Death in the Valley of Shadows by
Deryn Lake
pbk out October 04
(Allison Busby)
at £6.99
The continuing popularity of the historical mystery is hardly a surprise. At a time
when much contemporary crime fiction possesses a hard edge, a good many writers
with a leaning towards the traditional puzzle have found it satisfying to set their
stories in the past. In historical mysteries, less emphasis needs to be placed on
forensic detective work, and it can be credible for an amateur sleuth to solve murder
cases with aplomb. Deryn Lake specialises in the Georgian historical mystery and this
book provides the ninth outing for her hero, the apothecary John Rawlings. Rawlings was
a real character who, the author tells us, invented carbonated water in England, and in
this series he works with the better-known Sir John Fielding, a magistrate known as
the 'Blind Beak of London' (Fielding has also featured in another crime series,
penned by Bruce Alexander). The novel opens melodramatically, when Aidan
Fenchurch pleads for shelter in Rawlings' shop: he is being pursued by his unlovely
former mistress, the wife of a business acquaintance called Bussell. Soon Fenchurch
is dead, and although Mrs Bussell is the prime suspect, an elaborate mystery unfolds
when she too meets an untimely end. This is a breezy piece of entertainment.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Death in the Valley of Shadows by
Deryn Lake
