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The first in what appears to be a long series of mysteries set in Regerncy England featuring Captain Gabriel Lacey, recently returned from the Napoleoinic Wars with a badly healed knee, a bad case of melancholia, and a huge grudge against his former mentor and commanding officer. Lacey is a gentleman but he's broke. What comes in from the army (his half-pay) is barely enough to keep him. He lives in a squalid room in a narrow street off Covent Garden and though he gets to move in tonnish circles thanks to being favoured by society favourite Grenville, he's also friends with a couple of prostitutes who are neighbours, and with Louisa, the respectable wife of the aforementioned commanding officer, now also out of the army. When Lacey stumbles across a small riot in Hanover Square he gets involed in trying to right an injustice for the Thornton family whose daughter and maidservant have disappeared in suspicious circumstances. It leads to uncovering sordid goings on as Lacey digs for the truth and, if not a completely happy ending, there is a satisfying resolution. Lacy is an odd character, very up and down as you might expect from someone suffering from depression and probably a dollop of PTSD as well. He has a sense of honour that he can't really afford to indulge. I couldn't decide whether I liked him or whether I wanted to slap him senseless for being a stiff prig, and an idiot on occasions. What investigator in his right mind goes (without backup) to the home of the person who he considers to be the chief suspect, and right in front of the suspect's thug, trots out his speculative accusations? The historical background is well drawn and seems pretty accurate as far as I can work out.Feb. 14th, 2018
The first in what appears to be a long series of mysteries set in Regerncy England featuring Captain Gabriel Lacey, recently returned from the Napoleoinic Wars with a badly healed knee, a bad case of melancholia, and a huge grudge against his former mentor and commanding officer. Lacey is a gentleman but he's broke. What comes in from the army (his half-pay) is barely enough to keep him. He lives in a squalid room in a narrow street off Covent Garden and though he gets to move in tonnish circles thanks to being favoured by society favourite Grenville, he's also friends with a couple of prostitutes who are neighbours, and with Louisa, the respectable wife of the aforementioned commanding officer, now also out of the army. When Lacey stumbles across a small riot in Hanover Square he gets involed in trying to right an injustice for the Thornton family whose daughter and maidservant have disappeared in suspicious circumstances. It leads to uncovering sordid goings on as Lacey digs for the truth and, if not a completely happy ending, there is a satisfying resolution. Lacy is an odd character, very up and down as you might expect from someone suffering from depression and probably a dollop of PTSD as well. He has a sense of honour that he can't really afford to indulge. I couldn't decide whether I liked him or whether I wanted to slap him senseless for being a stiff prig, and an idiot on occasions. What investigator in his right mind goes (without backup) to the home of the person who he considers to be the chief suspect, and right in front of the suspect's thug, trots out his speculative accusations? The historical background is well drawn and seems pretty accurate as far as I can work out.
