The Blackstone Key
by Rose Melikan
It’s 1795 and a poor, young school teacher, Miss Mary Finch, finds herself in the position of inheriting a vast fortune from a little known relation. On her way to meet her uncle she unwittingly comes across mysterious persons and clues that quickly turn into plots and schemes of a a network of spies, which her uncle may or may not have been privy to. Her intelligence and curious nature pull her into the heart of a conspiracy involving the French during a time when threat of invasion and traitorous spies abound.
I like the characters in this book, but some are too courteous to be villains. I also did not understand why they all used their real names when they were trying so hard to cover up plots and schemes. Perhaps that was just the way during this time period? Crooks these days use code names or nicknames. I haven’t read many historical mysteries, so I’m not used to the criminal mindset of the era.
I’m not overly fond of mystery novels, mostly because I can have them figured out well before I finish reading them. This one turned out mostly the way I thought it would, though I had a different ending in mind. However, reading the author interview in the back of the book has suggested there will be a trilogy, so perhaps my ending will eventually happen. I will probably read the next two books to see how this story turns out.
Hello, my name is Arleigh... welcome to my book review site! Here you will find author guest posts, book news, reviews and various articles on the genre. My favorite author is Jean Plaidy, of whom I have built a 
I have this book to read. I am not sure when I am going to get to it though.
I laughed at your remark about how you usually have the plot figured out in a mystery before the author gets around to it! Made me laugh.
I am anticipating — eagerly, I might add! — a book that’s about to be pbulished that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot about online. It’s not a mystery, so you’re safe there. But boy, does it sound interesting. It’s Bedlam South by David Donaldson and Mark Grisham and it’s set amidst the bedlam (partly in an insane asylym; hence the name) of the Civil War. It really makes the Civil War come alive: all the bloodshed, all the heartache and all the chaos, both during the war and within the soldiers, later.