It is important to note that the majority of the themes explored in this book deal with sensitive subject matters. My review, therefore, touches on these topics as well. Many people might find the subject matters of the book as well as those detailed in my review overwhelming. I would suggest you steer clear of both if this is the case. Please note that from this point forward I will be writing about matters which contain reflections on child abuse, psychological abuse, physical abuse, death of an animal, & others. 

After the death of Lawrence Linwood in what proves to be a devastating series of blows; his three (3) children find themselves sequestered with the responsibility of solving his murder. However what is to ensue is something straight out of a series of closed-door murder mysteries which might leave you patiently waiting for the conclusion to confirm your suspicions. Huang waltzes the reader throughout 1921; memories of the Great War, the scientific upheaval to be felt around the world, & the social changes breaching the surface of the previously lavishly lived lives of the wealthy.

I have very conflicting feelings towards this book. Therefore, let me state first & foremost that Huang is a brilliant writer. The language which is employed throughout the story was both appropriate for its time as well as meticulously crafted to fit the character who was utilizing it. The book is separated into four (4) parts & within each of these we see many characters take the main stage as we pass through events in their first person point of view. This never left me feeling confused or muddled. Everyone is a clearly defined individual & their dialogue matched their personalties. That is to say that Huang presents the reader with fantastic characters.

My reason for feeling conflicted is because I have read this story before in a number of other books, mainly “The Body in the Library” by Agatha Christie. I will take ownership on my feeling not very pleased with the mystery as a whole as this will be a book filled to the brim with subject matters that many people might not be aware of. However, many seasoned readers will have guessed the plot layout from the initial chapters & will subsequently spend 400 pages waiting for their conclusions to be confirmed—such is the case with my reading experience.

The character of Lawrence Linwood is one of a child abuser. Reading so many instances wherein the children are being put under psychological duress was very distressing. That is not to say that things of this nature should not be written, on the contract, I think it of value to share the reality many experience. However, being as this book was so long, the amount of times all of the children reflect both individually & collectively about scenarios in which their father induced fear & violence to reinforce the moulding he sought to achieve, was very draining. When it is revealed that Linwood was in fact impregnating the biological mothers of his children, none of whom were his wife, I had to ask myself if this were meant to be a shock. This was, after all, a character who was abusing children for the entirety of their lives to the point in which they were psychologically impaired in their adulthood.

I cannot say that presenting Linwood as a child abuser was done in vain nor could I say that it was meant to leave subtle hints at the extents he would go to to achieve what he desired. Therefore, perhaps was the reveal of the children being biologically related to him simply intended to extend the reader’s horror when we learn that he bludgeoned a man to death in a quest to find the right air to his estate?

As I said before, I have read “The Body in the Library” & the instant that we learn that Linwood’s body was beyond recognition as a result of the violence of his murder, I thought back to Agatha Christie. I cannot imagine trying to write murder mysteries knowing that the titan herself has covered essentially any plausible roadways an author might take. Regardless, there will be people who have not read this book & shall not think to question whether or not the psychopath would indeed fake his death to continue pursuing his torment behind the curtain.

What I found to be frustrating while reading this book was having to wait for characters to remember the obvious. The entire estate had servants halls, old tunnels, nooks & crannies, yet no one thinks to check any of those at any time. It is only after the death of the actor that everyone clues-in to the impossibility of the murder being performed by someone outside the house. Everything up until that point was truly always hinting at the same person, Linwood, as being the perpetrator. I appreciate the ludicrous notion that is him faking his own death but, it truly felt as though the bulk of the novel focused on the children finding their other biological parents—two of which were also murdered by Linwood & Rebecca. This is an interesting plot point but, again, I had guessed at this early on & so their quests, back & forth across town, felt interminably long.

There is a lot to say in terms of how the subject matter & the characters were presented in this book. Rebecca Linwood is brutally abused by her husband for over 30 years & by the end of the story is institutionalized. The three Linwood children are abused throughout their near 30 years of life & are then expected to simply pull-up their socks & trudge-onward. We are presented with two very different conclusions to similar situations. Caroline has to drown a cat so that her father might mould her to be less emotionally inclined & more willing to murder human beings for reasons which, in my opinion, are not very clear.

