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Robert Fairfax #2
The Devil's Highway
Traveling to his new employer's country home, private tutor Robert Fairfax discovers a tipped stagecoach-and the dead bodies within it. But this is more than a robbery. And the victims are not who they appear to be...
312 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
3 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Hannah March
12 books7 followersHannah March is a pseudonym used by the author who was born and brought up in Peterborough on the edge of the Fens and was a student on the University of East Anglia MA Course in Creative Writing under Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter. He is married and lives in Peterborough.
A pseudonym used by Tim Wilson.
Also wrote under the names T.R. Wilson and Jude Morgan.
A pseudonym used by Tim Wilson.
Also wrote under the names T.R. Wilson and Jude Morgan.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 5, 2018
I enjoyed this book though I had not read the first in the series. This is a Georgian mystery which makes excellent use of horses for various forms of transport around the gentle countryside. A highwayman is robbing coaches and carts, and now he turns to murder. But a tutor to young gentlemen looks into the matter as an agent for his current employer, the magistrate. He finds that some of the passengers were not who they claimed or have gone missing from the coach.
Oddly for a man named Fairfax (faxi meaning horse in Norse) our protagonist is not a confident rider, but he gets better during the book by spending a lot of time on a gentle mare. Contrastingly, he sees a Methodist preacher's sermon broken up by violence and learns that not all marriages are happy ones. We also learn about banking, the Enclosure Act and how men leaving the Armed forces often had no work but robbery. I admire the look at the whole society, servants, rich, and the afflicted among them.
The book contains many minor spelling mistakes which is odd for a traditional publisher. This is an unbiased review.
Oddly for a man named Fairfax (faxi meaning horse in Norse) our protagonist is not a confident rider, but he gets better during the book by spending a lot of time on a gentle mare. Contrastingly, he sees a Methodist preacher's sermon broken up by violence and learns that not all marriages are happy ones. We also learn about banking, the Enclosure Act and how men leaving the Armed forces often had no work but robbery. I admire the look at the whole society, servants, rich, and the afflicted among them.
The book contains many minor spelling mistakes which is odd for a traditional publisher. This is an unbiased review.
February 16, 2014
For once a mystery I didn't solve long before the end. I am going to have to find the others in this series--I really like the main character and the time period. It is nice to find a historically accurate mystery for a change--usually very modern ideas are forced on all of the characters these days. My only complaint is that my copy is incredibly full of typos that would drive the hero, Fairfax, completely batty. A few times they even made the meaning of the sentence a little hard to discern. So, take note, publisher--keep a closer eye on the proofreading and printing next time!
April 1, 2014
I enjoyed this class. Good History mixed in w/mystery. I was chasing after the wrong person throughout the book.
Good details of life in the early 1700's in England.
Good details of life in the early 1700's in England.
June 21, 2020
Fascinating look at England in the Georgian period, complete with the language of the day. This does make it just a little difficult to absorb the plot as you decipher what is really being said. The descriptions are so well-written I could see the places in England I have visited. I enjoyed it enough to read more.
July 27, 2023
Bravo, bravissimo Jude Morgan. Bravo per la perfetta ambientazione edoardiana, bravo per la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, e ancor più per aver costruito un vero mistery, dall'impossibile soluzione.
Sono ormai diventata una fan di Robert Fairfax, e leggerò anche gli altri romanzi della serie
Sono ormai diventata una fan di Robert Fairfax, e leggerò anche gli altri romanzi della serie
November 16, 2017
I’ve enjoyed reading these historical mysteries. They are well written with interesting plots. Look forward to reading more.
January 4, 2020
A fun mystery.
April 27, 2012
I got a kick out of this novel. I don't know how I came by it or when, but I unearthed it in our recent move and -- unlike just about every other novel I found in the same box -- I not only made it past the 10 page mark, but I kept on going.
The plot is this: a coach has been run off the road and the coachman and the passengers are all dead. One man who was feared to be killed is actually alive, and a woman who ought to have been on the coach is missing. The hero Fairfax, a sort of secretary to the local JP, must sift through the not-quite-usual suspects to determine who is responsible.
I loved it. I mean, it was like Midsomer Murders with periwigs.
I subtracted a star because there were too many characters. I'm not talking suspects: there just were too many characters. I could keep track of them, but words that could have been used for primary character development (and while I liked the hero, he doesn't change over the course of the novel at all). Also, there were some bad copyediting errors. Given how many English degrees will work for food, I don't even know how that happens.
The plot is this: a coach has been run off the road and the coachman and the passengers are all dead. One man who was feared to be killed is actually alive, and a woman who ought to have been on the coach is missing. The hero Fairfax, a sort of secretary to the local JP, must sift through the not-quite-usual suspects to determine who is responsible.
I loved it. I mean, it was like Midsomer Murders with periwigs.
I subtracted a star because there were too many characters. I'm not talking suspects: there just were too many characters. I could keep track of them, but words that could have been used for primary character development (and while I liked the hero, he doesn't change over the course of the novel at all). Also, there were some bad copyediting errors. Given how many English degrees will work for food, I don't even know how that happens.
June 29, 2010
The Signet paperback edition is a typographical trainwreck. Every page or two contained an error of some kind. All that eye-rolling and head-shaking in disgust definitely slowed down the narrative. -*
However, the characters are interesting: the less-than-grieving widow, the would-be murderer who accepts his unusual morals, the lay preacher who is both distasteful and likable, the pompous and loyal employer, the supposed victim whom you wish had really been murdered.....
The plot is strong. The puzzle that Fairfax sets out to solve is complex, and his solution is gratifying. ****
I'll certainly look for another of March's books and I hope the publisher saw fit to hire a proofreader for that one.
However, the characters are interesting: the less-than-grieving widow, the would-be murderer who accepts his unusual morals, the lay preacher who is both distasteful and likable, the pompous and loyal employer, the supposed victim whom you wish had really been murdered.....
The plot is strong. The puzzle that Fairfax sets out to solve is complex, and his solution is gratifying. ****
I'll certainly look for another of March's books and I hope the publisher saw fit to hire a proofreader for that one.
November 29, 2012
Overall it was a good read, engaging and not to deep, but deep enough that I didn't figure out the mystery. (A little twisty but NO where near as twisty as Jonathon Kellerman)The main character was sympathetic and not too out of step with his time. Several of the side characters were well drawn and sympathetic.
I was a bit annoyed by the mixing of period slang and terminology with more modern slang. Seriously, if the author goes through the effort of looking up period terminology in places why not do it over the whole book. It was jarring in places, but not enough to take my attention away from the book or stop me reading it.
I was a bit annoyed by the mixing of period slang and terminology with more modern slang. Seriously, if the author goes through the effort of looking up period terminology in places why not do it over the whole book. It was jarring in places, but not enough to take my attention away from the book or stop me reading it.
November 14, 2012
This was a decent historical mystery. There's not really anything that makes this series stand out, but it's still perfectly enjoyable.
September 26, 2015
While it was a good mystery, the characters and their dialogue just didn't seem to fit the time period and that threw me off. I expected more.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews