The Mourning Bells

Lady of Ashes #4

by Christine Trent

One of Victorian London’s most respected undertakers, Violet Harper has the new duty of accompanying coffins from various undertakers on the London Necropolis Railway for respectful funerals and burials in Surrey. But on her fateful first trip, the mournful silence of the train is shattered by the shrill ringing of a coffin bell—a device that prevents a person from being buried alive.

Inside the noisome coffin Violet finds a man wide-eyed with fear, claiming he was falsely interred. When a second coffin bell is rung on another trip Violet grows suspicious. She voices her qualms to Inspector Hurst of Scotland Yard, only to receive a puzzling reply that, after all, it is not a crime to rise from the dead.

But Violet’s instincts are whispering that all is not well on the London Necropolis Railway’s tracks. Is this all merely the result of clumsy undertaking, or is there something more sinister afoot? Determined to get to the heart of the matter, Violet uncovers a treacherous plot and villains who will stop at nothing to keep a lid on her search for the truth…

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical, Historical Mystery, British Literature, Victorian, Audiobook

432 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2015

About the author

Christine Trent is the author of the Heart of St. Mary's County series set in her beloved Maryland hometown. Book 3, THE CEDAR POINT AFFAIR, releases in July 2025 and Book 4, THE MADNESS OF MOLL DYER, will release in February 2026.

She is also the author of the ROYAL TRADES series about women in unusual professions, including THE QUEEN'S DOLLMAKER (a dollmaker to Marie Antoinette), A ROYAL LIKENESS (an apprentice to the great waxworker, Madame Tussaud), and BY THE KING'S DESIGN (a cloth merchant to the Prince Regent). These books were re-released in 2023.

Christine is best known for her LADY OF ASHES series featuring Violet Harper, a Victorian undertaker with a passion for her macabre work. Christine's latest entry in this historical mystery series is THE DEADLY HOURS, an anthology written with Susanna Kearsley, C.S. Harris, and Anna Lee Huber, which follows the travels of a cursed pocket watch through time.

Can't get enough historical mystery? Christine has also written two novels (NO CURE FOR THE DEAD and A MURDEROUS MALADY) featuring Florence Nightingale as an intrepid sleuth.

Learn more about Christine at www.christinetrent.com.

Reviews

[Daisy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was torture to finish but finish it I did and I’m glad for a very specific reason I will get to. First, however, this was an audio book so at the beginning, I thought it was the narrator who was turning me against it. While narrator Polly Lee has a perfectly acceptable English-accented reading voice her attempts at different voices for each character swiftly became enormously grating. I could have tolerated the try at an American accent, awful as it was, but when talking as the two female leads all that came out was the sound of whining. The further I got into to the book, however, I came to the realization that even if I had read this book myself I would have ended up hating it because I could not abide the “detective heroine”. I put “detective heroine” in italics because I don’t find her much of a detective or a heroine. I can’t believe this is the fourth book in a series. Violet’s modus operandi is to barge into someone’s home or business, accuse them of something like murder, discover from information they give her she’s wrong, leave asking herself how-oh-how could she be so wrong. Seriously, by the time she did that for the fifth time I was talking back to the book. That and her asking herself why she continues to interview suspects knowing she doesn’t do it very well drove me crazy! She just can’t seem to help herself from being annoyingly accusing. Even after the crimes had been solved and everything brought out into the open she still felt it necessary to go back and question someone for facts that had already been made clear.

The reason I was glad I finished? The author’s notes at the end. The premise of this book had such promise. Victorian England, female undertaker, coffins rigged with bells to guard against the fear of a loved one being buried alive, one day one of those bells begins to ring. There is no taking away from the fact this author does her research. Information throughout the book on the pageantry of the funerary during this time is very interesting. The ten minutes of history and facts at the end with Lee reading in her regular voice was well worth listening to. Too bad everything else about the book was so annoying.