The premise behind Linwood faking his own death was to put into practice the years of abusive moulding he had inflicted on to his children. He wanted them to fight until the deaths for the right to rule the estate. Should they have complied, Linwood would have done what? Simply moved away & remained hidden until the event of his actual death? What if none of his children had returned at the news of his passing? What if they had sat at the house & realized how crummy their childhood was & sold the estate? Least we forget that Rebecca was put into Broadmoor Hospital—convincing anyone of her inability to maintain the estate would not have been complicated.

Subsequently, why did the police not question the clause in the Will? To indicate that, in the event of murder, the child who solves the crime will be ruler of all, seems very bizarre. How many people are inserting such a clause into their final Will & Testaments? Understandably, one is meant to suspend their disbelief to appreciate the decision that the police took to allow the children to play detective & search for their father’s killer. Leading into that, had Linwood thought about the fact that his children would discover his past crimes? What if they had found him out only to abandon the estate altogether? After all, their father murdered their biological mothers & sent another into insolation for fear of violence. Is it not plausible that they would feel some inkling towards understanding the magnitude of such actions?

Much of this story resides on the children acting in turn to the abuse they suffered yet, Linwood knew them to be independent beings who had well-established lives. Might he not have worried for an instant that his plan would fall, as we say, à l’eau? Perhaps, I am seeking to understand too much of a man who had nothing but hatred in his heart. All while understanding that abuse manifests itself in various ways for everyone who has found itself at its mercy.

When all is said & done the reason I did not dislike this book was due to the quality of the writing. I found myself; annoyed at Caroline’s ignorance & absurd obsession with quoting plays; a bit bored at the redundancy of the full names of characters being repeated; longing for more of Alan’s point of view; sad for the lawyer who went home to an empty house; distressed at the amplitude of horrors experienced by Rebecca; weighed down by the reality of a post-war era; saddened for the children who manoeuvred their way in a darkened life; last, but not least, appreciative of a story which was harrowing from start to finish regardless of the transparency of the crimes, the themes presented held their own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Inkshares & Christopher Huang for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

#UnnaturalEnds #NetGalley

An intriguing gothic mystery. A tyrannical, cold father is murdered and his three adopted adult children return to his estate to find that his will specifies that if he dies by unnatural causes, whichever of them solves his murder will inherit the estate. Alan, Roger and Caroline each investigate his murder, and there are plenty of suspects, clues, twists and turns. They also have to deal with the family dysfunction as they reminisce on the past and move through the present.

Thank you to Inkshares and Net Galley for this ARC. I wasn't too sure when i started reading this book if i would continue with it. The style was different but by the end I really liked it. Good first novel, a little predictable at the end but still worth reading.

A great mystery thriller with a historical setting and plenty of diversity within characters to interest most. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Christopher Huang for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the novel and the style of writing. It is extremely well thought out, with a good pace and an easy style. I enjoyed the mystery and found it enjoyable to work out the clues.

2.25 Stars

Unnatural Ends is a historical murder mystery that had plenty of murder but, unfortunately, not enough mystery.

The synopsis sounded promising enough: it's 1921, and Sir Lawrence Linwood, a renowned figure in the English village of Linwood Hollow, has been murdered in his study - and it's up to his three adopted children to solve the case. Thanks to a clause in Sir Linwood's will, whichever child successfully figures out who killed their father inherits his estate.

The actual story was not quite as intriguing though.

In my experience, murder mysteries don't tend to be too fast-paced...but this book was so slow-paced that I found it difficult to muster up the motivation to actually read it. This is probably because the search for the murderer deviated into a search for answers about the origins of our adopted siblings, which took up a significant portion of the book and wasn't particularly engaging or suspenseful to me. Almost every single time some important piece of information was uncovered, I had already predicted it. In fact, I had solved our murder case when I was about a quarter of the way through the book. Although I eventually became distracted by exploring alternative explanations, when it was revealed that I had been right, I couldn't help but feel disappointed, especially because it seemed like this book was a million pages long. At about the 90% mark, I admit that things did start to get interesting, but the actual ending felt a little rushed and anti-climactic.

