If you are looking for a mystery that is set back in history with a strong female character, then THE CABINETS OF BARNABY MAYNE by Elsa Hart just might be for you. Overall I like the storyline and enjoyed reading once I got halfway through the novel. It started out a bit slower than what I am used to in a mystery as I love a lot of action but once I got to the point of the actual story it became more interesting to me. Hart used a lot of descriptions throughout the novel so it was heavy in explaining how someone or a room would look. Her wording at times kept the book lively which I also liked and showed a strong sense of the era, 1703.
In London during 1703, Cecily Kay is invited to the Mayne’s house to study her passion for plants. She is in awe of Barnaby Mayne’s cabinets that hold many collections of bones, books, and other artifacts a collector would require. During a tour of his cabinets, he is found murdered and the one who confesses to it seems out of character for him to commit such a crime. Cecily is on a mission to prove that an innocent man should not do the time and is determined to find the real killer.
THE CABINETS OF BARNABY MAYNE is a well-written novel and looks like there is room to continue the storyline with such a strong character as Cecily if Hart wanted to. In the 1700s women were usually not as resilient as a character as Cecily which gives a breath of fresh air to the era. Elsa Hart’s protagonist is one I really enjoy even though it is a different mystery than what I am used to.
From the author of the acclaimed Li Du novels comes Elsa Hart's new atmospheric mystery series.
London, 1703. In a time when the old approaches to science coexist with the new, one elite community attempts to understand the world by collecting its wonders. Sir Barnaby Mayne, the most formidable of these collectors, has devoted his life to filling his cabinets. While the curious-minded vie for invitations to study the rare stones, bones, books, and artifacts he has amassed, some visitors come with a darker purpose.
For Cecily Kay, it is a passion for plants that brings her to the Mayne house. The only puzzle she expects to encounter is how to locate the specimens she needs within Sir Barnaby’s crowded cabinets. But when her host is stabbed to death, Cecily finds the confession of the supposed killer unconvincing. She pays attention to details--years of practice have taught her that the smallest particulars can distinguish a harmless herb from a deadly one--and in the case of Sir Barnaby’s murder, there are too many inconsistencies for her to ignore.
To discover the truth, Cecily must enter the world of the collectors, a realm where intellect is distorted by obsession and greed. As her pursuit of answers brings her closer to a killer, she risks being given a final resting place amid the bones that wait, silent and still, in the cabinets of Barnaby Mayne.
© 2003-2026