Anna Mazzola was introduced to me by Antonia Hodgson at last years Theakstons Crime Festival, and when I heard her talking about The Clockwork Girl in the Theakstons tent as I drank Malibu, despite being slightly tipsy, I can still remember how intrigued by the plot I was, and when Isis offered me the opportunity to read it with a free copy before its release on the 1st of this month I couldn’t turn down that opportunity.
Historical crime novels like those of Hodgson and Mazzola are both deeply layered. But, as I read through it, I couldn’t help think of Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s Daughters of Night as well, because of the similarities in plot, as they both deal with the underbellies of prostitution in both France in the case of Mazzola and the UK in the case of Shepherd-Robinson.
With high class intrigue throughout the plot, as children go missing throughout France, Mazzola’s protagonist Madeleine is tasked to investigate a local clock maker, secretly by the police. Automata is a really fascinating way of experiencing this period of French history.
As the plot line gets darker and darker and you struggle to see who is the innocent one, I couldn’t put the book down and was slightly frustrated that I was unable to finish it earlier as I was reading it via my laptop and not able to review it like I often do in bed. This novel was a great introduction to Mazzola’s work and I will definitely have to read the other two.
Thanks once again to Isis for providing me with a copy of this book.
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