Reread: hard to believe this is by Brockway - very dark and angsty, and full of unhappy humorless characters. Tortured souls with uber-lustful feelings - lots of hectic color in the cheeks and flaming indigo eyes and burning to ash, etc. Everyone was very very hot and worked up all the time (alas, only a few heaving bosoms). Jack is also a TERRIBLE sleuth, thanks to his overactive yet thwarted libido.Anne, our dear widow, was a bit tough to take, thanks to a touch of a martyr complex. Darling, your husband was an insecure tool, please move on. She also got crazy there at the end, so much so that I couldn't make heads nor tails of the increasingly nonsensical plot. But all this over the top-ness makes for a super fun read.