I didn't hate reading this though. Despite the fact that this book proved to me that my vocabulary is not as extensive as I previously thought, and sometimes I was just so confused about what people were talking about, how they figured things out or how they jumped from one topic of conversation to another, I enjoyed the writing style. I can't exactly pinpoint why, but I just think it suited the story well.

I also thought the characters were great. If I had to choose, Iris would probably be my favourite (or maybe Caroline), but even the minor ones were well-developed and interesting. The relationships between our main characters were also done well in my opinion. As someone who enjoys reading about different family dynamics, I love that the siblings genuinely cared about each other, even though they were raised to have contempt for "maudlin sentimentality". Although there really was not much romance in this (which I'm not mad about), I did like Iris and Roger based on what we did see of them.

Overall, this wasn't awful, and it definitely improved my vocabulary, but it's just not what I'm looking for in a murder mystery.

Very enjoyable. Interesting premise and setting, lots of twists and turns, good use of multiple points of view.

In 1903, Linwood Hall was home to the Linwood children, the eldest Alan, 9-year-old Roger, and 8-year-old Caroline. Their playroom was in a lofty tower, which had evolved from an original Norman ruin; from here, they could see for miles, North, South, East, and West including the neighboring village of Linwood Hollow. It was their Camelot. Surely, these children were born to enjoy good fortune. What could spoil their close-knit unity?

Fast forward to 1921, to begin this thrilling historical detailed murder mystery, Unnatural Ends, brought to us by Christopher Huang. We learn this was not an idyllic childhood for these children of Camelot through a long, twisting set of imaginative circumstances made authentic by the detailed character development of the Linwood family, their servants, and contemporaries.

I love the book's structure. Each chapter is dedicated to one character's particular viewpoint and connects back and forth from time periods to plot lines, dated appropriately to keep the reader on track. I enjoyed the complex and well-developed plot with its surprise ending. The author authentically creates the turn of the century-period with its customs and manners and hopes for the future, such as; the suspicious Detective Inspector Clarence Mowbray and Giles Brewster, the deferential innkeeper who retains a serf mentality.

My favorite character was Caroline, the last of the children to understand the truth of their childhood traumas and perhaps the most independent and thoughtful.

I was delighted to read the author's elegant prose, for example; "Mother's arm felt like an alien snake in Caroline's own, the fabric of her mourning dress like a scaly skin ready to moult and let loose flesh beneath slough off the bone" The grammar is impeccable English grammar much enjoyed by many.

If you enjoy English history going back to Roman times with stunning descriptive detail and the scary need for priest holes: Unnatural Ends is your book. If you love exploring philosophies, weird beliefs, and politics: Unnatural Ends is your book. If you revel in a complex plot and lyrically written prose: Unnatural Ends is your book.

I rate Unnatural Ends as 5 out of 5 stars because of its originality, excellent writing, and surprise ending. I detected nothing to dislike. I thought the book was exceptionally well-edited, and I look forward to reading more of Christopher Huang's books.

I recommend it to readers who love historical fiction, detailed descriptions of architecture, politics, a superb plot, and authentic characters

Wow, I loved this book. Set on an estate perched on a cliff over the village below, just after WWI, 3 adopted, now adult children return when their despot of a father is bludgeoned to death. It’s a wonderful mix of mystery, history, and numerous plot twists. Layers of truth are slowly revealed as the 3 siblings take us back to earlier years. Roger, his motorcar, descriptions of Iris, and the overall ‘stiff upper lip attitude’ take me back to the post War era Downton Abby shows…..Matthew with his car racing down the roads, the family needing to modernize and expand the financial base of the village that relies on them, and the regard with which the village holds the great halls residents are themes that are reflected in this book. I couldn’t put this book down, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy, Reading how Alan, Roger, and Caroline work their way through their family history and the mystery was a true joy.

If you are looking for a book with several twists and turns this is a great one. I enjoyed both the main characters, as well as minor characters in the book. Linwood Hall, where the three main characters grew up, seems to have a personality all its own as well. If the several books I've read so far this year, this might be my favorite.

