Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Captain Lacey Mysteries #14
Publication Date: 12/17/19
Number of Pages:269

Poor Captain Lacey, it seems that everybody is mad at him in this long-awaited, excellently written, well-paced and interesting mystery. I had begun to despair of ever getting to read another Captain Lacey since it has been twenty months since the last one – but – it was well worth the wait. You can read this as a stand-alone, but some of the relationships might not be as filled-in and robust to you as they would be if you’d read all of the books. Besides – it is just a great series and I certainly recommend reading all of the books.

If you have read other Captain Lacey books, you know that he was permanently injured during the wars and because of the constant pain, he’s just a tad short-tempered. He’s also very honorable, very loyal, and totally in love with his family and friends. That uncompromising honor along with his tendency to be short-tempered often gets him into very ticklish situations, especially since he also has a tendency to act first and think later.

The book grabs you from the first scene – where Captain Lacey awakens in a cold room in Brighton Pavilion – with a sword in his hand – and the dead body of an officer who had been his enemy in Salamanca during the war. Then, it keeps you running from scene to scene until the final exciting, breath-holding scene. What a rollercoaster ride!

Visits with all of the wonderful recurring characters were nice. I love that this author provides us with fully developed characters who are consistent from book to book. Anyway, it was nice to see Donata, Gabriella, Peter, Grenville, Marianne, Brewster, Mr. Denis, and even a return visit by Colonel Brandon. I have to wonder how Brewster is going to adjust to his new circumstances – and how that will all work out.

A man is dead and Lacey has to wonder if he is the cause. It is possible because he certainly didn’t like the man, but he has no memory of doing it. He actually has no memory of most of that evening. When he came to in that room, he knew he’d be blamed for the death if he were discovered there, so he managed to leave without anyone sounding the alarm on him. Did he somehow cause the death or is he being set up to take the blame? He has to know the truth. If he did, indeed, cause the death, then he will turn himself in to the authorities and take the punishment for it – if not, he needs to see that the guilty party is punished.

I hope you will enjoy reading this wonderful book as much as I have. I definitely recommend it!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.