A Matter of Grave Concern

by Brenda Novak

Bestselling author Brenda Novak unearths love in the darkest of places.

When Maximillian Wilder hides his noble identity and joins the notorious body snatchers known as the London Supply Company, the last thing on his mind is love. He’s worried about Madeline, his vanished half sister, who was last seen in the company of Jack Hurtsill, the gang’s conscienceless leader. Raiding graveyards, stealing corpses, and selling them to medical colleges as dissection material is dirty work, but Max knows he must gain Jack’s trust. He’s determined to find out what happened to Madeline—and to bring Jack to justice if she was murdered for the coin her body could earn.

Beautiful, spirited Abigail Hale, daughter of the surgeon at Aldersgate School of Medicine, detests the challenging, hard-bargaining Max almost as much as Jack. But she must procure the necessary specimens if she is to save the college and her father’s career. She believes she is going to be successful—until Jack double-crosses her. Then she’s swept into a plot of danger and intrigue, one where Max must intervene to protect her, no matter the risk to his plan…or his heart.

• ISBN10: 1477824529
• ISBN13: 9781477824528
• Publish Date: 7 October 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 July 2022
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Montlake Romance
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[duchessofdiscord]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Matter of Grave Concern is one of those books that has an interesting premise and starts strongly, but sadly loses momentum very quickly and ends up not quite living up to its potential.

Abigail and Max had good bit of banter and friction at the beginning, but when Abby sets out on a rather questionable course of action and gets essentially kidnapped, I thought she and Max joined together too soon. Their love connection seemed a little too rushed, and forced in my opinion, kind of that cliché love story. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing...when done right. Honestly, to me, the romance just didn't make much sense. Abby simply decides she’s in love with the man that kidnapped her, despite the secrets he has kept and the circumstances, Max reluctantly falls in love with her. This happens in, oh, the span of a week. It makes no sense to me. While the chemistry was good, it's the actions and thought processes behind the leads that just didn't seem to work here. Abigail is incredibly naive, but her bluntness, and the terms she uses tend to be rather jarring. Unsettling even. Her use of words like cock are simply "explained away" by her having no real world experience and learning everything from medical texts. Makes sense, right? Not really. Her complete lack of shyness with Max seemed a bit unrealistic at times, it went against the pre-established notion of her naivety. Max was a difficult character to connect with due to the fact that his reasons for why he is with Jack and his very identity are doled out sparingly, hidden, or are simply kept secret for most of the book. Kind of annoying really. In fact, when certain details are revealed as to why he is trying to keep Abigail at a distance are made known, he comes off as an arse. One of these details (the fiancée) is rather unneeded as it added nothing to the story, is never seen, and seems to be tagged on to an already full list of why Max can't be with Abby; in other words, overdone.

Overall, this book was good. It kept my attention, and intrigued me, even with it's short comings, it was worth the read.

[Linda]

*I received a free ARC of A Matter of Grave Concern directly from Brenda Novak in exchange of an honest and unbiased review*