While I can't say I didn't see the end coming from fairly early on, the path Huang authored was a wild ride. It was like a puzzle: I knew the end result, but it took me a while to see how the pieces fit together. It was also interesting to see it play out from all three of the Linwood children's point of view.

I've seen other reviews stating the characters seem flat, or readers were unable to connect with them; however, I would think this is how Huang intended them to be. The three main characters also had great development through the story. What the Linwood children lacked, the minor characters possessed. The detail with which we got to know the other characters seemed to bring out their humanity, which even affirms my belief Huang intended the Linwoods to be somewhat flat.

Linwood Hall was one of the most interesting settings I've encountered recently. The reverence characters have for the structure, the detail with which it is described, and the atrocities that occurred within its walls make it feel like a living, breathing thing. If only these walls could talk.

I highly recommend this book, and I certainly hope to read more from Huang in the future.

There is much to admire in Christopher Huang’s new mystery novel Unnatural Ends, available in May from the writer- and reader-focused publishing group Inkshares. Featuring Gothic gloom, a fair-play murder mystery, and a twisted history of psychological abuse within a family, there should be something to appeal to almost all readers of crime fiction. What impressed me the most, though, wasn’t the plot or the atmosphere but the author’s excellent attention to the details.

Three adopted siblings return to the chilly landscape of North Yorkshire upon learning of their father’s death. All three have proven themselves in places purposely far away: oldest brother Alan Linwood is an archaeologist, studying civilizations exotic and now extinct; Roger is a brilliant engineer, his talents spent perfecting innovations of air and road travel; and Caroline is a journalist in Paris, covering international news. Each of the Linwood siblings should be well-equipped to investigate their father’s murder, and in fact that is what Sir Lawrence Linwood commands that they do in his will. Should he meet an unnatural end, whomever of the three finds Father’s killer will inherit the ancient family home.

Huang divides his book into multiple third-person limited POV chapters, with each character providing a piece of the puzzle, either through experiences occurring in the story’s present time (April 1921) or years earlier (in 1904, when the three siblings were children and their personalities were being formed through internal logic and external pressures). This back-and-forth temporal structure was the primary reason why Unnatural Ends never really gained momentum for me: the present didn’t have much urgency when past events are given equal weight and page time.

There are two other elements that kept me reading more as an objective observer than as an engaged participant. First, in building his cast and shaping his story, Huang has set himself a paradoxically difficult task. We are supposed to invest in the investigation of Sir Lawrence’s murder, but from the start (and supported by each family member’s past and present experiences) Sir Lawrence is a cruel despot who enjoys making others suffer and bend to his will. His death by violence – bludgeoned by a spiked mace – is fitting, to say the least. While there is the dubious impetus of inheriting a family estate that is as cold and inhospitable as Father himself, there is no initial reason, whether rivalry, curiosity, or justice, for Alan, Roger, or Caroline to seek answers. Sagely, Huang soon gives them appropriate motivation: investigating the murder will provide answers to their own identities. It’s not Father who needs liberating but the adult children who can finally break free.

Granted, a mystery story does not need an alliance of sympathy with the victim to be effective. And the other characters do become less archetypal and more individual, but the journey is a long one. At 450 pages, Unnatural Ends needs its share of twists and turns, and on paper they are there. The problem is that the reader can get ahead of the plot, especially if one incorporates the detective fiction reader’s maxim to not take the truth as it is presumed to be. The author is scrupulously fair with his clues, and I found them easy to collect along the way. The clueing of culprit(s), motive, and mechanics is largely in place by the book’s midpoint, which is when I connected the dots. I then needed to wait for Inspector Mowbray and the sibling sleuths to catch up, and that – along with the vacillating between present and past – diminished the journey.

