Title: Medium Dead: An Alexandra Gladstone Mystery (Dr. Alexandra Gladstone #4)
Author: Paula Paul
Publisher: Alibi (Penguin Random House)
Release Date: April 14, 2015
Acquired Via: Publisher
Sure to delight readers of Jacqueline Winspear, Emma Jameson, and Laura Childs, Medium Dead features Queen Victoria herself—and she’s rumored to have slain a local psychic in Newton-upon-Sea. Now the task of clearing her name and catching the real killer falls to Dr. Alexandra Gladstone.
Under Victoria’s reign, women are barred from calling themselves physicians, but that hasn’t stopped Alexandra Gladstone. As the first female doctor in Newton-upon-Sea, she spends her days tending sick villagers in the practice she inherited from her father, with her loyal and sometimes overprotective dog, Zack, by her side.
After the corpse of village spiritualist Alvina Elwold is discovered above ground at a church boneyard, wild rumors circulate through the charming seaside village, including one implicating a certain regal guest lodging nearby. Tales of the dead Alvina hobnobbing with spirits and hexing her enemies are even more outlandish—but as a woman of science and reason, Alexandra has no doubt that a murderer made of flesh and blood is on the loose.
Finding out the truth means sorting through a deluge of ghostly visitors, royal sightings, and shifty suspects. At least her attentive and handsome friend Nicholas Forsyth, Lord Dunsford, has come to her aid. Alexandra will need all the help she can get, because she’s stumbled upon dangerous secrets—while provoking a deadly adversary who wants to keep them buried.
My Review
Medium Dead by Paula Paul is just the kind of mystery. Through Alibi, I've found that though I don't really care for mystery overall as a genre, historical mystery is really satisfying. And since I love Victorian-set historical fiction, Medium Dead was a full win for me. I haven't read any other books in Paul's Alexandra Gladstone series, but I didn't ever really feel that I was missing too much background information. I realize that if I had read them, the characters in Medium Dead would have had a little more depth, but it works fine as a standalone.
Though Medium Dead is historical fiction, it does require a little suspension of disbelief. Alexandra Gladstone is a doctor during a time where women were not allowed to be physicians. (She had the necessary training to be called a doctor, but she could not be a "physician" as her male peers were called.) Dr. Gladstone was trained by her father to become a doctor, but she never received any formal training. I guess that's what apprenticeships were for back then. She did have characters who looked down their noses at her, but the people in the village seemed happy to have her.
The main focus of Medium Dead is the murder of Alvina Elwold, as stated in description. However, it takes quite a long time to get around to the mystery as the story spent quite a bit of time introducing us to all of the characters. (I suppose that is why the book does well as a standalone.) It does get a little dull going through Newton-upon-Sea, but the characters are entertaining enough that I didn't lose complete interest. Queen Victoria is caught up in the mess as she had attempted to hire Alvina before her murder, and a villager spotted the queen and her carriage leaving the graveyard where the body was found. Of course, Paul leaves little hints scattered throughout the story implicating several different characters in the crime.
I guess the big question with me and mysteries is - did I figure out whodunnit? Nope. Of course, I suspected everyone, but I never knew for sure.
If you're like me and enjoy historical mystery, you'll find that Medium Dead is a real treat. It has a lot of the style you expect in a Victorian-set novel, which made me a happy girl. I hope to read more of Paul's Alexandra Gladstone novels, and I'll definitely be reading more books published by Alibi.
Buy Links
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About the Author
Award-winning novelist Paula Paul was born on her grandparents’ cotton farm near Shallowater, Texas and graduated from a country high school near Maple, Texas. She earned a BA in journalism and has worked as a reporter for newspapers in both Texas and New Mexico. She’s been the recipient of state and national awards for her work as a journalist as well as a novelist. Her previous novels featuring Dr. Alexandra Gladstone, including Symptoms of Death, have appeared on bookstore and online bestseller lists. She is also the author of the Mystery by Design series, which she wrote as Paula Carter. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Website | Blog | Goodreads
Follow the Tour
Medium Dead Tour Schedule
Monday, April 13th
No More Grumpy Bookseller
Tuesday, April 14th
100 Pages a Day
FictionZeal
Wednesday, April 15th
Fictionophile
Friday, April 17th
It’s a Mad Mad World
Monday, April 20th
Buried Under Books
A Book Geek
Tuesday, April 21st
From the TBR Pile
Wednesday, April 22nd
Reading Reality
Thursday, April 23rd
The Reader’s Hollow
Friday, April 24th
Snowdrop Dreams of Books
Tuesday, April 28th
Bell, Book & Candle
Wednesday, April 29th
A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, April 30th
2 Kids and Tired
Monday, May 4th
Bibliophilia, Please
Tuesday, May 12th
Melina’s Book Blog
TBD
Under a Gray Sky
Psychotic State Reviews
To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance digital copy of the novel from the publisher through TLC Book Tours in exchange for an unbiased review. It has in no way affected the outcome. All expressed opinions are awesome, honest, and courtesy of me.
I'm in the middle of a TV series set in the Victorian era and it's reminding me how much I love that setting. I'm glad this book was just a treat! Thanks for being a part of the tour.
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