The Sudbury School Murders
Captain Gabriel Lacey #4
by Ashley Gardner
Captain
Gabriel Lacey is back for a fourth adventure, this time away from
his gloomy but eventful life in London and off to honest employment
at a boys' public school. Employed as a secretary to the irascible
headmaster Everard Rutledge, things seem quiet enough until he sees
somebody he recognizes working in the school's stables. Soon after,
he is found murdered and one of his co-workers (who is conveniently
a gypsy) is hauled off to answer for it. Lacey is sure he hasn't done
it, and is also keen to get to the bottom of the increasingly dangerous
pranks that somebody is playing. Grenville can hardly miss out on
the opportunity of a case, so soon the two are once again embroiled
in a murder case.
In the first
three books it seemed as though Lacey was caught up in a melancholy
trap of his own making, and so it is good to see him elsewhere and
with something to do. But one of the themes of this series is that
nobody can escape himself (or herself) and this is just as true
in this book. Amongst Gabriel's own gloomy words and encounters
with his past there is a gripping tale, and a small cast of well-defined
characters old and new. Regency England, town and country is shown
in these books in a realistic light so there is as much to enjoy
reading the author's descriptions of places and customs as there
is in the story. Running through all these books is Lacey's own
story, and finding out what will befall him and his friends (and
enemies) next makes for compelling reading. Something of a page-turner.
Other
reviews in this series
The
Hanover Square Affair #1 [amazon]
A Regimental Murder # 2 [review]
The Glass House #3 [review]
The Sudbury School Murders #4 [review]
A Body in Berkeley Square #5 [review]
A Covent Garden Mystery #6 [review]
Death in Norfolk #7 [review]
A Disappearance in Drury Lane [review]
|
The Book |
Berkley
Prime Crime |
June
2005 |
Paperback |
0425203611 |
Historical
Crime [1817, London & Berkshire] |
Amazon |
The Reviewer |
Rachel
A Hyde |
|
|