Death in the Setting Sun by
Deryn Lake
hbk out October 04
Published by Allison Busby
at £18.99
In this, his 10th adventure, the eighteenth century Apothecary John Rawlings faces what
must surely be the most dreadful mystery he will ever have to solve - the murder of his
adored wife Emilia. Pregnant with their second child, Emilia is taking part in a masque
arranged by an old school-friend and performed in front of Princess Amelia. The masque
goes well, but when his wife fails to appear afterwards John goes to look for her - and finds
her, dying of stab wounds. Stunned by her death, he is discovered holding her body and is
immediately accused of the murder.
Rawlings enlists the help of his former love Contessa Elizabeth di Lorenzi, and in disguise
they both penetrate Princess Amelia's household in an effort to discover who committed
the crime. If they fail to do so, not even the Principal Magistrate of London, Sir John
Fielding, can save John from the gallows. Fielding, of course, believes in his associate
Rawlings, and the "Blind Beak" allows his trusted assistant Joe Jago to help John and
Elizabeth, but 2 more people are murdered and several false assumptions made and
discarded before the Apothecary can finally clear his name.
The cast of characters is varied, and as ever the period detail is well-researched; it has to
be said that the actual culprit is very obvious from the word go, but as Rawlings himself
does not solve the murders particularly quickly this remains an interesting and engaging
novel, a worthy addition to the series.
Death in the Setting Sun by
Deryn Lake
