Summary: The House at The End of The Moore
What Can a London Opera Star and an
Escaped Dartmoor Prisoner Have in Common?
Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession—the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver’s name and hopefully maintaining Maggie’s anonymity.
Opera star Maggie Lee escapes her opulent lifestyle when threatened by a powerful politician who aims to ruin her life. She runs off to the wilds of the moors to live in anonymity. All that changes the day she discovers a half-dead man near her house. Escaped convict Oliver Ward is on the run to prove his innocence, until he gets hurt and is taken in by Maggie. He discovers some jewels in her possession—the very same jewels that got him convicted. Together they hatch a plan to return the jewels, clearing Oliver’s name and hopefully maintaining Maggie’s anonymity.
Review: The House at The End of The Moore
Famed opera singer Margaret Lee is hiding out at Morden
Hall at the end of Dartmoor, when she finds escapee prisoner Oliver Ward
lifeless at the side of the road. The plot centers around a jewel theft they
both are connected to. On an intense and dangerous mission to bring down the
real jewel thief they have to deal with people as dangerous as they are
powerful.
Having fled from her contract obligations to sing in Bath,
famed opera singer Margaret Lee is in
hiding at the end of Dartmoor. She feels she has to escape to protect herself
and her father from threats and violence. After 9 months at the end of the moor
she is still scared her manager, Mr. Grout, will find her.
Oliver was wrongly convicted for theft of a jewelry necklace
and has fought to stay alive in Dartmoor prison. He makes a narrow escape with dangerous
and violent Prison Warden, Mr. Barrow, on his tale. This is why he ends up near
Margaret’s house, wounded and unconscious. When he gets better, he recognizes
Margaret as the one who wore the necklace just before it was stolen. He
suspects her to be the thief. She thinks she is in possession of a theatre
prop, and is shocked to find out it is real.
Margaret and Oliver
realize they have to work together, so they decide to set out on a journey to Bath
to solve the jewel mystery as well as trying to stay safe from Mr. Barrow and
Mr. Gout who are chasing them. Throughout
this ordeal, they get to see each other bring out their best under pressure.
I really liked the character of Margaret as she tries
to fend for herself in a world of powerful men. I found her reactions
believable for a woman of that time lacking the security of family or powerful
connections to shield her. All her life she has been told what’s acceptable and
what’s not by men, but now she is done with it. She has a good heart
taking mute girl Nora into her employ, when she is harassed in the local
community.
Oliver seems a real charmer with the ladies, and well connected among various groups of potential voters come election day to parliament. He uses his silver-tongued skills for all they are worth to get out of sticky situations. His work in favor of the less fortunate has led to powerful people wanting to get rid of him, hence the wrongful conviction. His political views seem something like Ross Poldark’s, as he fights for the poor and against people whose goal in life is lining their own pockets whatever it takes.
This story contains some seriously unsavory characters. Well done! Prison Warden and law enforcement officer Sebastian Barrow in particular, who has his very own interpretation of what trust in God entails. I find him to be a violent, dangerous and appalling man. When dealing with prisoners, knocking them senseless seems to be his go-to approach. Whether they survive or not doesn’t seem to concern him. He is an excellently crafted villain character with a questionable stability of mental health. He really pushes my buttons. I am pleased to see there is a bit of a positive development towards the end of the story, so stay tuned.
The story is told from Oliver’s and Margaret’s points of view as well as Mr. Barrow’s, who keeps hunting them down to achieve his version of justice and God’s will. The plot contains some intense and dramatic parts, mixed with calm in which the relationship between Margaret and Oliver gets room to develop and, I’m pleased to say, my shoulders get to relax a bit. I really enjoyed the funny streaks mixed into this story, which lightens the mood in spite of the sometimes intense drama.
Oliver seems a real charmer with the ladies, and well connected among various groups of potential voters come election day to parliament. He uses his silver-tongued skills for all they are worth to get out of sticky situations. His work in favor of the less fortunate has led to powerful people wanting to get rid of him, hence the wrongful conviction. His political views seem something like Ross Poldark’s, as he fights for the poor and against people whose goal in life is lining their own pockets whatever it takes.
This story contains some seriously unsavory characters. Well done! Prison Warden and law enforcement officer Sebastian Barrow in particular, who has his very own interpretation of what trust in God entails. I find him to be a violent, dangerous and appalling man. When dealing with prisoners, knocking them senseless seems to be his go-to approach. Whether they survive or not doesn’t seem to concern him. He is an excellently crafted villain character with a questionable stability of mental health. He really pushes my buttons. I am pleased to see there is a bit of a positive development towards the end of the story, so stay tuned.
The story is told from Oliver’s and Margaret’s points of view as well as Mr. Barrow’s, who keeps hunting them down to achieve his version of justice and God’s will. The plot contains some intense and dramatic parts, mixed with calm in which the relationship between Margaret and Oliver gets room to develop and, I’m pleased to say, my shoulders get to relax a bit. I really enjoyed the funny streaks mixed into this story, which lightens the mood in spite of the sometimes intense drama.
As the danger
temporarily subsides Margaret gets conscious of some of Oliver’s positive
traits. There are contrasts in this plot which I love. We move from sequences
of Dickensian proportions to opulence in homes of the super rich in Bath.
There is a clear element of faith running through the plot which I also truly appreciate.
Fans of Michelle Gripe will enjoy The House at The end
of The Moor. It is recommended for readers of historical fiction too.
Thank you to Barbour Publishing and NetGalley for
this eARC in return for my honest review. All opinions in this review are
completely my own.
My rating: 5 stars / 5
Book Details:
Publisher: Shiloh Run Press (April 1, 2020)
Publication Date: April 1, 2020
Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B081GGP5GV
About The Author
And guess what? She loves to hear from readers! Feel free to drop her a note at michellegriep@gmail.com.
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