Alchemy, arcane arts and murder!

-
Murder on Black Swan Lane (A Wrexford & Sloane Mystery #1) by Andrea Penrose


Reading the first couple of pages of this new series I gave a 'Ho Hum'. Except, those Ho's and Hum's soon turned into 'Oh My's. All I can say is that this new Regency Mystery is masterful--a page turner!
The Earl of Wrexford, a brilliant man of science, doesn't suffer fools gladly and has been carrying on a damning, acerbic public conversatio with the Reverend Josiah Holworthy.
When Holworthy is found with his throat cut and his face disfigured by chemicals, the Earl is suspected of his murder. His case is not helped by the cleverly penned caricatures from the caustic artist A.J. Quill that hit the London streets featuring the very public fight between the two men.
Widowed Charlotte Sloane is a talented and clever caricaturist always looking for someone to skewer with her rapier pen work in broadsheet illustrations, created under the name of A.J. Quill, the public name used by her late husband.
When the Earl and Charlotte meet, their combined aim is to find who the murder is and how that ties into the use of chemicals. Arcane practices rear their head. Their search for information on the various chemical compounds in relationship to alchemy is fascinating, as is the fact that Newton apparently was interested in this study.
Charlotte is somewhat mysterious, including how come she understands Latin, (maybe that will become more evident in the future). Who is her mysterious friend Jeremy who has access into the ton?
There is a plethora of fascinating secondary characters. Tyler, Wrexford's valet, Raven and Hawk, two young urchins, street savvy and endearing, and informants of Charlotte's.
The Author's notes about satirical caricaturists and alchemy is illuminating.
A dazzling start to a new series. I'm hooked!

A NetGalley ARC

*****

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things aren’t as they seem!

-
Image
A Murderous Tryst  (Beatrice Hyde-Care Mystery #11) by Lynn Messina    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Bea certainly has a lot to contend with. Bea’s rattled! The Duke has been missing from their bed for a night. When a distraught Bea come downstairs the next morning she finds her beloved husband Damien clasped in the arms of a glamorous female. A female who turns out to be Kesgrave’s first mistress, Mrs. Penelope Taylor! What?! Of course Bea’s heart sinks and she falls back on her painful memories of Aunt Vera’s responses to such a situation. Bea is both shaken and traumatised, but determined not to show it.  It seems Penny has been accused of murder. Actually  Penny’s desperately trying to avoid Newgate.    As a former mistress Penny does the unthinkable thing in society’s eyes. She asks for help from Bea. Bea’s response is just as shocking. She says yes. Kesgrave is as usual inscrutable. Of course this is the beginning of a harebrained chase, complications between Bea  and Amien,  and an investiga
Read more

Women in war—Internment by the Japanese 1942-45.

-
Image
Sisters Under the Rising Sun  by Heather Morris    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fitting tribute to the women interred by the Japanese in Indonesia and Malaya during 1942 until liberation in 1945. Amongst the internees are a group of Australian Army nurses who were not given recognition by the Japanese as members of the armed forces and therefore not prisoners of war according to the Conventions of war.  Sister Vivian Bullwinkle is the only survivor of the massacre of a group of soldiers and nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island near Sumatra  in 1942, after the sinking of  HMS Vyner Brooke. There are a number of civilian prisoners in the camps like Norah Chambers and her sister Ena.  Combined, the story of these women interred under terrible conditions, their struggles and achievements are monumental.  Their gifts to their fellows beyond speech. Music plays an important part in uplifting the prisoners’ spirits. It’s truly a privilege to read about their plight, their vows to each other, and their braver
Read more

The Three Muscateers—three widows, three sets of different circumstances

-
Image
The Widows' Wine Club  by Julia Jarman    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Different enough to be interesting but I kept losing which character was which. I almost feel I need to read it again to follow who’s who. I do know that three women came together to form a support group, going to the pub for lunch etc. Better than the local widow’s group in the church hall.  All three had recently lost their husbands and now had to find a way to face their new lives. Viv Halliday is a knowledgeable gardener. Zelda Fielding is setting herself up with internet dates and searching the web for her unknown father. Janet had a controlling husband who it turned out was having affairs, and their son is just as controlling. How their lives unfold is the new challenge. A Boldwood Books ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Read more