[Gloria Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cozy is part of the Lady of Ashes Mystery series. The tale takes place during the 1860s in England. Violet Harper is an undertaker of high reputation. She's against these new-fangled coffins that are equipped with fail-safe devices, such as bells. After all, it implies sloppy undertaking. And she is anything but sloppy. Imagine her surprise when the supposedly dead rise from their coffins. Rather than rejoice over cheated death, she can't help but suspect someone in her profession is involved in something illegal. So she embarks on an investigation that makes little sense to those who insist no one has died; there is no crime.

Or is there? Follow Violet as she gathers the strings of disparate incidents and ties them into a neat bow--once she has dodged an attempt on her own life.

With red herrings tossed here and there, Trent keeps you guessing. A fun read.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars rounded up to 5 Stars.
A lot of readers may find this book's plot too slow for them being more attuned to reading fast paced modern day thrillers. I have grown to appreciate the slower paced Victorian era historical fiction made popular alla writers such as Anne Perry. The slower pace of the novel allows the reader to absorb the environment in which the novel is based. Christina Trent has done a marvelous job in depicting Victorian era London and I have learned much concerning the tools of the trade so to speak of that era's undertaking business. Bravo Christina Trent!

[Ash reads stuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying this series. Violet continues to be the investigative undertaker, to the point of annoying me at times too, like seriously, just relax. Really interesting historical setting, particularly with various inventions happening at the same time (invention of dynamite, invention of the typewriter) and how these technologies changed lives. I may take a little breather from this series though and come back to it in a bit.

[Carole (in Canada) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this one. I got to 26% and started feeling claustrophobic. I have enjoyed the first three books so will now jump to the fifth one. I hate to give any author a bad review. I feel it is more the subject matter and my reaction to it.

[Seema Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tl:dr Historical 19thc mystery with a female undertaker as the protagonist.

Good: strong women, good historical details like the safety coffins, appealing characters

Bad: a little slow

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun mystery. Still love the characters and I especially liked reading about the "safety coffins".

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's plot centers around the Debtor's Act of 1869 and use of safety coffins, in particular those with bells that when the mistakenly dead person inside the coffin pulls the string, a bell outside the ground would ring, thus notifying that the occupant was alive.

Violet Harper is the widow of Graham Morgan & proprietor of her deceased husband's undertaking business, she is also now the wife of American Sam Harper, who is intent on operating a coal mine using the newest technique of blasting w/ dynamite.

While Violet is seeing to a journey to a burial via the Funeral Train, she happens upon a safety coffin w/ its bell ringing. Upon opening the coffin, she finds a young man, very much alive inside.

At first Violet assumes this is a sloppy undertaking mistake, then Violet once again comes across a safety coffin, as she tests the bell, a young man bursts forth from inside, again causing Violet to question the sloppiness of the undertaker.

On Violet's third trip upon the Funeral Train, a young woman becomes hysterical when the safety bell of the coffin she is accompanying does not ring, and the young man inside is found to indeed be dead.

The young men all have one thing in common, they were from society, well off and in debt...

As Violet investigates w/ her newly married Daughter Susannah, both Violet & Susannah are attacked, which forces Violet to include Scotland yard in her investigation.

This book was very interesting as it explores many facets of Victorian society and its undertaking & funerary practices. I was able to guess a major portion of the plot... but this did not diminish my interest in the book.

[Diana Maculan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable installment to the Lady of Ashes mystery series.
In this fourth, Violet Harper is back in London with husband Sam. Also visiting, from the states, is adopted daughter Susanna and her new husband Benjamin. Violet is back as part owner at the Undertaking business. Upon riding the LNR railroad to Brentwood Cemetery, she encounters a strange happening. Upon being unloaded, one of the “safety” coffins reveals a man, very much alive. He is not the first to rise from his coffin, as Violet encounters just such another occurrence on a different visit. She is torn between giving some credit to the usefulness of these so called “safety” coffins and suspecting that there is an undertaker guilty of serious mistakes. As Violet begins to investigate, and question many of the undertakers, she discovers that someone out there doesn’t like her looking into the strange occurrences. She soon finds herself in danger and when her family’s safety is also compromised she knows she is on to some nefarious activity. I really like Violet’s strong female character, as well as the time period (1870s in this installment). Descriptions of the time, profession, and characters are rich in detail, which I appreciate. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Keep it at 4 instead of 5 because of some awkwardness in subplot with daughter Susanna and husband, not developed so I felt it interrupted the flow of the true plot.

[Lorraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This #4 entry to The Lady of Ashes is just ok. I put it down for quite awhile. Then I picked it up yesterday and finished it today. Of the four in this series, this is my least liked one. The plot was too convoluted. It took a long time to tie everything together. The author definitely did her homework. The research is well done,but......

[Marsha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve come late to this series and, judging by the ineptitude of the heroine, I won’t be reading the other books in the series. While the premise of a female undertaker who looks into suspicious matters makes for an enticing subject, it’s not enough to rescue this book from a generally disappointing performance.

Violet Harper is volatile, quick tempered, judgmental, reckless of her own safety, secretive to her husband, family and friends and just plain wrong in her assumptions about everything pertaining to this case. Live people are popping out of coffins and it takes her a long while to connect them with debt-skippers who are trying to get out of town before the creditors get hold of them. I figured that out midway through the book and mysteries have left me baffled many times when I’ve tried to read them in the past. Why is Violet so inept?

She treads on many toes and makes blunt accusations without getting proof or evidence. She is warned to back off and leave matters to the professionals. But she doesn’t. She suffers many attacks because she underestimates her opponents and their strength (a very dangerous mistake she makes repeatedly). The only things she has going for her are her stubbornness, a fair amount of integrity regarding her profession and a nose for danger.

Frankly, she’s one of those people who get labelled TSTL and that’s an acronym that I usually reserve for the female leading characters in Harlequin romances. While I learned more about the undertaking business than I expected, it wasn’t enough to save this novel or pique my interest in any more Lady of Ashes mysteries. Send this book to the morgue, people; it doesn’t deserve to live.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book: Violet makes snarky observations about someone and/or something around her, virtually always in a 'I'm so much better than that' type of way; Violet makes more snarky observations; Violet brushes her hair, with details as to the number of strokes used, etc.; Violet makes some more snarky observations; Violet stomps into someone's home/place of business and accuses them of murder; Violet begroans the fact that she did that; Violet makes some more and some more snarky comments, Violet brushes her hair again and again...; Violet does a stupidly and with huge cliché does a 'puts herself in danger to try and give some suspense to this drag of a read' move; the bad guy does a cliched bad-guy soliloquy then tries to kill Violet; the cliched white-knight in shining armour comes in and saves Violet from her own stupidity; Violet makes some more snarky observations; Violet doesn't brush her hair, but that's OK because Trent added the hair-brushing to the after notes just to make up for it.

This book: is a slog to read. I'm disappointed because the series started well but this book... I doubt I'll look up the next one in the series.

[Rhonda Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

All in all, this was a well written and fascinatingtale of Victorian London. The descriptions and the play of life are wonderful. I am not so enamored of the main character. She is fascinating, there is no doubt about that. Her point of view is so very perfect for what she is, an upper middle class undertaker. Everything about her about being proper, poised and reflecting well to the deceased. What gets me, though, is how she can consider herself a good, albeit, amateur sleuth. She finds a possible mystery, jumps to a conclusion that she knows who did it and why, immediately goes out and confronts her suspect without proof while inTERROgating him in an attempt to get a confession. Yes, eventually she figures it out correctly, after insulting and angering several of her colleagues. They have every right to be upset.

