Genre - Paranormal/Mystery
Pages - 261
Publication Info - Hydra, November 28, 2017
Format - Kindle
Stars - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It is with some shame and with my head bowed that I admit to you that I have never heard of Lisa Tuttle. I just finished reading “The Curious Affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross, Book 2 (From the Casebooks of Jesperson & Lane)” which I discovered whilst perusing the books in NetGalley one day. I was immediately taken in with the book description and the genre and requested a copy for a honest review. It was only during my reading this fantastic bit of Victorian paranormal mystery that I found out from a little research about the background and accolades of this talented author.

This was a charming and very atmospheric read. I’m a sucker for a period piece, and the Victorian era is filled with much pomp and circumstance. Jasper Jesperson and Aphrodite (Di) Lane, the primary characters are similar to those of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Lisa Tuttle spins a beautifully crafted and stylish tale in the language of the Victorian era persona. I found myself comparing this read to some of the great mystery novels by Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. The flow and cadence were like a steady even flowing stream. Just when you think you may know who did what, you find out that you don’t really know what you think you do. It is filled with surprises throughout and up to the end.

I was not aware when I got this book that it was the second book in a series. I am quite comfortable in saying that I don’t think it was necessary to read book one to enjoy fully book two. I will however be reading book one; as I think maybe there will be some background and introduction to the Jasper and Di characters. I will also be looking for other books by Lisa Tuttle and adding her to my list of must reads.

“Lisa Tuttle began publishing fantasy, horror and science fiction stories in the 1970s. Her first novel was WINDHAVEN, written in collaboration with George R. R. Martin. She was one of the founders of the original Turkey City writers' group (aka the Turkey City Neo-Pro Rodeo) along with Tom Reamy, Steven Utley, and Howard Waldrop. She has worked as a television critic and journalist, taught creative writing courses, and has written children's books and non-fiction in addition to continuing to write novels and short stories in the realm of the fantastic. Her stories have appeared in "best of the year" anthologies, and have won the John W. Campbell Award, the British Science Fiction Award and the International Horror Guild Award.”

Synopsis (from back cover): “Witch!” cries the young man after stumbling unexpectedly into the London address of the consulting-detective partnership of Mr. Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane. He makes the startling accusation while pointing toward Miss Lane . . . then he drops dead. Thus begins the strangest case yet to land—quite literally—on the doorstep of Jesperson and Lane.

According to the coroner, Charles Manning died of a heart attack—despite being in perfect health. Could he have been struck down by a witch’s spell? The late Mr. Manning’s address book leads Jesperson and Lane to the shrieking pits of Aylmerton, an ancient archaeological site reputed to be haunted by a vengeful ghost. There they sift through the local characters, each more suspicious than the last: Manning’s associate, Felix Ott, an English folklore enthusiast; Reverend Ringer, a fierce opponent of superstition; and the Bulstrode sisters, a trio of beauties with a reputation for witchcraft.

But when an innocent child goes missing, suddenly Jesperson and Lane aren’t merely trying to solve one murder—they’re racing to prevent another.

I was surprised by how depressed I was after finishing this novel. It was an interesting mystery and had good world building. The ending bummed me out.

Free copy received in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I would have had more time with the file before the license ran out.

This was my first Jesperson and Lane book and I was very impreesed. Like Holmes and even Jackaby, these books solve crime with a certain flair other elementary novels miss. I was happy to receive this to review and have gone on to read the others. If you love a great mystery, look no further.

I am sorry to say that I didn't get a chance to read this book before it wasn't available anymore. I may buy it so that I can see waht I missed.

This was an interesting mystery, with a touch of the supernatural. I was intrigued by the male and female investigators in a Sherlock/Watson like pairing. I’m afraid that the characters were a tad underdeveloped and the female seemed to always be trying to catch up with her partner’s thinking. The series would hold great promise with a little more depth to the characters.

I haven't read the first book in this mystery series, but didn't have much trouble jumping into this second installment. However, while I didn't have much trouble, there are still some details about the relationship between the two main characters that I missed out on that I'm sure are explained in the first story. So, even though this story is more or less independent, I would still recommend reading the series in order. This was kind of an odd little book. For most of the book, you get the impression that the detectives will prove that the murder had no supernatural elements to it at all. But then, BOOM, there's the supernatural, but not in the way that you expect it. And then it's back to solving the murder, which when resolved is conventional. The supernatural element turned out to be just a part of an unrelated subplot. I don't know why, but that did feel kind of jarring to me. Perhaps it I had read the first book, I would have been more prepared for the style.

