Information

Title: 

Inspector Pim and The Blood of Inferium

Author: 

Riley Perrie

Genre: 

Murder Mystery, Steam-Punk, Romance, New Adult

Recommended Age:

17+

Book Blurb:

Seven stories, two cities, and one fateful night will determine the truth against a background of riches and splendor.

In this Seperium year 1864-S, Inspector Leo Pim is called upon to investigate a murder in Higher Seperium Countryside at Dwell Hall. What he doesn’t know is that this case will lead him into the past he’s tried so hard to forget. 

Seven were there on the eve of Lord Caldwell’s murder, and any one of them could be the suspect Inspector Pim needs to incarcerate, but to find out the truth he’ll have to dig into their pasts and start to uncover a plot led by madness and greed, filled with twists he never would have expected. 

Review:

Reading this book was a roller coaster. Each page was filled with intrigue and left me wanting to read one more page.

I was worried that the several POVs would be confusing but that wasn’t the case once I got used to each character. I fell in love with each character’s personality. Riley wrote each character’s back story so nicely. I’m sure anyone reading this book will love all of them. 

Each time I thought I knew who the murderer was I was wrong. Riley set up the story and world-building beautifully. She keeps you guessing about the murder through the books. If you want to read a brilliant murder mystery give this book a read.

Be aware that this book is recommended (by the author) for ages 15+ because of the themes. There are mentions of abuse, death, rape, war, and blood. I would recommend that readers be 17+ because of these mature themes. These themes are not overly descriptive in the book but they may be disturbing to some readers and it might be a difficult read. 

I was lucky enough to be an ARC reader for this book, which means I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. If you like a good mystery and also clean romance on the side you will enjoy this book!

Summary: 

(This is a summary of the entire book and while I try my best to omit any spoilers there are still a few but not anything that would spoil the mystery)

Leya Barrett is a pianist, the daughter of the rich Barrett family. She is always supposed to act a certain way and she believes she will never be good enough for her mother. Her best friend Gabriel Hoek is a menace always getting into trouble and dragging Leya into it, but she loves the mischief they get themselves into. When Gabe’s father is no longer able to care for him, Gabe goes to live with the Barretts and they send the two off to an expensive school where they meet and befriend Doren and Riel. After a few years, Gabe realizes what Leya truly means to him, he’s in love with her and hopes she feels the same. During the war, Gabe is declared missing in action and Leya is heartbroken, wishing they had the chance to live their lives together. 

Vienna Sinclair is a natural-born nurse and her father takes her to be an intern at the hospital where she works all through the war.  She sees so much death and loses hope after he parents are taken from her after catching a deadly disease. She works tirelessly to find a cure for the disease before the war. She then meets someone who makes her smile and he saves her during the war, enabling her to make the cure for Lower Seperium. 

Vienna’s best friend is Rosea Dierich. She is a dramatic singer and actor who performs in a run-down theater in Lower Seperium. Before the war, when she meets Inspector Leo Pim she wants to make him fall for her. She leads him on and makes him chase her for what he desires most: to catch the vigilante that always seems to escape him. Despite themselves Rosea and Pim fall in love, something Pim regrets for a long time. 

Doren Caldwell is the son of a man he thinks he will never please. Doren is injured during the war and is sent home thinking he will never be worthy of being called a Caldwell. Leya and Doren become close after Gabe’s disappearance.  They both lost a dear friend and they comfort each other after the war as their feelings for each other grow. 

Riel Mjorn is the son of a prosthetic creator. He is deaf and picked on as a boy until he becomes friends with Gabriel and Riel. Their group is inseparable; they even fight in the war together and look out for each other. Riel hates being in the war and while Gabriel is promoted and Doren is injured he wishes he could leave the fighting to someone else. 

Years after falling for Rosea, Inspector Pim is called upon to solve a murder involving these suspects but to find the truth behind this mystery he must dive into each one’s past and find out what happened. He must put his feelings aside and find the one who murdered the young man in question and why someone would commit this crime. 

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 because of the mature themes of this book.

Content

Beliefs:

Riley Perrie is a Christian author but this book does not have any Christian themes. However, Riley uses the deeper themes in this book to shine light into the darkness. There isn’t any sort of religion in this book, only a brief mention of a part of scripture: “‘Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?’ It’s a quote I read from a book once.”

At one point Inspector Pim has a theory that the murder victim who is a male character may have been in love with another male, but it is untrue. This is only to investigate every angle of the story and it is something I don’t agree with and think could have been left out. 

Violence:

The story is set during a war so there are mentions of death, abuse, weapons, and disease. 

The disease is brutal and characterized by black boils that soon eat away at the body. Some descriptions may be disturbing to some readers. There are mentions of blood especially at the crime scene. 

Rosea is raped at one point but it is not descriptive, mostly just hinted at while being obvious it did happen. This is brought up when she is married and doesn’t want to be intimate on the wedding night because of her traumatic experience. As I said this is not detailed but it is intended for mature readers. 

Romance: 

There is a good bit of romance. There is a lot of kissing, some touching, dancing, getting married, and one mention of a wedding night that is not descriptive. Besides the mention of rape and the wedding night, there aren’t any other unclean romances.

Other Important Things

Disclaimer:

I aim to be as accurate as possible and may notice details that others might overlook, so please keep that in mind. This review is honest and reflects my sincere effort to provide a true assessment. This review is intended for informational purposes only and should be considered subjective.

Links: 

This page contains affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links, at no additional cost to you.

You can find the author’s website HERE. 

You can find this book on AMAZON.

Find the author’s Instagram HERE. 

Extras:

My fan art and BOI contest art