Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Nefertiti's Heart by A.W. Exley

5 Stars
This is the first book I have read by this author.  I read it in one day and I can’t wait for the next book in the series.  You should probably know I am a sucker for good steampunk. 
Cara Devon has a tragic past.  When I say this, I mean she was extremely ill used as a child.  A lot of authors want their characters to have tragic pasts, but usually the past doesn’t quite live up to the buildup.   I’m not sure if that made sense.  Often the past is only alluded to in the beginning, and the character has altered their life, their personality and how they interact with others because of this past, then you find out what it is and it isn’t usually as big as your imagination has made it.  That is not so with Cara.  Her past is more tragic that usual, but it has made her stronger.  There is one aspect of her life that it tainted in a way that has caused her fear, but she works through that fear in this book.  And it is a completely logical and expected fear based on her past.  Now, after all that jabber and you don’t even know what I am talking about, I am going to move on…
Cara is back in London after her father passed away.  She is going to get his affairs in order and sell off some of his antiquities and do more travelling.  She doesn’t want to be there and London apparently doesn’t want her there.  Right away, two thugs break into her childhood home and attempt to relieve Cara of her father’s notebook (the notebook that tells where all the expensive antiquities are), but have no fear.  Cara can now take care of herself and she does.  That is one of my favorite parts of this book.  Cara does not need a man to protect her (most of the time anyway).  She has learned how to fight and protect herself.  And since society has shunned her, she doesn’t have to conform to how they think she should dress or how to act.
Someone very devious has taken an interest in Cara because of this show of strength.  Viscount Lyons.  He is a peer and a criminal mastermind.  He wants the notebook and it appears he also wants Cara now. 
But young debutantes are dying and the inspector thinks all signs point to Cara.  Cara eventually realizes she has caught the attention of this serial killer and is trying to determine who to trust. 
I loved not only Cara Devon and Viscount Lyons, but the secondary characters like Cara’s grandmother, and Lyons’ henchman Jackson.  Cara’s friend Amy was a bit one dimensional to me, but I didn’t care.  She doesn’t spend so much time on the pages that it bothered me. 
(One of my) favorite quotes:
“Nessy!”  she screamed back down the hallway.  “Tea and biscuits.  The little scamp is here with oodles of juicy gossip.”

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