Hello everyone!
I also LOVE the author's writing style, so I mean, it's a win however you look at it.
I accidentally found Byrd Nash on BookSirens what feels like forever ago, and have since absolutely devoured her Madam Chalamet series, which means I'm absolutely loving and thriving going through the Morpheus Society one right now.
The fourth book actually JUST released last week, as well, and the best part?
These are all relatively short stories, they're not so complicated that you can't easily follow along through one sitting, and the characters are all very animated, very picturesque, and absolutely hilarious when they have the chance to be so.
Which is ... most of the time. LOL.
The best humour comes from unintended moments, after all, and I feel like Byrd Nash manages that VERY well.
So without further ado: The Crimson Sword Mystery!
Our heroine Twyla has now gone through the first half of her story arc, which means that, since we're somewhat following the pattern of Madam Chalamet, we'll be touching on the wider world now as well while solving individual mysteries at a time. You can already see snippets of that in this one, when Twyla is sent to visit her mentor Elinor at her new home, and stay there for a while because there's still unrest in the country, and indeed the capital city.
But Twyla's a young girl who sees no value in babies and matrimony or harmonious life with your spouse, so she's just ITCHING for some action, which is both endearing and funny, but readers in the meantime get to enjoy a brief look into Elinor and Tristan's life, something I ADORED.
Then Elinor's childhood friend Jacques pops up, asking for her help with a mystery in his regiment, and she sends Twyla in her stead because she's absolutely not going with a little baby at home. Not to mention, Jacques is trying to tell her that her husband is a scoundrel, and Elinor should have kicked him out right after that, but I digress.
Twyla goes to the regiment's headquarters and learns they have this old ass sword hanging on the wall. If it bleeds, then that means its previous owner, and founder of the regiment, is warning the current leadership there is a traitor among them.
It bled during a dinner, and now everyone's up in arms about it.
Twyla immediately discovers the general's household is in complete chaos, because his wife has no control over her sister, who's visiting, or the young special unit soldiers who seem to be there for dinner every night, and one of them even tries to grope Twyla under the table.
She, of course, is having none of it, and tells Jacques later that her mother, a famed hostess, would NEVER allow her guests to be subjected to such a thing, clearly indicating that both the general and his wife are preoccupied with something if they've let their house run so amok.
Woken in the night by Bryce, the gambling ghost who loves tagging along wherever Twyla is, he shows her there's gambling going on under the general's roof, and of course by this point the general also finds out about it. Gambling is technically illegal, which means they'll be facing penalties, but as they can't find the betting book it's all a bit up in the air.
Of course BRYCE finds the book, naturally, and hands it over to Twyla, who after reading it learns the men aren't just betting on dice and cards, but making more personal bets about their general, whether his wife is cheating on him, that kind of thing, which is absolutely bad for a regiment and its structure and morale.
But she gets sidetracked when, during a training exercise, she not only sees the old regiment's founder riding up and down the line, but one of the captains loses his seat on his horse and gets injured, which is later attributed to the saddle's girth fraying and twisting the thing.
When the general manages to shoot himself with his own pistol after a conversation with his wife, Twyla knows she needs reinforcements, and sends for her mother.
The older woman immediately grasps the problem: the sister is abusing the generosity of her in-laws, the general's wife doesn't have a spine, she's also pregnant, but the general believes it's not his, because the previously-mentioned sister, to hide her own activities, whispered his wife was having an affair behind his back while he was away dealing with the King.
Leaving the wife to her mother, Twyla decides to stage a seance to get everyone to talk about things, and while she initially plans to have her own ghostly friend frighten the gathered, the old founder's ghost hijacks her plans and all gets laid out on the table: who was the ringleader behind the gambling, that the woman seen leaving with one of the captains was actually the sister, not the general's wife, that even though the other men wanted to confess their crimes, the sword was made to bleed (with some cleverly placed red wax which melted as candles were lit around it) so they were frightened.
Oh and also, the general himself frayed the saddle girth because he was out of his mind with jealousy, but that one gets swept under the rug by Jacques and Twyla both.
In the end, there are several resignations, an imprisonment, some restructuring, and the wife's sister is sent to a cousin's family, while the general and his wife reconcile. Twyla is absolutely disgusted by the state of affairs, and her mother just gently pats her hand to reassure her she will, one day, learn there are SOME benefits to being married, after all.
Not bloody likely, says our Twyla, and that is where we leave her!
I was VERY generously sent an ARC of this book; my opinions are my own.
But oh, Twyla strikes again! And strikes true. I love how she's struggling to accept change when it comes to herself and her circumstances, but has no problems telling others (looking at you, Jacques) to move on and grow up. She's such a lovable goofball and I thoroughly enjoyed her making her way through the book mystery.
I also love her continued friendship with Bryce the ghost, and her evolving, deepening bond with her mother. The plot is straightforward enough between the regiment, gambling, and family matters, but it does finally touch upon the world at large as well.
We get to catch up with Elinor and Tristan!!! I ADORED their POVs, and I also love how there still seems to be a sense of something bubbling and brewing in the background.
Can't wait for the next novella, 10/10 recommend!
But oh, Twyla strikes again! And strikes true. I love how she's struggling to accept change when it comes to herself and her circumstances, but has no problems telling others (looking at you, Jacques) to move on and grow up. She's such a lovable goofball and I thoroughly enjoyed her making her way through the book mystery.
I also love her continued friendship with Bryce the ghost, and her evolving, deepening bond with her mother. The plot is straightforward enough between the regiment, gambling, and family matters, but it does finally touch upon the world at large as well.
We get to catch up with Elinor and Tristan!!! I ADORED their POVs, and I also love how there still seems to be a sense of something bubbling and brewing in the background.
Can't wait for the next novella, 10/10 recommend!
xx
*image not mine
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