Tome Thursday: Delicious Death

 

Hello everyone!

 

Back again with another really, really good book, and I can tell you right now straight off the bat that I'll be doing a speed-run through these that have already been published until I run out of material.

 

The best part?

 

There's two more still to come.

 

Or at least it's projected to cover six novellas and we're supposed to get a conclusion this year, which is always exciting, because I feel that as readers we do often have to sit and wait for what feels like forever to get to a certain point (looking at you, Martin and Rothfuss).

 

Byrd Nash isn't like that. She's also a lovely woman to chat to, so if you haven't picked any of her books up yet, I highly suggest you do so.

 

Last week we started on our journey with Ghost Talker, so this week it's only right and proper that we keep on keeping on with its sequel.

 

After all, ghosts - and ghouls - don't usually wait for anyone, so let's see what Delicious Death has to offer.

 

Links to related works can be found at the bottom of the page, as per usual.

 

We return to the world of Madame Chalamet, picking up with Elinor (our resident Ghost Talker extraordinaire) pretty much almost exactly where we left off, only she's bored out of her mind because the ghost scene has apparently been quite slow.  

I mean, this is if we're not counting the fact that the chef at her hotel keeps getting accosted by the ghost of his former lover, which offers PLENTY of delight to readers as there are saucepans and rolling pins flying pretty much everywhere, all the time, whenever said ghost feels wronged and suddenly pops out of nowhere.

Elinor is also a bit annoyed that the Duke has sort of just disappeared off the map, then suddenly pops back up again just so she can run her bicycle into him (no joke).

Of course this is kind of mellowed out when he procures an invitation to the Winter Revels for her, a cooking and tasting competition hosted by the King and taking place at different locations depending on which one's picked. Think the Eurovision of cooking!

Elinor heads on down with Charlotte, the resident doctor who always helps with the bodies after cases (and seems to have a low opinion of society in general BUT also always helps out because she's just a really good person overall). No sooner have they stepped on the train than they get entangled in a situation with a young woman and an unsavoury admirer who seems intent on ruining her so that he can get his hands on her and her money.

Naturally, Elinor's going to do something about it if she can, and throughout the book we see her advocate and help the girl (including but not limited to also helping ANOTHER young girl to distract that suitor away from her self-appointed charge), though the ending is a bit more explosive than she might have warranted.

See, everyone who's anyone has now converged to the estate of the local noble where the event is being hosted, and as if one charge wasn't enough, Elinor is approached by the son of a widower who seems to have taken the whole thing a bit too far, and the ghost of her deceased husband is now clinging to her rather than passing on to the Afterlife.

Suffice to say this is both a mildly entertaining but also touching story of forgiveness and how our own actions can very easily create the prison we didn't want to be in at the beginning, because it turns out that the woman feigned not feeling well to the point where her husband watched her like a hawk and she got so annoyed she sent him away to get her things just to be free of his hovering. Which was what in the end caused his accident, but the ghost doesn't want to leave because he's still worried, so Elinor does what she does best, overall.

And if you think THAT's all fun and games ...

The King gets poisoned during the revels, and it's up to Elinor and the Duke to figure out just what exactly happened, all the while dancing around the subject of themselves rather neatly.

Oh yes, Elinor is quite taken with the Duke, and he with her, not that either one of them is admitting anything, but teamwork makes the dreamwork, and while Charlotte is keeping a watchful eye over the King, Elinor and the Duke try and figure out who all had motive to get him out of the way (a special shout-out here goes to that jilted ghostly lover of the chef, because in the previous book the Duke got himself possessed by a ghost, and seeing another one this time makes him run in the other direction!).

They also conveniently put themselves in the right position to help that would-be charge of Elinor's when her suitor tries to be more than just friendly, so the Duke shoots him in the leg. This is cause for some lamentation, because obviously he needs to practice shooting some more or something, with how bloodthirsty everyone is about putting the guy six feet under.

Back to the main mystery, Elinor is convinced that the Duke's not there when she witnesses the King being "stabbed" by their host, though it turns out to be a ruse because the Duke is about five steps ahead, and then they give chase because their host is literally insane, shrieking that HE's the rightful ruler now because he's a cousin or something, down one branch (he has a thing for family trees).

And it's the ghostly jilted lover who gets the last word, dropping a pan on the idiot noble's head so he can be shuffled off quietly, and Elinor can have an almost-moment with the Duke in the library, interrupted only by the arrival of her new apprentice who REALLY doesn't know how to read the room!

Also ... she has a scar from her father's watch, that the Duke can see, but most others can't. Another mystery for the bonnet!

As in book one, we're obviously following in the footsteps of Elinor and Tristan's (mis)adventures; we get to see a bit more into Elinor's work as the resident Ghost Talker, there's hilarious little ghost stories sprinkled throughout, and a rather nefarious mystery that's shadowed by men thinking they can do whatever they want when unmarried women are concerned.

Through all this, we also see a slight change in the relationship between our heroine and hero - at one point, at the height of a dramatic chase, they even drop titles entirely and call one another by their given names, which I think is super appropriate and a WILD change from everything else!

Also, I swear the Duke's been dropping hints about marrying her, but Chalamet's just not even listening which 10/10 infuriates him even more LOL.

This book also features a stronger introduction and role of Charlotte LaRue, the resident ME as a solid side-kick, some helpful matchmaking, and a goat (no noblesse confirmation about that one yet!)

Overall, another wonderful installment in this six-part series, and make sure you check back next week when we have a look at book three!

xx

*image not mine

Ghost Talker