Forever Past by Marty Ambrose

Forever Past by Marty Ambrose
Publisher: Severn House
Genre: Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

Claire Clairmont’s perilous quest to learn the fate of her daughter with Lord Byron enters its final stages in this last in a captivating historical trilogy based on the ‘summer of 1816’ Byron/Shelley group.

Italy, 1873. Claire Clairmont, one of the last surviving members of the Byron/Shelley circle, is determined to uncover the true fate of Allegra, her daughter conceived with Lord Byron. But her quest so far has been fraught with danger, and Claire knows she has enemies who will stop at nothing to keep past secrets hidden.

When she learns of a stunning revelation involving the abbess and Allegra, Claire returns to the convent of Bagnacavallo with her close companions to confront the abbess, and soon finds herself grappling with a series of chilling and threatening events.

As Claire finally closes in on the truth, could someone in her closest circle be plotting against her? And can she survive long enough to get the answers she craves for?

I have not found such an easy reading historical fiction book that is a mystery in quite some time. There is a little bit of everything here. This story contains mystery, danger, even a hint at romance. This is basically classified as historical fiction because Lord Byron, the poet, and Mary Shelley, from the Frankenstein novel, are a part of the story line.

Clair, a character in the story, has been present in the previous series. She is searching for her daughter with all hopes that she is still alive. Their journey, she and her companions, is fraught with danger. Claire begins to wonder just who she can trust.

As you can see, there is a lot more to this book than one might think of in an historical mystery. All of it is very readable and enjoyable. Forever Past is Book 3 in a series titled “A Lord Byron Mystery”. I enjoyed the book a lot, and I think it could be read as a stand-alone. It might have been nice to have known a little more about Claire and the previous threads of the story. However, I think the reason for this is because Marty Ambrose has made the story so interesting that you want more, not because you need more background to enjoy the story.