Novel Visits's Reviews > The Marsh Queen

Thanks to @gallerybooks for an ARC of #TheMarshQueen.

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙎𝙃 𝙌𝙐𝙀𝙀𝙉 by debut author Virginia Hartman has the unfortunate distinction of being compared to 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘥𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 by Delia Owens. Those are some big shoes to fill! This is the story of Loni, originally from the Florida wetlands, but for many years safely ensconced as a bird artist at the Smithsonian. Loni has been called back home because her mother is falling deeper and deeper into dementia and Loni's younger brother has decided to move her into assisted living. He needs help.⁣
⁣
Loni’s father died a mysterious death when she was young and her relationship with mom was never quite the same after that, so returning to Florida is not what she wants. The story explores family relationships, the mystery surrounding her father’s death, and a related mystery Loni finds among her mother’s things. Despite the layers of “suspense” embedded in the story, the tension level never really ramped up. Nothing was unbelievable, but for me, it wasn’t all that compelling, either. I had no trouble getting through this book, but it also wasn’t close to the experience of reading 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘥𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨. Had the blurb not suggested that it would be, I might have had different expectations. I may have actually liked 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩 𝘘𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 for what it was instead of being disappointed in what it wasn't. ⁣
⁣