The Clockwork Detective by R.A. McCandless is my first steampunk story and unfortunately will probably be the last. I could not seem to get into this book and struggled to finish or even like any of the characters.

This one sadly just didn't work for me , and I tried, but I just kept putting it down after read just a few pages .

What an exhilarating read, a definite page-turner.

The Clockwork Detective is one I will read over and over again in the future.

Synopsis:
Aubrey Hartman left the Imperial battlefields with a pocketful of medals, a fearsome reputation, and a clockwork leg. The Imperium diverts her trip home to investigate the murder of a young druid in a strange town. She is ordered to not only find the killer but prevent a full-scale war with the dreaded Fae. Meanwhile, the arrival of a sinister secret policeman threatens to dig up Aubrey’s own secrets – ones that could ruin her career. It soon becomes clear that Aubrey has powerful enemies with plans to stop her before she gets started. Determined to solve the mystery, Aubrey must survive centaurs, thugs, and a monster of pure destruction.

I'm hooked on this new series. The mix of steampunk and and fantasy allows me to escape from everyday stresses.

This wants a good edit, both in terms of grammar (fragmentary sentences that don't seem to be added for style, but look like they were just forgotten about; occasional dialogue switching between characters with no indication in the formatting or text) and in terms of continuity (so many things are raised and never resolved!). The writing is a little clunky, which makes it hard to get into, and though I can see that the author was trying to sidestep info-dumping by dropping small pieces of backstory into the action, it comes across more like this is the second book in a series, rather than the first; I felt I was constantly reaching after character history that I seemed to be expected to know. It does get bonus points for being queer-positive and having a good concept, but unfortunately, this was too unpolished for me to enjoy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Excellent beginning to a series, and I'm patiently waiting for some more to come out. (And getting the short story collections that feature our main character!) Solid basis for a good steampunk world, and good character development so far.

Good book. Not very memorable. Plot was predictable in some aspects, intriguing in another.
I do like the fact that there were some twists and spins that might have surprised me from time to time.
It was a good mystery.
I was a lousy romance.
Overall, recommended read.

The last couple of years have brought a slew of wonderful steampunk adventures with resourceful, kick-ass heroines, and this one by McCandless is a worthy addition. Aubrey Hartmann is a veteran of recent war, having lost the lower part of one leg, and now works as a constable. Her prosthetic is a clockwork device that needs to be rewound regularly and isn’t a perfect fit but does keep her mobile, if in pain. As a result, she’s become addicted to laudanum (opium). Her current assignment involves investigating the murder of a druwyd (druid, local witch-doctor holy man) in a little town near the Fae-ruled Dark Wood. Here is where the world-building of The Clockwork Detective sharply deviates from the usual Victorian gears-and-whistles steampunk. Magic is not only real, it’s part of everyday life, and the human wars are overshadowed by the possibility of a terrible conflict with the Fae.

Aubrey’s research leads her into the Dark Wood to question the denizens there, those being centaurs, who are not only fierce fighters but wonderfully oblique and weird. The blending of Victorian mechanistic steampunk, mythology, and magic is seamless and believable. The story moves from murder mystery to international thriller to magical encounters of the terrifying kind. Aubrey herself is a wonderful combination of vulnerable addiction, resourcefulness, keen intelligence, and general all-around bloody-mindedness. I look forward to reading her further adventures!

The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to praise it. Although chocolates and fine imported tea are always welcome.

This was something I was absolutely sure I was going to love. It has all the pieces that sounded great. While I really enjoyed parts of this story I had a much harder time with this one than I was anticipating.

The first half of the book was slow with a lot of information about the world and the situation Constable Aubrey finds herself in. I especially enjoyed Aubrey as a character. She was intelligent and interesting. The city she finds herself in is also in an interesting position as it is growing very quickly and encountering new challenges every day. The second half of the book really picked up the pace and I was more interested in picking it up after the half way point.

