Review: Catching the Eagle by Karen Charlton

This book caught my attention because it's based on a true story involving the author's own ancestors (and genealogy is one of my obsessions). In 1809 England, near the border of Scotland, a theft was committed at Kirkley Hall and this is an account of the people it influenced in the community and the Bow Street detectives sent from London to investigate.

It's well written in third person and the characters were well formed but I felt like the plot dragged. It seemed as though the author was more concerned with writing about her ancestors and the world they lived in than with writing an captivating story. In theory, a mystery about a real-life theft and the subsequent trial in 1809 should be exciting but too often, I found my mind wandering.

I think part of the problem was that even though the characters all had personalities and back stories, I didn't feel any connection to them. When that happens, it's difficult to care what happens to the characters, and therefore it's difficult to care about what is happening in the plot.

A good effort from a debut self published author, but if the reader has no empathy with any of the characters, it's difficult to remain interested in the story. That said, the author has written a companion book to the novel, a non-fiction piece called Seeking The Eagle which details the history behind the novel and how the author's family discovered this genealogical event in their tree. This may be more enjoyable.