The Curious affair of the Witch at Wayside Cross by Lisa Tuttle

Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane, Investigate the death of Charles Manning, who drops dead after accusing Miss Lane of being a witch.
This entertaining duo search Charles Manning’s address book and find a lead linking him to the shrieking pits of Aylmerton, creepy and strange, which are supposedly haunted by ghosts.
This is a stylish, enjoyable and atmospheric Victorian thriller, and seems like it would make a good series.

This is book 2 from The Casebooks of Jesperson and Lane. Jasper Jesperson and Miss Lane and partners in a newly formed detective agency. In this case, the victim, Charles Manning, literally dies at their feet and pounding on the door in the middle of the night. The coroner declares the cause of death to be a heart condition but Miss Lane saw the absolute terror on his face just before he died and our two detectives think that something other than natural causes is behind this man’s death. They set off to the community of Aylemorton where Manning was last known to have been living and find themselves dealing with a witch, a folklore enthusiast and the supernatural.

I liked the historical setting of this story and the plot line was well constructed. The story moves at a good pace and has some unexpected twists. Miss Lane is a very likable young woman. Jasper Jesperson was a little harder for me because I didn’t feel like I got to know him very well as a person. This might be because I have not read the first book in the series and I did feel like I was missing part of the story for that reason. I really enjoyed how the author incorporated the folklore into the story and the tension between the local minister and the witch was very well presented. All in all, this was an enjoyable read though I would recommend starting with the first book. This book would probably appeal the most to readers of cozy mysteries.

In The Curious Affair of The With at Wayside Cross, Jesperson and Lane (our detective and assistant) get a knock on their door and they open it to find a frantic person who then dies in front of them. The person is named Charles Manning and he calls out "Witch!" before passing away. This case takes Jesperson and Lane to Aylmerton, where the cast of characters and suspects includes a Reverend and his strict wife, three sisters that live together and are labeled witches by the townsfolk, and an English folklore enthusiast who wants to build a school around the pagan rituals and religion.

The stories timeframe is Victorian England, and there are a lot of superstitions and stereotypes still at play. Charles Manning was dabbing into the occult, and as the story progresses it is clear that many people have secrets and could potentially be the killer. This story also has a smaller mystery that involves what the locals call the shrieking pits of the area, where a vengeful ghost still haunts, and the disseverance of a newborn. This smaller mystery is quickly solved, compared to the bigger mystery of Charles Manning's death which doesn't come to conclusion until the very end.

t has taken me ages to read this - life got in the way and I struggled in the beginning but have whizzed through the rest of it in the past day, and found myself fully engaged and enjoying it immensely.

I didn't realise it was the second in a series, but other than being curious about what brought Diane Lane and Jasper Jespersen together as a team, it was easy enough to follow them and the book works as a standalone. This time they are investigating the death of a man who collapsed on their doorstep in London after shouting 'witch' at Miss Lane. Their investigations take them from London to Norfolk and back again, as they follow the trails of witches, fairies, and scorned women. Victorian societal rules seem to prevent Miss Lane from fully engaging in the investigation, leaving Mr Jespersen to stand out as the main detective, although they are partners, which is a shame as she is written as a bright, curious and intelligent woman and despite the constraints of the time, I would have thought Mr Jespersen would want to do all he could to include her. He withholds information from her at times, leaving her on the outside of the investigation where if they were true partners, he would include her, discussing his thoughts and asking for hers.

But you can't place modern thinking on the past - it is as it was (and there's only so much you can get righteous about with a fictional novel anyway!).

So despite a slow, slightly struggling start, I wound up thoroughly enjoying this book. I am going to search out other books by the author to see if I like them as much as I liked this.

I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize that when I requested this book that it was the 2nd book in a Victorian detective series starring the male and female duo of Mr. Jesperson and Ms. Lane. They make quite the pair even though they aren't romantically involved. The novel is told from Ms. Lane's point of view and she seems to be the more thoughtful, quiet one whereas Mr. Jesperson is a bit more eccentric and erratic. Together though, it's a great combination.
This is a classic whodunnit murder story set in Victoria England. There is a bit of the supernatural mixed in with the tales of fairies, shrieking holes, and of course, witches. Tuttle does a great job of maintaining the time period with her descriptions, the manner in which the characters speak and their mannerisms, the norms of the time, and of course, society's views on women and their place.
The book keeps a good pace, is well fleshed out, and it was really only towards the end when I actually figured things out. But the surprises keep coming, and the detectives face all sorts of challenges in order to get to the bottom of it all.
I have already purchased the first installment to the series and I will definitely be reading it. Looking forward to seeing how these 2 characters develop.

