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

*****