The writing itself was confusing. There is a lot going on in this world and I had the sense we will see more in future books. However, the surface level introduction in this book was just confusing and limited. I liked this book enough that I would read more so I hope there is more explanation in the future.

Personally I love when books blend fantasy and science fiction so I did really enjoy the steampunk elements. I enjoyed the character interactions as well. Overall I wanted even more steampunk and fantasy elements incorporated into this story. I enjoyed the fae and other elements that were included, but I craved more.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book.

The first book in a new steampunk fantasy mystery series, though not one of my favorite titles of the year I enjoyed it as a story, and would consider reading another in the series

The Clockwork Detective is the first book in a new steampunk mystery series by R. A. McCandless. Released 7th May 2019 from Ellysian, it's 317 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a competently written mystery with good characters, rendered well. The main protagonist is a flawed war hero who is a pragmatist on her way to an assignment in another city when she receives orders to make a detour to investigate a suspicious death in the provinces.

Apart from the tendency on the part of the author to go for the easy option with word choices in setting and environment (druwyd, Haenlein, two different secondary characters named Alina, Bergen/krona), the characterizations and world building are quite well done. The narrative is technically very good with a well defined, smooth tension arc and a satisfying denouement. There aren't a lot of surprises, but the book is mostly character driven, so seeing their development made it an enjoyable read. I was sometimes confused by the abrupt appearance and rapid disappearance of a number of secondary characters (Maritta) and plot threads, but I am willing to see if the disparate threads are picked up later. I appreciated the positive (not overemphasized) depiction of LGBTQIA+ characters. That being said, this volume is refreshingly free of overt romance and there's no graphic sexual content. There's one threatened sexual assault against the MC, but she dispatches the mob with aplomb. The language is quite clean and there's nothing scandalous. I loved the airships. Everyone loves airships.

I enjoyed reading the book very much and look forward to seeing more in the series. There's apparently an anthology of short fiction at least one of which is set in the same world as this one.

Four stars. Well written steampunk murder mystery. (Airships!)

This is a techno- Sci-fi mystery new series with colorful characters, old England setting but ultimately not my genre..
The cover makes you think historical fiction that's what I thought..

I like steampunk; I like fantasy; but I did not like this book. It felt disjointed and jumbled, and I didn't ever get drawn into the plot or invested in the characters - many of which disappeared abruptly from the narrative. I was left scratching my head, for instance, about the newspaper editor. Aubrey seeks her out specifically to get information, understandably thinking she would have connections to the local area and sources others may not, but everything she told Aubrey seemed like the kind of thing anyone would know. But the two of them flirt, so OK, maybe the information-seeking was an excuse to get those two characters to meet and either a romance subplot would develop or the editor would become a bigger help to the investigation... but no, that one interaction is it. That kind of thing was epidemic throughout, with characters and plot threads appearing and disappearing at random. The world-building had interesting flashes, but not much was fleshed out. It was a lot of hinting around the edges. I thought the mysterious events in the village lacked some impact because it wasn't clear to the reader how much was really unusual for the setting, especially given all the dire hints about the fae sprinkled throughout. An interesting premise but poor execution.

