"Charles Dickens's last and famously unfinished novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood receives a very smart and entertaining pastiche treatment in Deanna Madden's Helena Landless. . . . Madden creates a very satisfying simulation of the Dickensian world, complete with eccentric characters and a headlong plot that gathers momentum as it goes along. The best part of all this good fun is Helena herself, a wonderfully drawn character I finished the book wanting to see in further adventures. . . . Dickens fans especially will enjoy this."

"Unfinished at the time of his death, Charles Dickens’, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, has continued to inspire writers. At least five or six books, a mock trial in 1914, four films, a radio play, a television drama and several theatrical performances, have all attempted to provide the missing end. Now Deanna Madden, a very good writer indeed, has also taken up the challenge, and she tells the story from a young woman’s point of view. . . ."