That said, I do want to read more just for the beauty if the writing and the wealth of description. It was a joy to read the story even as the character drove me batty. I had trouble putting it down even as I urged Violet to not jump to conclusions. I was half afraid she would get herself killed before solving the mystery and ending her self appointed quest of protecting the dead from the unscrupulous undertaker she knew had to be the center of the plot.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Violet is shocked when she's picking up a coffin for a funeral of London's Necropolis line, and there is a man who wakes up in another coffin. And then it happens again. And then there's a man who arrives dead but his fiancé believes he should have been alive. This custom of safety coffins with bells, glass, etc is fascinating, but Violet has learned nothing about sleuthing. She's so judgey! She always is, but it really turns on here. Also, she keeps fat shaming herself and I wish that had been left behind in the last book.

Again, the historical note was fascinating. A whole rail line for bringing coffins to a cemetery and mourners back and forth!

[Tiffany Wilhelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not the most in depth or detailed mystery, this rather short book proved to be an entertaining and quick/easy read. I do admit that I was at times frustrated with Violet, the female lead, and was puzzled by her actions (or lack thereof, such as failure to report literally being stuffed inside a coffin to the authorities, but that matter is addressed at the book's end). Nonetheless, this was the first novel I read that was part of the Lady of Ashes series, and I am sufficiently intrigued, so far as to plan on reading some of the others.

[BRT · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a complicated one and heavily covering Victorian funeral practices, among other issues of the times. Violet finds two corpses who seemingly arise from the dead within a month and is perplexed enough to investigate. Not even sure there’s a crime, she has too many possible suspects and no obvious motive but she plows doggedly ahead. As her suspects appear more agitated and an attempt is made on her life, she knows there’s something she’s getting close to uncovering.

[Amy Siegfried · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seriously how does a bull in a china shop investigate crime- the Violet Morgan way. There is nothing subtle about this lady and if I met her- let's just say detective would not be the term I would use to describe her. The most apt term would be meddler which is the viewpoint pretty much (my perception) that multiple characters have of this woman.Perhaps I would have a different perspective if I had read earlier volumes in this series but I have no intention of doing that. NOT a bad book but also not a GOOD book.

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly don’t know why or how I keep reading this series but here we are. The plot of this was so confusing to me and I have trouble understanding some of the characterization. The author takes a lot of time to mention specific details about characters (as well as places, events, etc) that never come up again. Regardless, I’m close enough to the end that I’m going to finish out the series.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as good as earlier books in the series. It's about 100 pages shorter than average, too, and I can't help but feel like it's more like the rough framework for what could be another decent addition to the series. Definitely needed more fleshing out and editing.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was slow starting for me but once it got going I enjoyed the mystery overall. I thought the story was intriguing but I didn't really enjoy any of the characters which is disappointing. I was hoping I'd like it a whole lot more.

[Purple Squirrel Book Parade · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me 3 years to read this book and I only got halfway through before I had to finally give up. I loved the history and facts provided by the author, but the main character (i.e. Violet) did not keep my interest. I just did not find her to be engaging or memorable.

[Laura]

Good story

Violet makes an excellent undertaker and a so - so detective. Her greatest skill seems to be tenacity. Nevertheless, the stories are entertaining and filled with lots of period detail.

[Carly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was almost looking forward to reading this part of the series because of the coffin bell aspect, but alas it was still a struggle to wade through. It seems like I am not the only one that feels this way about the series - maybe I should have stopped after the first one.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reveal was a little weak.

Too many things randomly stated. The killer admitted to everything too easily. Her investigation was just a set of accusations. Hope the next one is better.

[Lisa Heberlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was... okay. I loved the main character but everyone else was sort of flat. Was not as creepy as I'd hoped a book about an undertaker would be.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

while the story was interesting (peoples fears of being buried alive) I di like the notes at the end where the author gives you the facts of the era as relates to the book

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love this series but I just couldn’t finish this one. It saddens me there is a lot different ways that the author could have took. My journey with this series is finished.

[Marquelle Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome job in developing the characters. Loved this series.

[Norla Chee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would definitely look into the other books in the series. The historical setting is realistic and the mystery is worthy.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! This one they can make into a movie, with Kate Beckinsale as Violet and Anthony Hopkins as Ambrose!