Review of The Girl in the Tower

[Diana H 1]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Girl in the Tower" by Jill Darragh.]

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3 out of 5 stars

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The Girl in the Tower by Jill Darragh is a fascinating mix of history in the Elizabethan era and the present, combining the perspectives of a modern scientist and a herbal healer by having the former find and read the latter’s diary.

The story begins with Dr. Phryne Howard going to New Zealand for a year-long sabbatical, hoping that no one knows the reason for it. The perspective of her neighbour Tyler adds on to this mystery.

It is there that she finds a package of books containing the journal of a young girl named Cat, who lived with only the company of servants and the entertainment of experimenting with medicinal plants. Quite a bit of the book revolves around the curiosity that is Cat’s living situation and origins.

The culture of the tribes living in New Zealand was expanded upon well, and I found the discussion of morality regarding using a traditional part of it as a component for a chemical remedy very interesting.

I loved how the two women’s lives are contrasted, with the differences due to the separate eras and the similarities due to being females with a scientific temperament whose lives are directed by others.

What I did dislike was how, when Cat gets to disown the people who manipulated her and forge her own path, Phryne does not get to do the same. While her forgiving them and accepting that their keeping secrets and interfering with her life was good for her was a good arc for her, I found her easy trust after everything that was revealed unsettling and unsatisfying.

While most of the mysteries were resolved in a satisfying — if sometimes predictable or melodramatic — way, the question of how the diaries get to Phryne is never answered. This is something I find particularly vexing due to the connection and parallels between Cat and Phryne.

The first third of the book is slow, setting the context for the rest. I found the romance to be cheap, based entirely on physical attraction, far too fast, and a little boring. While there was more emotional depth once they got together, I could not understand what attracted them to each other in the first place.

Since I enjoyed the book despite the pitfalls listed, I rate this book three stars out of five . I would recommend it for people who enjoy fictional historical, scientific, and cultural exploration.

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The Girl in the Tower
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[Kibet Hillary]

It appears that the book's plot is really interesting, but the execution denied it a perfect rating. My curiosity is piqued to know why a modern scientist would go and find a traditional medicine practitioner's diary and what it contained. Thank you, @Diana H 1, for the review.