Monday, January 14, 2019
The Hangman Comes to a Very Bad End
THE HANGMAN'S SECRET
A Victorian Mystery # 3
Laura Joh Rowland
Crooked Lane Books
January 8, 2019
An early morning knock on the door summons photographer Sarah Bain and her associates, Lord Hugh Staunton and former street urchin, Mick O'Reilly to yet another crime scene. The three had formed a detective agency based on the success of their first two investigations. However, their employment by Sir Gerald Mariner at the London Daily World has kept them busy. This crime scene is particularly gruesome. The most well-known hangman in England, Harry Warbrick, has been hanged in his pub and in the process, decapitated. The police are ready to declare it a suicide, but our detectives think it has to be murder, and Sir Gerald agrees. Always on the lookout to increase the circulation of his tabloid, Sir Gerald kicks off a contest between the Daily World and the police. The competition can only cause conflict with Sarah's love interest, PC Barrett...again. It appears that the murder is connected to the recent hanging of a notorious criminal; Amelia Carlisle, who murdered many infants placed in her care. No one who witnessed the hanging will talk about it, pleading the Official Secrets Act.
Once again, Laura Joh Rowland takes us into the seamier side of Victorian London, among the highest and lowest members of society. There are a plethora of characters, both old and new, but Rowland characterizes them all so well, I was able to keep them all sorted. Underpinning the main storyline is Sarah's search for her missing father, who may have murdered a child, and her fraught relationship with PC Barrett. In my opinion, the romantic link takes up too much time in The Hangman's Secret and detracts somewhat. The secrets she is forever keeping from Barrett don't augur well for the future, even with a possible resolution in the book. I also found the vocabulary used not in keeping with the time and place and the general tone a little too modern. For example, I have never heard the word "candy" used by my British friends and relations. They all use "sweet." Those problems do not detract from the excellence of the plotting and characterization, however.
Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane for an advance digital copy. The opinions are my own.
RATING-3.5 Stars
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