Heather’s Bookshelf: Moordym Downs
Author: Victoria Bastedo
Released: 6/7/2020
Genre: Mystery (with a touch of romance)
“All of a sudden, the path disappeared. He looked close to the ground and behind him and he realized that there’d never been a path to follow at all. The Moor had rolled out a carpet of temporary smooth grass for him to see and turning forward this illusionary trail was absorbed into a sharp, sidelong hillside. He scrambled up crooked and his foot slipped out from under him with force. He fell hard, and his head struck the edge of a rock. He saw stars flashing out to light and he felt a lot more pain. Then all went dark.”
“Moordym Downs” introduces you to Locke, a young man who knows little about his past, family, or his father. Locke’s mother usually travels to Moordym Downs each year by herself, but this time Locke goes instead. He arrives shortly before his twenty-first birthday and finds himself in the middle of a family mystery.
Locke travels to Moordym Downs, a castle on the outskirts of a village, in place of his ailing mother for an annual get together. Little does Locke know that the timing of his mother’s illness was not coincidental. He finds himself confronting his past, his family, and the mystery surrounding Moordym Downs. While trying to discover his past, Locke also encounters threats around the village that put his life in danger. He must survive these attacks if he is going to learn the truth.
Locke’s character is likeable and his emotional responses and dilemmas believable. I enjoyed following him along his journey of discovery. I especially liked his interaction with Adric. The development of their relationship is really well done and entertaining. There were a lot of characters in this book and each of them had their own voice and presence. The budding romance also added another layer of character development and intrigue.
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I thought the development of each and every character, but especially Locke, was well done. His reactions, emotions, and budding relationships were believable and added to the dimension of the book. The mysteries were intriguing, but I thought a little obvious. I was hoping for a revealed family secret that would knock my socks off, but instead found a well written and pretty straight forward mystery. Don’t get me wrong, I loved following Locke on his journey and enjoyed unraveling the mystery with him. I could picture the Moordym Downs castle, the grounds, and the village and could feel the love of this family throughout the book.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
I really enjoyed this (somewhat predictable) character driven family mystery with touches of intrigue, action, and romance.
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