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The Secret Rooms: A True Gothic Mystery (2012)

by Catherine Bailey(Favorite Author)

3.45 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0670917559 (ISBN13: 9780670917556)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Viking

review 1: I really went back and forth with this book. I was apprehensive to read it, probably because I tried to read that terrible book about the real Downton Abbey and I couldn't even finish it. The cover of this book strongly reminded me of that one, but I picked it up anyway. This book drew me in right away and I found the real-life mysteries fascinating. Almost couldn't put it down. However, about halfway through she gets to the mystery relating to John's military service, and all of a sudden it just ground to a halt. Pages and pages of military history that I couldn't even face. You can tell that it's the author's passion, but that didn't make it any more palatable to read. I'm not sure whether I would have liked this book had it been fiction, because the characters ... moreare mostly unsympathetic, but the fact that they actually lived these crazy lives was so interesting to me.
review 2: I once heard an author of historical fiction talk about how the research is so interesting and how it's hard to stop researching and start writing. In this nonfiction book, Catherine Bailey takes one along on her research journey of The 9th Duke of Rutland to solve the mystery of three missing time periods from the family papers. The book slowed down a little bit in Parts VI and VII but overall I found the story and facts fascinating and the glimpse into research an added plus. less

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