• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2021 January #1
  In the fifth entry in Rowland's Victorian Mystery series, newspaper crime-scene photographer Sarah Bain and her husband, Detective Sergeant Hugh Barrett, dig into the murder of a spirit photographer—someone who claims to photograph ghosts. Among the victim's recent photos is one that appears to show him being assaulted by an apparition, which leads naturally to the question: Was he murdered by a ghost? The story is set in the late 1800s, when spirit photography was only a few decades old and considered a legitimate pursuit in the eyes of many. Rowland really runs with the idea of a man being killed by a ghost, building a story that almost makes us wonder if spiritual shenanigans could be afoot. With this series and with her long-running Sano Ichiro series, set in seventeenth-century Japan, the author has proved herself to be a formidable figure in the historical-mystery genre, with an eye for period detail and a deft hand at characterization. Readers who have not yet checked out Sarah Bain really ought to do so. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Laura Joh Rowland is the award-winning author of the samurai detective Sano Ichiro mystery series set in 17th century Japan, as well as a historical suspense series starring Charlotte Bronte. Her work has been published in 21 countries; nominated for the Anthony Award, the Hammett Prize, and the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award; won RT Magazine's Reader's Choice Award; and been included in the Wall Street Journal's list of the five best historical mystery novels. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. She is a former aerospace scientist, a painter, and a cartoonist. She lives in New York City with her husband Marty. This is her fourth Victorian mystery.