Title: The Fruit of the Poisonous Tree
Series: Stoker & Bash: Book Two
Author: Selina Kray
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 401 Pages
Category: Historical, Mystery/Suspense
At a Glance: This is another excellent outing for Stoker, Bash, and company and once again, the cover is a beautiful complement to the story inside.
Reviewed By: Lisa
Blurb: When will She open Rebecca Northcote’s box?
Finding lost poodles and retrieving stolen baubles is not how DI Tim Stoker envisioned his partnership with his lover, Hieronymus Bash. So when the police commissioner’s son goes missing, he’s determined to help, no matter what secrets he has to keep, or from whom.
When a family member is kidnapped, Hiero moves heaven and earth to rescue them. Even if that means infiltrating the Daughters of Eden, a cult of wealthy widows devoted to the teachings of Rebecca Northcote and the mysterious contents of her box. The Daughters’ goodwill toward London’s fallen women has given them a saintly reputation, but Hiero has a nose for sniffing out a fraud. He will need to draw on some divine inspiration to rattle the pious Daughters.
Like weeds gnarling the roots of Eden’s fabled tree, Tim and Hiero’s cases intertwine. Serpents, secrets, and echoes from Hiero’s past lurk behind every branch. Giving in to temptation could bind them closer together—or sever their partnership forever.
Review: Selina Kray’s The Fangs of Scavo made my list (easily) of favorite reads in 2017. That being the case, you might imagine how excited I was to get my hands on its sequel. If you can’t, the answer is super excited. So, was this sequel worth the wait? It absolutely was, and I have nothing but an immense love for DI Timothy Kipling Stoker, his enigmatic and delightful lover, Hieronymus Bash, and the world Kray has created from the whole cloth of her imagination as well as bits and pieces of historical significance.
The mystery in this novel begins straightforward enough, as Stoker is conscripted by an influential source to find a missing child. As one would expect, however, the case is neither elementary nor is it one that Stoker will be able to accomplish on his own as he soon discovers. The assignment leads him to the Daughters of Eden, a religious sect that takes in wayward women—those who find themselves in the family way—which inadvertently sends him crossing paths with Hiero and his team (read: family) as they search the Daughters’ compound for one of their own who’s gone missing. The fervency of service and the dogmatic faithful of the Mother, which covered for no few sins inside the gates of the property, find Stoker’s and Bash’s individual cases converging, initially much to Stoker’s chagrin. Tim has been seeking a case more challenging than those he’s found with Hiero’s team, something more stimulating than locating lost cats, and he needs to prove himself a capable investigator. If not to Scotland Yard, at least to himself.
Kray metes out clues and details in perfect portions throughout this novel to keep readers on the hook and guessing who is responsible for a gruesome and particularly horrific murder, all while displaying the desperate measures taken by some women who found themselves in the midst of unplanned, and often unwanted, pregnancies and on the doorstep of the Daughters of Eden. Some might even say at the Daughters’ mercy as it becomes clearer that the cult of personality practices to deceive. The action and suspense were, at times, so all-consuming that it was difficult not to speed read to get through it, but every single morsel doled out was something to be savored nonetheless, and it all built to a climactic moment that then led to everything I’d been waiting for when it comes to the mystery of Hieronymus Bash himself.
Hiero’s past has been a source of intrigue through these first two novels and often, when Tim would get too close, our dear Bash would throw on a façade worthy of the stage, playing coy and diverting to avoid discussing or revealing anything of a personal nature. Hiero’s past is an unavoidable specter, however, and comes back to visit him in a particularly nasty fashion in this installment of the series, which confounds and frustrates Tim because it is a clear signal to him that regardless of how close he and Hiero have grown over the past months, there is still a significant part of Hiero that doesn’t trust Tim with his secrets. I appreciated how Kray used the setting and its details to further entrench Hiero in his memories and how, in the end, Tim realized he didn’t need to uncover all of his lover’s mysteries in order to love him, but when Hiero finally did reveal his past, Tim knows it was the greatest gift he could have been given.
As Stoker and Bash are not the only two characters in this series, I would be remiss in failing to express my love of Hiero’s family too. Callie, the brains, and Han, Bash’s closest and dearest friend and the muscle of their team—not to mention Callie’s love interest—are back and as bold and courageous as ever. Mrs. Parkhurst, Callie’s mother, and her caretaker, Shahida Kala, play a significant role in this novel as well, and I adored how this installment forged a new bond not only between Callie and Shahida but between Callie and her mother too. Angus, Yu-Jie, Ting, Aldridge, Minnie… The whole lot of Hiero’s chosen family show us how dear he truly is.
The touching conclusion to the case, though not without the stigma of tragedy hanging over it, plays out beautifully. And, we are also teased with the forthcoming mystery which will no doubt deliver more murder and mayhem to the team’s doorstep as well as the chance for Hiero to do what he does best—effuse and perform for us readers. This is another excellent outing for Stoker, Bash, and company and once again, the cover is a beautiful complement to the story inside.
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