Historical Mystery – Page 166 – Flippin' Pages Book Reviews

Murder in St. Giles: A Regency Mystery by Ashley Gardner

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Captain Lacey Mysteries #13
Publication Date: 4/10/18

Oh! How I wish I could fly back through time and meet Captain Lacey, Donata, Brewster, Mr. Denis, Em, Bartholomew, Peter, Gabriella, Anna, Marianne, and Grenville. The times are so interesting, the characters just scream out that they want to be your friend and the mystery is – well – so very mysterious. Then add in Donata’s nasty cousins along with Gabriella’s shocker and you have a fast-paced, cannot-put-down book.

Captain Gabriel Lacey is having a very bad day indeed! To begin, Stanton, a cousin of Donata’s deceased first husband barges into their home and announces that he is going to take custody of Donata’s son, Peter. Then, after Lacey gets rid of Stanton, but before he can console Donata, Brewster arrives and demands that Lacey go with him to St. Giles where there has been a murder.

Throughout the whole book, Lacey is juggling the murder investigation and thwarting Stanton. Luckily, Donata is a resourceful woman and handles much of the planning for Peter’s safety herself. Lacey uncovers a vile and corrupt peer as well as a sea captain that subverts the justice system while he is investigating. How much more can one man get into at one time?

Who killed Jack Finch? Finch was a huge man, a former pugilist and he had been beaten – badly. But, how was he even in London? He’d been convicted of a crime and transported. Did Brewster kill him? Did a former partner in crime get to him? Was it a former victim – he was a blackmailer and a thief, so it could have been anybody. Usually in a crime, there are few suspects and they all appear innocent – in this case, there are many, many suspects and they all appear guilty. Add in embezzlement from the Bank of England and you have a real mind boggler. When the murderer is identified you will be absolutely shocked.

Amid all the pandemonium Lacey’s daughter, Gabriella arrives for the start of her season. She doesn’t want a season or to choose a groom from among the suitors, but she doesn’t want to disappoint Donata and her father. However, all goes well – until there is a proposal. Oh! What chaos!

Luckily, Mr. Denis, a master criminal, is there to lend a hand and to suck Lacey further into his debt. Lacey will pay any price to keep Peter and Donata safe and happy. I know Mr. Denis is supposed to be this really bad guy – and he is – but – I sort of like him.

I highly recommend this well-written, highly entertaining book!

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“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

Twenty-One Days by Anne Perry

Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 stars

Series: Daniel Pitt #1
Publication Date: 4/10/18

I can hardly begin to tell you how excited I am about this new series – and I almost missed it! It takes place in a later time period than I normally read, so I almost passed it by. However, it is by an author whose writing I enjoy and it featured the son, Daniel, of the lead characters, Charlotte and Thomas Pitt, in another series that I really enjoy – so I decided to give it a try. The writing is great, the plot is excellent and I came to really like and appreciate the characters. I couldn’t tell for sure which characters would be recurring in the series, nor could I decide if I thought there would be a romance between Daniel and Miriam – since she is almost his mother’s age. It will be a delight to find out what is going to happen next!

Daniel Pitt, twenty-five years of age, is a newly minted lawyer with a degree from Cambridge. 1910 is an exciting time in which to live. Women are beginning to be more and more insistent about their rights and the field of forensic science is in its infancy. They are able to identify an individual by their fingerprints, bullets can be matched, they can tell human blood from animal and x-rays have been invented. Daniel grew up learning about honesty, honor, and integrity from both his father and his mother. His father, Thomas Pitt started out as a Bow Street Runner and moved on to the newly formed police force and he is now knighted and is the head of the Special Branch. I have read and loved the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series and can highly recommend it as a series.

Daniel has just wrapped up a really tricky murder case when he’s ordered to another courtroom to assist another lawyer, Kitteridge, in yet another murder trial. This one isn’t going well and neither lawyer really believes that the defendant is innocent. They think that, in a stretch, he could be, but they aren’t convinced of it. Besides, the defendant is a total jerk and nobody, including the lawyers, likes him. When he is convicted and sentenced to hang, they aren’t surprised. They have twenty-one days to find a reason to appeal the verdict and keep him from being hanged.

As Daniel investigates and makes more and more discoveries, he becomes convinced that Graves is really innocent. However, he has no idea how to prove it. He believes that his only option is to find out who the real murderer is and his investigation leads to some real soul searching on Daniel’s part. The client is a writer and he is writing an expose that could ruin his father. It isn’t true, but can Daniel prove that?

It was a really great read and there wasn’t a dull moment in it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

“I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher.”

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