A Restless Truth by Freya Marske

This is the sequel to A Marvellous Light, following Maud Blythe as she tries to solve a magical murder mystery while traveling on a ship back to England from New York — it is, as Marske calls it, “a bubbly Wodehousian romp.”

Unfortunately, the first book didn’t set me up for this one to be a romp, and I found myself jarred by the change in tone as well as the lack of intimacy-building between Maud and Violet, a striking actress who Maud recognizes from Robin’s earlier visions about the journey. The romance storyline is mainly about Maud’s self-discovery as she is captivated by Violet, whereas Violet plays the fairly predictable part of the more worldly, guarded flirt, creating a frustratingly insurmountable emotional distance between the two (although that does come across as more realistic in the end than a whirlwind romance). The magic/mystery storyline also fell flat for me, not offering enough new substance about magic and magical society aside from the revelation about Maud, and exasperating me when they make an enormous and completely avoidable blunder as the crisis is coming to a head.

The word that most describes this book for me is claustrophobic: I felt stuck on the ship, wishing for the end of the journey and a change in cast or setting, and ultimately left hoping that the next installment (perhaps following Alan Ross and Lord Hawthorn, who I loved seeing more sides of, although I’d be thrilled to get more of Adelaide Morrissey) will bring a breath of fresh air and some added depth to the series.