1870. Charles Dickens is dead, officially a heart attack. But his family believe he was poisoned, though why. Is there any connection to a previous robbery at his home and Dickens illegitimate son. Sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth and nephew Dunston Burnett are determined to discovery the truth while protecting the reputation and legacy of Dickens.
An enjoyable historical mystery, well-written with its cast of diverse and likeable characters. A good start to this trilogy.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book made me question so much about what I thought I knew! I am now rethinking other deaths of famous authors and wondering if we will see similar interpretations to this clever book. I really enjoyed the history and the way the author really set the reader firmly in Dickens’ world. It’s such an interesting concept and very well executed.

What a fun novel. I love history and as a lover of books, I love the authors behind the amazing stories. I admire their creativity and their creative minds that create such incredible stories. This novel focuses on Charles Dickens and the mystery surrounding his death. Such a profound author that has given us so many classic works of literature.

This is a mystery, a telling of a hidden crime and suspected murder of our beloved Mr. Dickens. I loved the touches of truth laden in this novel, it appears to be well researched, accurately depicting moments in time for this brilliant author. Extra points there.

The book takes on a life of its own, fully encapsulating you in a shroud of wonderment on the possibilities that could have really happened to Charles Dickens. The writing is smooth, an effortless read, pulling you back in time. We follow his beloved nephew (or more accurately a nephew whom loved Dickens) as he tried to uncover the truth of Dickens’ untimely death. Was it natural or something more sinister??

We follow along, trying to piece together the puzzle and the slow unraveling of the story as the sequence of events leaves you feeling satisfied and fulfilled. If you are into whodunnits with a dash of history muddled with a great story and a possible happenstance of an amazing author…this is the read for you.

It’s summer in 1870, right in the middle of the Victorian era, and Charles Dickens, just 58 years old, has died. Officially, the cause of death is a stroke after a series of them over the last months of his life. But what if it was not a stroke but murder?

A cursory look at his life yields an ample list of potential suspects, for he was quite wealthy and had a complicated web of intimate relationships, many of them unhappy in one way or another.

It has been literal decades since I’ve read any Charles Dickens, and when I did, it was a Spanish translation, the fidelity of which I can’t vouch for. Therefore, I cannot tell whether the writing style in this novel is truly reminiscent of Dickens’ own; what I can definitely say it’s that it’s immersive and feels period appropriate to me–including all the least appealing aspects of such writing, such as fatphobia, phonetic accents to indicate both class and moral fiber, and so on.

In true Dickensian fashion, there’s a large cast of characters, a commensurate number of plots and counterplots, coincidences galore, and good eventually triumphing over evil, though never without cost.

This novel is billed as the author’s debut, which is hard to believe given how polished the writing is. The reader can form a clear mental portrait of each character as they show up in the narrative, from our unlikely sleuth, the portly, slightly dim, methodical and dogged Dunston to the smallest bit player.

The action starts slow and ponderous on the day after Dickens death, accelerating slowly up to the momentous climax a few weeks later; Dunston’s character arc is interesting because at the end of the book he seems to be exactly where he was at the start, and yet, for all his timidity, he’s played his part wholeheartedly and well.

While I guessed who Mr Squire had designated as Dickens’ killer quite early on, this is not a fair play mystery by any means; the larger solution depends too much on contrivances outside the reader’s knowledge for that. Still, this was an engrossing read, and I’m interested in the rest of the planned Dunston Burnett trilogy.

Immortalised to Death gets an 8.50 out of 10

A fascinating historical fiction novel, Immortalised to Death by Lyn Squire is based on the life of Charles Dickens. The death of the famous writer is diagnosed as a stroke but his niece and pseudo-nephew are determined to investigate the reimagined cause and motive for his death. With multiple references to Dickens’s real life, actions and relationships, Squire is faithfully accurate to the historical record of Dickens’s life in order to portray his personality and the mood of the Victorian era. With a range of engaging characters, plenty of action and a rising body count, this sprightly narrative ensures an enjoyable historical crime tale that has a four stars read rating. With thanks to Level Best Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own, freely given and without inducement.

An original and well plotted story about Charles Dicken's death and his last novel. I read a book about this and it was fun. This one is a more classic mystery, well plotted and compelling.
Can't wait to read another by this author
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

When I heard about this book, it was the premise that sparked my interest.

This book, was, in a sense, about Charles Dickens, and in my opinion, it felt quite Dickensian to read, which was a quality that I enjoyed. I felt as though I was reading a contemporary novel of the same period. I appreciated the references to well-known literature, and this was also an entertaining mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

Lyn Squire does a great job in creating a mystery that was perfectly written. The characters were what I was looking for in this type of book. I loved the use of Charles Dickens and thought it was great to go through. This was a great debut novel and it left me wanting to read more form Lyn Squire.

Set in 1870 London, Immortalised to Death by Lyn Squire is the first in the brilliant Dunston Burnett Trilogy. And what a story it is! Charles Dickens is discovered dead...murdered...with a scribbled handwritten word at hand. Dickens' sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth is the one who makes the ghastly discovery and assigns middle aged retired bookkeeper Dunston Burnett, Dickens' "nephew", to painstakingly scrutinize every word of Dickens' unfinished manuscript, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, to find possible clues. She has more than one reason for this, including trying to keep him amused and out of the way. During the course of the investigation Dunston falls into the role of amateur sleuth and gets to know and understand his "uncle" better. Dunston may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but he is methodical, intuitive and has a way of ingratiating. Quirky parlour maid Dulcet is one of my favourite characters. (Helpfully, the characters are listed at the front of the book including those mentioned from The Mystery of Edwin Drood.) The story progresses from there with excellent subplots and twists.

After enjoying this so thoroughly, I crave the next two. So much to love here including the vivid descriptions, gorgeous prose (was this written for me?), fascinating motley mix of characters and an incredible plot. I love the seamless integration of The Mystery of Edwin Drood into the plot. The writing sucked me in at the onset and held me captive in the best way possible. Author Lyn Squire makes each word count and obviously did his research. This is not a book to read...it is a book to get lost in. I felt like I was there in England in the era and could easily envision and feel characters, mores of the time and atmosphere.

Historical Mystery Fiction readers, please, please do not let this one slip through your fingers. Though loving Charles Dickens as I do would give you the best possible experience, even if you know very little about him you can enjoy this book.

My sincere thank you to Level Best Books and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this sublime novel!