The Glass of Time

....by Michael Cox

Accompany Esperanza Gorst as she poses as a lady’s maid in Victorian England. Orphaned Miss Gorst is sent by her Guardian to report on certain goings-on at Evenwood, the estate of widowed Lady Tansor. The reason for Esperanza’s deception is unknown even to herself, but her devotion to her guardian plunges her headfirst into a web of deception that grows larger with each passing day; with each newly discovered secret. And Lady Tansor has secrets; that is for certain, but what do they have to do with Esperanza? As we learn more about Lady Tansor and her 2 sons, we also learn, along with Esperanza, the secret of her own past, and how they are connected. Almost no one is who they seem in this Victorian mystery. This is a story of the destructive nature of obsession and feelings of guilt that eat away at the soul. Lady Tansor has made a bed in which she must now lie, but she isn’t the only one hiding something. Our Miss Gorst struggles with the part she is asked to play in uncovering her Lady’s lies, but does so unquestioningly. In the end, all is revealed (of course), but at what cost? Through most of this story, I sympathize with her, believing her unquestioning devotion has her at a disadvantage to those whose orders she follows. Only near the end do I lose a little of that sympathy as she becomes more proactive in manipulating circumstances on her own to gain the advantage. The suspense pulled me in right away with this one, but seemed to drag unendingly towards the end. Overall, I’m giving it a thumbs up for engaging plot and Victorian English dialogue that I love, but it does get slow in spots.