Eighteen
year old Abigail Lawless is the daughter of Dublin’s
coroner and has always been encouraged by her father to take
an interest in things. When a young maid from a local family
kills her newborn baby and is first admitted to hospital under
arrest and then dies she is convinced it is murder. Getting
her father’s assistant to help her gets them both into
trouble, but it looks as though the killings are not going
to stop. Nobody else seems to think there is anything suspicious
going on, but Abigail has been doing some investigating and
knows there is a murderer on the loose…
Although Regency romances are hugely numerous there is a surprising
lack of mysteries set in that period, so a new potential series
is always welcome. This one is doubly welcome as it is set
not in London or an English country house but in Dublin, an
uncommon choice and interesting to read about. I was also
intrigued to read about 1816, the notorious “year without
a summer” which has everybody worried about its cause
and the main reason behind the rise of religious group The
Brethren. Abigail narrates the story and we learn about her
life on the edge of society; friends with people like the
judge’s daughter and invited to a grand ball, but helping
with the chores at home and not asked to dance. This makes
her freer than those higher or lower than her and thus she
is a good choice for somebody able to turn sleuth, albeit
as secretly as possible and at risk to her reputation. The
plot is fairly simple and I guessed most of it, but this is
the first in what is hopefully going to be a series and some
time is spent setting the scene as with all first books. I
hope I get the chance to read more about Abigail and her world.
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