It is still a story worth recommending. The book’s prose is excellently crafted and presented; when it comes to historical details and literary syntax, the author rarely sounds a sour note or takes a wrong step. He is particularly good at using specifics to make his characters’ world believable and engaging. He describes the Yorkshire moors and the family’s looming stone castle, with its draughty servant passageways and its cliff-hugging sheer stone facade, in convincing sensory detail. The siblings bring elements of their global lives back with them: engineer Roger has tried to partner with Sopwith Aviation while Alan sees parallels between his native landscape and his vistas at Machu Picchu. The historical context is impeccably researched and vividly used; along with Huang’s confident prose, the contextual details make the book a success.

The author’s previous novel, 2018’s A Gentleman’s Murder, is also set in 1920s England and appears to offer a similar winning mix of history and mystery. Unnatural Ends has a U.S. release date of May 10. I received an advance reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for a forthright review.

A historical whodunnit! Meet the Linwood family. Adopted children Alan, Roger and Caroline are part of a long rich lineage and castle like mansion in the town of Linwood Hollow. The three grow up close friends and make their way in the world until the patriarch, Sir Lawrence Linwood is murdered.

Instead of willing the estate to be split evenly, Sir Lawrence has decreed in his will that in case of wrongdoing, his estate will go to the heir that solves his murder. A fascinating tale of control and family. I recommend this original book to anyone that enjoys a whodunnit, historical novels and of course family mysteries.
#inkshares #NetGalley #unnaturalends

The book begins in 1903, England, with a heartwarming glimpse of three adopted children playing in Linwood Hall. Life happens and they somewhat drift apart until their fateful reunion at Father’s funeral. Sir Linwood's will rather strangely dictates that the estate goes to the heir who solves his (rather brutal) murder. And so, Alan the archaeologist, Roger the engineer, and Caroline the journalist set about solving the crime as they grapple with the loss of their domineering albeit highly revered father. The investigation unravels, revealing many a skeleton in the closet.

At a glance:
- Fascinating plot direction (and misdirection)
- Found Family
- Twisted Truths
- Verdant moors & secret passages
- Biracial & Asian rep!

TW: harrowing mentions of abuse.

🔸️I enjoyed the range of characters, from veterans to awestruck townsfolk, but couldn't easily connect with the Linwood trio, as interesting as their dynamic was. I have a soft spot for Roger though! Really enjoyed the POVs of Inspector Mowbray and Iris, and find it amusing that the character who basically serves as 'a fresh pair of eyes' is named Iris. It took some time for me to ease into the story due to the descriptive/introspective style, but I quite enjoyed it overall! References to plays, war, and hot topics in academia provided a vivid sense of the period. I enjoyed the exploration of religion & atheism, toxic relatives, privilege, and being true to oneself.

🔸️Once the plot took shape, I was fully hooked! Some flashbacks felt convenient but ultimately set things in motion. Puzzle pieces veered into unexpected avenues, culminating in a gripping, rapidly unfolding finale. Overall, a good old-fashioned whodunit and a treat for fans of historical fic & murder mysteries.

This book was intriguing. It is set about a century ago. I loved seeing the countryside through the author's eyes. The characters, mainly the three siblings, weren't very likable, but they were the more realistic for it. Flashbacks are woven in, which I was hesitant to enjoy at first. They proved useful later on. They provided insight into the siblings' personalities and upbringing. The book gets interesting about 20% in. Then, it manages to grip you. I finished the rest in two sittings. I kind of foresaw the biggest plot twist while reading the synopsis, but there were enough plot twists for me to still enjoy it. All in all, it is a worthy and thrilling whodunit. The historical aspect provides depth and intrigue. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a complex, well-paced, historical mystery.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

Positives: played on some themes that we don’t often see in historical mysteries like adoption, I was definitely entertained throughout

Negatives: some of the characters felt a little flat to me, I guessed some of the twists before they happened

Overall: good read and will definitely look for more from this author!

Sir Lawrence Linwood is dead, murdered in his own study. His will tasks each of his three children - Alan, Roger and Caroline - with finding his killer, and the one that does will be the sole heir of their father's estate. However as the three begin to investigate, each digs up long buried family secrets and the truth of their father's character they may not wish to find.