Can I say first, what a gorgeous cover this is? It's what first attracted me to this novel. And then the title and blurb were very intriguing, too:
Aubrey Hartman left the Imperial battlefields with a pocketful of medals, a fearsome reputation, and a clockwork leg. The Imperium diverts her trip home to investigate the murder of a young druid in a strange town. She is ordered to not only find the killer but prevent a full-scale war with the dreaded Fae. Meanwhile, the arrival of a sinister secret policeman threatens to dig up Aubrey’s own secrets – ones that could ruin her career. It soon becomes clear that Aubrey has powerful enemies with plans to stop her before she gets started. Determined to solve the mystery, Aubrey must survive centaurs, thugs, and a monster of pure destruction.
Sounds good, right? Fae in a steampunk world and a murder mystery. I haven't read anything from R. A. McCandless before, so I don't know how this compares to his other two novels, which are urban fantasy. All the ingredients are here, but they just didn't add up to a tasty enough dish for me.
Aubrey is an engaging protagonist with an interesting backstory and solid detective skills. The clockwork leg is a stroke of genius. I think one of the problems is that I wanted more fantasy and science fiction wonder here. What I got felt more of a police procedural than anything else, despite the speculative elements. You could drop Aubrey into real world Victorian London, replace the druids with priests and the Centaurs with East End thugs and the first two thirds of the story would unfold in much the same way.
The final third begins with more supernatural happenings, but then devolves into so many pages of thinking and dialogue that it loses most of its momentum and tension. The ending wraps things up nicely, but again is too slow and extended.
I still think there are things here to enjoy, and I know that some readers have loved this novel, but it just scrapes in at three stars for me.
I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book from #Netgalley, courtesy of Ellysian Press.

Wasn't sure what to think as I started reading, clockwork leg, air ships all very steampunk, then a murder that keeps the Constable in port until the murder is solved. Good secondary characters, and the murder solving gets started which is not clear cut as to who or what caused it. We get mythology and Fae into the mix along with a distant fairly isolated town where the death occurred, an old growth ancient forest that remains to be seen if someone from there is the culprit. It sounds like it would be a mishmash, but it actually was very entertaining. The Constable is a strong woman who lead her command in the war, and uses her memory and logic to think before acting rashly to save herself and others and solve the murder as well as from other worldly enemies. Kept me turning the pages.

The usual caveat applies - Netgalley, free copy, blah blah.
I must admit I was a little surprised by this book. It really sounds like the author has chucked everything but the kitchen sink in, given it a stir, and hoped for the best. There's obvious steampunk (clockwork leg, airships, all the usual suspects), mythical beings in the form of centaurs of the Fae, druids, and a whodunnit!

It really should be a hot mess.

But, somehow, against all odds, it's really quite engaging. It clips along at a good pace, the secondary characters are as well-drawn as the main ones, and it was altogether an enjoyable read.

It's unashamedly 'first in a series', but still holds up well. I look forward to reading the next one.

Weirdly enough, I love the world of Steampunk, but cannot read it that well.

Having said that, I did enjoy this book, took me a while to read it, but read it i did :)

I enjoyed the story, the charecters, especially the MC and her clockwork leg!

I love my kindle ofr instances such as this book, but find I cannot read from it continually, so thought I would purcahse the paperbak for my collection and possible re read in the future, but at £15.00 for a paperback, I do not think so.

I recommend this to steampunk fans and non fans alike.

A complex but interesting read, steampunk with LGBT isn’t much on my menu, just not my cuppa tea. That doesn’t mean it’s not interesting, I know there are others who love this sort of tale out there and would enjoy it.

I don't know what I expected from this book, but a mixture of the Wild West and Celtic Myths wasn't it. It has both futuristic and past features. The Clockwork Detective is a police woman with an uncomfortable false leg due to losing her real one to a cannonball. She has to solve a murder which may be at the hands of the Fae, and which could cause a war.

I hope there will be more books in the series.

This is a new series about Aubrey Hartman, female war hero, turned Constable, who is traveling home by air ship when she is stopped by the Imperium (the government) and tasked to solve the possible murder of a young druid and prevent an all-out war with the Fae if their involvement is suspected.

Reading this book made me realize I need to read Steampunk more often. I always enjoy the genre when I do. This series actually combines the fantasy, steampunk and mystery genres all together which was a lot of fun.

I do wish the author would have touched more on the history of the town the Druid was from, Sankt Andra and their spirit Malusilva a little earlier on then at the end, in the middle of the banishment ceremony. It felt a little late in coming. Other then that though, I thought the story was well written and I'm definitely looking forward to continuing the series.