The Matthew Chance Legacy
The follow-up to the acclaimed Maria’s Papers sees the intrepid Naomi Wilkes once again on an adventure that will see her face loss, death and all manner of frights in between. This is a split-storyline novel that flits between our heroine, Wilkes, and her ancestors in the late 19th century.
Since I haven’t read Maria’s Papers, there were times when I was at a slight loss as I had no idea of events that had transpired in the first book, as they were only briefly referenced. Unfortunately, The Matthew Chance Legacy is not a stand-alone book and is very much a sequel – the author would have solved this by bringing in some back story, as it is very difficult entertaining new readers who have not read books in sequence. Having said that, I found I was regretting not having read the previous instalment as Legacy is so well written and enjoyable. I would like to have met some of these characters previously as they are so wonderfully eccentric that it was occasionally difficult to suppress a giggle when they appeared.
Legacy is fast paced and action packed. There are touches of Dan Brown here, not in the style of writing I must add, but simply in the puzzles and “whodunit” aspect.
Very much a holiday read and certainly one for those who are already engrossed in Naomi Wilkes’ adventures.
