clear. It went back and forth a lot. However, I persevered for the characters and their relationships, and it was more than worth it in the end.
Behind the Veil was a thrilling read with all the decorum a novel set in the 1920s deserves, filled with rich characters and the beautiful relationships that form between them.
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About the book
Can she keep the secrets of her past to rescue a girl tormented by a ghost?
In 1920s Los Angeles, Letitia Hawking reads the veil between life and death. A scrying bowl allows her to experience the final moments of the deceased. She brings closure to grief-stricken war widows and mourning families.
For Letitia, it is a penance. She knows no such peace.
For Alasdair Driscoll, it may be the only way to save his niece, Finola, from her growing night terrors. But when Letitia sees a shadowy figure attached to the household, it rouses old fears of her unspeakable past in England.
When a man comes to her about his missing daughter, the third girl to go missing in as many months, Letitia can’t help him when she can’t see who’s taken them.
As a darkness haunts Letitia’s vision, she may not be given a choice in helping the determined Mr Driscoll, or stop herself falling in love with him. But to do so risks a part of herself she locked away, and to release it may cost Letitia her sanity and her heart.
About the author
Beginning a writing journey with an epic 21 book series, Ejay started her author career in 2014 and has taken on the ups and downs of self-publishing with her fantasy series The Last Prophecy since 2016. At the start of 2019, she put the series on the backburner to write Behind the Veil in 25 days, and signed a publishing contract for the gothic noir novel to independent publisher Literary Wanderlust. Behind the Veil is set for release on the October 1st 2021. She resumed self-publishing a scifi series, Queen of Spades released across 2020 and 2021, as well as signing another contract with Literary Wanderlust for NA fantasy, Echo of the Evercry. Believing in more than one path to a career in publishing, Ejay pursues self-publishing alongside querying traditional publishers with multiple manuscripts.
Writing Werewolf 