Murder on Black Swan Lane

By Andrea Penrose

Lord Wrexford is a man of science and as such is often heard having words with Reverend Josiah Holworthy. The current caricature drawn by the well-known A. J. Quill not only shows this but also the wayward lifestyle of Lord Wrexford.  Quill’s drawings often include unknown details of situations that keep the beau monde watching their backs.  Thus, when Holworthy’s body is discovered within his church and Quill’s detailed drawing show more than just a murder, the Bow Street Runners naturally look to Wrexford as their key suspect.  Using details of Quill’s drawing of the scene, Wrexford sets out to discover the person behind the drawings and find out how he acquires these hidden details and help Wrexford catch the killer before he finds himself at the end of the hangman’s noose.

Filled with rumors and legends of alchemy, Murder on Black Swan Lane is an entertaining look at society during regency England.  Some reviewers have compared this with c.s. Harris’s Sebastian St. Cyr novels.  Harris’s books of this time are filled with more meaty political details.  Though Penrose’s book looks at the huge gaps between the haves and the have-nots, it doesn’t go into great detail, nor is it needed to get the reader to see them.  This novel gets to the heart of the mystery and keeps it moving.  Harris’s writing and her books are among my favorites and if, as promised, this is the first of a new series, Penrose will be added to my favorites.

I wish to thank the publisher for generously providing an Advanced Reader’s Copy for my honest review.

ISBN:  9781496710772

Pub: Kensington

Pub Date: June 27, 2017

Genre:  Historical Mystery