Mark
Bowerman has been receiving training in shooting from thief-taker
Paul Skillen to enable him to stand a chance in a duel. Before
this can take place, the duel is interrupted by the Bow Street
Runners, who have been tipped off, and everybody involved
is arrested. This might have saved Bowerman’s life but
shortly after he is found dead outside an empty house. The
man most likely to have killed him is his rival in love, but
it looks as though this is not the case. The Skillen brothers
must untangle whodunit and get the better of their bumbling
rivals.
Edward Marston invariably comes up with a lively and involving
tale in all his books and although this is not my favorite
of his series, this is the strongest entry in it to date.
The characters are all well known to us now and we can enjoy
their exploits as the Skillens skillfully detect, the Runners
blunder about comically and Hannah emotes in her latest theatrical
role. There is plenty therefore to enjoy in particular the
complex plot involving a beautiful woman, her suitors and
how they fit into the puzzle as well as a case of fraud, a
kidnapping and plenty of general action. Mr Marston is at
his best when writing about detecting and the other part of
the story involving Hannah and her play gets a little wearing
after it is revisited over and over again with no progress.
The flyleaf says the story takes place in 1817, while on the
first page there is a date of 1816; this latter was the famous
“year without a summer” but this is not mentioned
anywhere. These minor points aside, this is a book that hits
the ground running with vigorous events happening on every
page, and therefore a lot to recommend it. The Regency period
is most often depicted in romances which focus usually solely
on high society, so it is a treat to read about the seamier
side and see what else was happening. This is now shaping
up to be yet another of the talented and versatile Mr Marston’s
entertaining mystery series.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Shadow
of the Hangman #1
Steps
To The Gallows #2
Date
With The Executioner #3
Fugitive
From The Grave #4
Rage
of the Assassin #5
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