Book Review – Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee

 

 

Heiress of Nowhere by Stacey Lee is about a young woman, Lucy Nowhere, searching for the killer she believes murdered both her benefactor and her father.

In 1918, on Orcas Island, Washington, Lucy Nowhere has spent all eighteen years of her life working on the vast and remote estate of an eccentric shipbuilder. He found her in a green canoe when she was a newborn baby. Although the island is the only home she has ever known, Lucy dreams of leaving and discovering the rest of the world. In just a few days, she plans to leave for college and finally take control of her own destiny.

Everything changes when she discovers the severed head of her employer washed up on the beach. Rumors quickly spread that something dark and supernatural is at play. Lucy, however, doesn’t believe in myths or superstitions and is convinced the killer is human. As she searches for the truth, suspicion begins to fall on her after she is named the heiress to the entire estate. Will Lucy be able to uncover the truth before it’s too late?

I’ve read two other books by the author and enjoyed them, and I do think the author writes engaging historical fiction novels. However, I was very disappointed by this book. It felt overly long and boring at times, and I also thought the writing could be confusing. I remember one character seemingly fainting and dying when the estate owner died, only for that same character to later appear alive during the reading of the will. Moments like that made parts of the story feel unclear and difficult to follow.

I also felt like Lucy spent most of the book fumbling her way through situations instead of coming across as strong or capable. She was also far too trusting with certain information, even after her caretaker repeatedly warned her not to trust anyone. The killer ended up being someone I suspected, although there were still a few unexpected secrets revealed along the way.

I didn’t really care for any of the characters. Lucy wasn’t especially likable or interesting to me, and I didn’t enjoy the love triangle since it didn’t seem to add much to the overall story. I’m also not sure why the author included some of the supernatural elements without giving them more context or making them a bigger part of the plot. While I found this novel lackluster, I would still be open to reading more books by the author.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and were not influenced by the publisher or author.