Millstone of Doubt by Erica Vetsch

Millstone of Doubt
by Erica Vetsch

ISBN-13: 9780825447143
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kregel
Released: September 20th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Regency London. Caught in the explosion of the Hammersmith Mill in London, Bow Street Runner Daniel Swann rushes to help any survivors only to find the mill's owner dead of a gunshot. While the owner's daughter, Agatha Montgomery, mourns his death, it seems there are more than a few people with motive for murder. Daniel must dig through all the suspects as quickly as he can, because the clock is ticking until his mysterious patronage--and his job as a runner--comes to an end.

Lady Juliette Thorndike is Agatha's bosom friend and has access to the wealthy London ton. She should be in a perfect position to help with the case, but her instructor in the art of spy craft orders her to stay out of the investigation. She quietly helps, nonetheless. When another murder is found at the mill, Daniel and Juliette are in a race to find the killer before his time runs out. It seems to Daniel that, like his earthly father, his heavenly Father has abandoned him to the fates.


My Review:
Millstone of Doubt is a Christian romance with a mystery set in 1816 in England. This is the 2nd book in the series, but you don't need to read the previous novels to understand this one. This book spoiled quite a lot about the previous book so you may wish to read them in order.

The story seemed mostly about Juliette falling in love, helped along by Daniel finding reasons to hold her closely and his giving her a deep, passionate kiss. While I liked them both, I don't understand why she's so attracted to him over the kind, supportive German noble. She mainly seemed drawn to Daniel because he knew her spy-in-training secret and he got physical with her (the thrill!). Juliette and Daniel spent some time together doing spy craft, and she helped gather information for his case, including the biggest clue.

There wasn't much of a mystery. Daniel's supposed to be a clever detective, but he overlooked several potential suspects. He spent a lot of time distracted so he delayed reading the collected evidence, including the Big Clue. Things weren't particularly difficult to figure out, from whodunit to who that pushy widow was to why Juliette's best friend's fiancé didn't like Daniel. Though that last might be simple only because I read too many novels. I suspected whodunit from the moment we met that person, who kept on acting suspicious until the Big Clue pointed Daniel in the right direction.

Historical details were woven into the story. Some aspects were highly researched, but there were also little things that weren't right for the time period, like Daniel being called a detective before the word was even invented.

The Christian element was that Daniel felt abandoned by his father and therefore felt God must have abandoned him, too. A friend pointed out how God had taken care of him and why it's not reasonable to judge God by a human father's behavior. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.