I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If I had to describe this book in one word, I'd have to say quaint. It is a charming mystery with a Victorian setting.

A private investigation agency run by Mr. Jesperson and Miss Lane. The two are thrown into a case when a man, Charles Manning, shows up on their doorstep asking for help, collapses and dies. Although, his death was ruled a natural cause, Jesperson is suspicious. The dead man's brother enlists Jesperson and Lane's help.

As Jesperson and Lane retrace Mannings footsteps, they learn of other strange deaths. They are told about the shrieking pits where rumors abound about fairies and ghosts. Then one evening, a baby goes missing, and Jesperson and Lane have another mystery on their hands to solve.

This is compared to Sherlock and Watson, but with a paranormal aspect, that I enjoyed.

This is a good choice for readers who liked the Jackaby series by William Ritter. It's a bit like a gentler version of Sherlock Holmes. A satisfying mystery with just a touch of the supernatural. A man shows up at the offices of the Jesperson and Lane detective agency, but drops dead before he can do more than claim he is being pursued by witches. The investigation into the last days of his life leads to witches, ghosts, fairies and more. Was he a victim of something unexplainable, or is the killer someone a little more mundane?

This book has all the elements of what I like to read. Victorian era, mystery, strong female protagonist. The Jesperson and Lane detective agency sets out to solve requests for missing persons, stolen babies, murder, and various other crimes of the time. While light on an emotional connection or tension between Miss Lane and Jesperson, there is a good amount of period style, language, and flavor. As events pile up and things get nicely complicated for the duo, I was hoping the “witch” aspect wouldn’t be too fluffy and was rewarded by good witch-bad witch clarification, information, and timely community perceptions. The investigation is easy to follow and the characters are entertaining and interesting, especially Ms. Bulstrode. She seemed to stand out from the younger siblings, and I hope she shows up in later stories. The resolution was believable and had me flipping back to earlier pages, wondering how I missed the hints.

This story was good enough where I will buy the earlier book in the series. I read an uncorrected copy from NetGalley and was quite distracted by the heaps of punctuation errors. Despite that, I’m looking forward to more of this author’s work as I was truly taken back to the time period and offered a fun getaway from an icy winter night here in reality.

I truly enjoyed this one, it was a great start to new reading year. I was at a slight disadvantage of not having read the first book but with most mystery series, you don't technically have to (though I would have liked to see how Miss Di Lane met up with Jasper Jesperson and became his partner in a detective agency (something not particularly usual of a Victorian unmarried woman outside of fiction). What I loved best about this, in spite of the blurb comparing them to Sherlock and Watson of the paranormal, Jesperson is much warmer than Sherlock as a person and he doesn't treat Miss Lane as second fiddle either intellectually nor because she's a woman. He often sends her on solo missions

The case begins when a man raving about witches knocks on their door (they live with Jesperson's mother, see what I mean about wanting to know how this all came around). He has one of their business cards but before they can get sense out of him, the man, Mr. Charles Manning, collapses and dies. They track down his brother who hires them to find out how his brother died, not believing in 'heart failure' since his brother was young and healthy.

This takes them to Alymerton in Norfolk where Charles was studying with Felix Ott, a man determined to revive the old pagan ways of Great Britain (or at lease build a school to their study). Miss Lane and Jesperson stay with Reverend Ringer and his family, staunch opponents of Ott and are quickly directed to the shrieking pits of Alymerton and to the three Bulstrode sisters, thought to be witches and at least one of them might have been Charles's lover.

I loved the depth of character all the players had. The three Bulstrode sisters (one considerably older than her young half sisters) are all well drawn, especially Bella, the oldest who is in fact a wisewoman/herbalist. She keeps a greenhouse complete with poison garden but as another death is discovered and a baby gone missing, it's not really a safe thing to have.

There is the paranormal side if you consider the shrieking pits might have faeries in them (honestly the faeries and their explanation was about the one thing I didn't much care for in this). There is superstitions, wise women and cunning men in this satisfying mystery. I want to go find the first mystery and I hope to follow this series.

