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First
Sentence: I had an appointment on Lady Day, not have a week
away, to face a man in a duel.
In a
case that is very personal for Cpt. Lacey, two young men were
brutally attacked in a squalid area of London; one murdered
and the other at death's edge. With the help of Lacey's friends
and acquainted, the investigation involves illegal trade and
illegal actions in a plot with elements very relevant today.
Gardner's
Captain is a very interesting and appealing character who
was not raised with wealth, but has learned to be fairly comfortable
with wealthy society while maintaining his edginess. Having
been in war, his views are often more tolerant than those
around him. He views himself as "A realist, I would say,
… I've learned to take things as they come." He
is, however, intolerant of injustice.
Gardner
is such a good writer that she takes you from the tension
of the scene of a duel, to the passion of the bedroom conveying
all the passion while the "action" is completely
behind closed doors.
Although
each book can be read as a standalone, the characters grow
and their lives change with each book in the series. For those
who have been following the series, we do learn more about
one of the secondary characters that is unexpected and rather
delightful. Each character is well developed with attributed
and, certainly, flaws. Certainly, none of them are boring.
Gardner
provides an excellent look into the attitudes and social structure
of the time. It's not always a pretty picture, but it is,
I suspect, a very realistic one. One thing of which you become
aware is that some attitudes--very important from the 1700s
until now--how very little has changed. Yet for those elements
of life which are less critical, customs have changed greatly.
Murder
in Grosvenor Square is a very good read with twists and
turns and a wonderful ending.
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