The Dark Lantern Audiobook

" If you like books that are set in Victorian England and that involve both the servants and the upper-class residents of a home (like in "Upstairs/Downstairs" or "Downton Abbey"), then this is a book you'd be interested in. I didn't always like the abrupt narrative changes but it was overall a good, mysterious story and I enjoyed it. I also found the competition between fingerprinting and anthopometry as a means of criminal investigation and apprehension to be really interesting, especially since that's what really happened back then. "

" Not bad, but not great. "

" Audiobook. A novel of the upstairs/downstairs politics of a London house at the end of the 19th century. Although the husband is dedicated to discovering criminals using anthropometry (the study of body measurements) he is unaware that all of the women in his household are lying to him and scheming against each other. A very unpleasant look at life at this time, but a good read. "

" A historical fiction mystery with lots of twists and turns. A young wife returned from Paris has been keeping secrets from her husband, a shipwreck that leaves a woman claiming to be a widow, a new servant that is learning the ropes and has lied to get the job. In addition there is discussions about anthropometry vs. fingerprinting. An book that kept me guessing and kept my interest. "

" Mystery set in London in 1893. "

" ARC of a book that will be published March 2008. Solid historical mystery with a depth to the characters. In fact, that's where the focus is...the scenes are sometimes a bit long describing in first person the feelings, fears, and disposition of each character. Action is second to characterization. Nonetheless, it is an absorbing story of the secrets hidden in the hearts of ordinary people in late Victorian London. "

" Interesting enough, but doesn't grab you. "

" Many secrets to this drama.Like peeling layers of an onion.Which character is good and which is hiding something.Old fashioned detective book.Enjoyed it. "

" First thing that bothered me was that she wrote in third person, present tense - for some reason it just completely slowed down my reading and irritated me. Second, there wasn't much of a story development happening. I did the 100 page test and had to put it down. a bit boring. Maybe I'll try later. "

" Set in Victorian England, I quite liked this book. For purists, it probably is not quite period enough in language. But I liked it. "

" A very detailed account of the deceptions that swirl around one Victorian household. The book does a good job of showing the contrast between the servant class and employers, but the mystery takes a long while to unwind. "

" A little boring. "

" This is a fun read! A real page-turner. Nothing deep, but it kept me engaged and guessing all the way to the end. "

" Probably a 3.5 book. There's a lot that's good here: Victorian detail, particularly the pretty much hopeless task of being a maid in a large house. But a lot of threads are tangled up and sort of knotted quickly at the end, and I'm not that clear on the author's intent. "

" There were many twists and turns in this dark mystery set in Victorian England. Perhaps a bit too many for my taste and the change of narrator for me made the story a bit disjointed. "

" Learning about anthropometry was interesting but couldn't make up for the fact that I disliked every character in this book. In the end I couldn't bring myself to care what happened to them, which made the mysteries decidedly less gripping than they should have been. "

" Tried to listen to this audio book and just couldn't get into it. "

" I loved this book. It really captures the whole servant/master dynamic. Brightwell develops interesting women characters and the atmosphere of the time well. "

" A Victorian mystery - everyone has a secret. Upstairs/Downstairs look at life in London at the end of the 19th century. An interesting read. "

" I loved this book. It really captures the whole servant/master dynamic. Brightwell develops interesting women characters and the atmosphere of the time well. "

" Interesting enough, but doesn't grab you. "

" I enjoyed this book immensely. Wonderfully developed characters, good story. I did not, however, like the ending. The ending was just a bit depressing. I will definitely read more books by this author. "

" Mystery set in London in 1893. "