Also the shrieking pits of Alymerton are real (and now on my bucket list) you can see more <A href=" https://www.facebook.com/historyhaunted/videos/1394542780571798/"> here </A> and <A href=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM6_WnIw5Gw"> here </A>

I didn't finish this. It just didn't draw me in as I'd hoped. The writing was good, but I just could not get into the story. I think it could be good for Tanya Huff fans, similar character development.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I really like a good Sherlockian mystery, and The Curious Affair Of The Witch At Wayside Cross fits the bill. A good mystery is always intriguing because I want to solve the puzzle. I was let down on a couple of points, but there were so many good elements to override the couple of let downs.

First, I enjoyed the two detectives, both individually and how they worked together. Mr. Jesperson is the Sherlock-type character, though his discoveries are not so incredulous, which I find to be refreshing. He is also quirky, a non-conformist and can be secretive in his deductions. Miss Lane is independent, intelligent and a fully trusted partner, unlike Watson who was a foil for Sherlock. The two characters work together while solving the crime, and they are not secretly in love with one another. I also was glad to see that we could work on solving the crime, rather than worry over romantic overtures. A secondary character that I loved was the Reverend Ringer. He was more of a bash you over the head, or a fighter you would find in the boxer's ring with his bible clenched in his teeth. His only soft spot was for allowing his wife to run the house as she saw fit.

Second, there are genuinely funny lines. One of my favorites was when Miss Lane was confronted by the murder victim, just before he died, with an accusation of 'witch' thrown into the room. Her response seems to be as if she has turned to look behind her because she surely couldn't be seen as a witch. She states how she is a small woman, and no one has ever felt threatened by her presence. I was laughing my head off over that little scene. Another favorite scene was of the image of Jespersen loping out into the rain to find the missing bicycle, cheerful on all accounts in the face of the Mrs. Ringer's irrational behavior.

Third, I loved the varying story lines. I was caught up trying to figure out how the missing baby could have anything to do with the suspected murder of Charles Manning. In a mystery I want to have elements that don't add up perfectly so I am deluded into believing a false trail or misunderstanding the clues that become clear at a future date. The self-proclaimed witch and Felix Ott, the preservationist of the historical religion and folklore of England, are another two disparate story lines, with individuals who had interacted with Charles Manning.

I hate to give away big spoilers, so here is my attempt to be vague: I did not like the resolution for the stolen infant. It seemed like an easy out in stead of having an explanation grounded in the existing story-frame. In order for me to buy into that story line, I felt like I would need more backing, foreshadowing or evidence.

I felt like I had the mystery solved, prior to the end of the novel, however, not until near the end. It seems like a good mystery strings the reader along until about the end and so this one had a good pace with the clues and final reveal. I'm not going to tell you how Charles Manning died, but I think you will have a strong suspicion as you read into it about three quarters of the way through. The author left clues that the reader will remember, and the murder puzzle pieces fit together.

Finally, I wouldn't have branded this book as paranormal. The witch, the eldest sister, at Wayside Cross seems more like an herbalist than having unearthly powers. She has a bird, who does seem to have special powers of observation, but there is nothing concrete that shows a result from magic that he might hold.

Unsavory subjects were handled with a delicate touch, the Victorian era setting is convincing and the characters are engaging. It is appropriate for a broad audience, from teens through adults. I would definitely recommend The Curious Affair Of The Witch At Wayside Cross. I will absolutely want to read more in this series.

In this second book in hopefully a continuing series, I did not fall asleep reading this one like the first book. FYI - I did like the first book regardless. This book did not go into too much detail like last time and I believe it was just the right amount. It gave you information to see the settings. Now, as far as Jasper and Ms. Lane are concerned, there was a difference in this book that I didn't care for at all. They were separated a great deal in this book which I understand for the story, but this time Jasper was off investigating all kinds of things without Ms. Lane. Not only that, but he rarely informed her of the things he was investigating. Mrs. Ringer kept them apart purposefully threw out a good portion of the book and it seemed like Jasper fell into believing it should be that way. I didn't like it because one of the reasons I really liked him in the first book was because he didn't act like that. At the very end, he apologized, but I think she forgave him too easily. Ms. Lane was hurt by the way he was acting and she just forgave him without at discussing the situation first. The story was interesting and kept you guessing until the end. Hopefully, a third book will combine what I liked in the first and second books.