What started out a bit boring - Father's will begets amateur detectives - unraveled into a truly gripping mystery that like any worth its salt had me trying to solve it right alongside the main characters. And the end wasn't something I saw coming, though thinking about it in hindsight, was hinted at as we learned more about Alan, Roger and Caroline's current lives as well as their childhood. This was definitely one of my favorites of the year, and one I will recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and Christopher Huang for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley. What a thoroughly enjoyable debut mystery it was! Sir Thomas Linwood is murdered and in his will, states that he knows it is to happen. His entire estate will be left to whichever of his three adopted children can bring his murderer to justice. And each of the children, Alan, the archaeologist, Roger, the engineer and pilot, and Caroline, reporter and future politician, set off to complete this last task set by their demanding father. The story is told in alternating voices, each one distinct, and each one growing on the reader. While I had some idea of how the story would turn out, it was not until very nearly the end, as Huang cleverly directs (and misdirects) the reader's attention. Highly Recommended.

Christopher Huang offers a underexplored perspective in this murder mystery. Two of his characters are biracial in interwar England and must solve the murder of their adopted father. The mystery was multilayered and explored many interesting psychological impacts the overbearing murder victim had on his family and the people he brutalized throughout his life. I don’t know how a series would work with these characters, but I would love to see how the siblings’ relationships change after all of their secrets are revealed and they no longer have to dance to their father’s tune.

Linwood Hall, in the year 1906, was "a jumble of grey stone walls pockmarked with tall, narrow windows. French doors had been punched into the ground floor in the last century opening on the broad terrace cantilevering over the cliff...All around them, the windswept North Yorkshire moors...". A tall tower room rose from the middle of the estate, a playroom nicknamed "Camelot" by the three adopted children of Sir Lawrence Linwood. "Camelot" was accessible through passages behind the walls.

In 1921, Alan an archeologist, Roger an engineer, and Caroline, a journalist were called home upon the death of their father. "In the event that my death should be due to unnatural causes, I charge my children with the task of identifying the killer. If one of them finds the killer, to the satisfaction of the police and the courts of law-I rescind previous statements and leave the entirety of this residuary estate to that child." It was determined that Sir Lawrence was murdered in his study, the instrument of death, a medieval flanged mace. "Wasn't one of the suits of armor in the great hall holding a mace?"

There had been no way to escape Father's shadow. A portrait of him hung over the marble fireplace. Alan, the eldest child, channeled Father's voice. "Find my killer. Only do this for me, and all of this shall be yours." Three adopted children, raised with an iron fist by a tyrant of a father, began to peal away layers of the past in an attempt to look to the future. The twists, turns and ever widening array of potential murder suspects will keep the reader guessing and reassessing! Even as adults, Sir Lawrence's presence loomed over his children's lives. They soldiered on, looking for clues, finding an old inscribed watch...a rosary. Were these relics of the past connected to the present day search for answers?

"Unnatural Ends" by Christopher Huang is a gothic mystery, a who-dun-it thriller, and a family drama created by dysfunction. Alan, Roger, and Caroline each share their perspective of being raised by Sir Lawrence as well as their theories on his demise. Plan to be surprised! Highly recommended.

Thank you Inkshares and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm giving this four stars, even though it was a bit too gothic for my tastes, because I think it would be worth that to the right reader. I found the three main characters, the adopted siblings Alan, Roger, and Caroline, difficult to warm to and oddly characterized, but as it became clear how damaging their upbringing had been that was perhaps intentional. I worked out what was going on just before the author revealed it, so that was well-plotted.

There were secret passages galore and plot twists and turns which were at the same time bit cerebral and also too melodramatic for me. Still, after a very slow beginning, it held my interest throughout.

Gloriously Crafted….
Found dead in his study, battered to death with a mediaeval mace, Sir Lawrence Linwood's death is somewhat of a mystery. The rather dysfunctional Linwood clan have been beckoned from far and wide to attend his funeral, blissfully unaware that a murder has taken place until their arrival and that their task will be to find his killer. With a perfect setting and a gloriously crafted cast of characters, way more than a nod to classic Golden Age crime fiction and a solid locked room mystery at its’ heart, this is an intriguing, immersive and delightful read from start to finish. Aficionados of a vintage mystery will be in their element.