Breaths of Suspicion

Edwin James Mysteries #2

by Roy Lewis

As his rise in the legal profession accelerates, Edwin James seeks to further enhance his prospects by obtaining a seat in Parliament. However, James finds that he must first act as an election agent in what is quickly seen as the most corrupt election in mid-Victorian England. In spite of the powerful backing of senior politicians, including the Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, he finds he is still dogged by old scandals and unforgiving enemies. Burdened by increading debt, James is suspected of being involved in the mysterious death of an old enemy, Lord George Bentinck, and the apparent suicide of the greatest swindler of the day, banker John Sadleir. As he reaches the heights of his profession and finally obtains his seat in Parliament, he finds he is still tainted by the breaths of suspicion that might yet bring about his downfall.

Genres: Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

John Royston Lewis, who published his fiction under the name Roy Lewis, was a prominent English crime writer who wrote more than 60 novels. He was also a teacher, and he taught Law for 10 years before being appointed as One of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Further & Higher Education. He lived in the north of England where many of his novels are set.

Lewis is also the author of several law texts, which he published under the name J.R. Lewis.

Librarian's note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Jane Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is based on the early career of a real person, the lawyer Edwin James. This isn't made clear. But by the end of the book Lewis feels obliged to say, through the device of an epilogue by the step-son who was being told the tale, that the sequence of events is not entirely accurate.
There is no plot. I would have been far more interested in a genuine, properly researched biography than in this rather lazy fictionalised narrative.

[Les Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just not my cup of tea or coffee for that matter. I just didn't enjoy & put away after chapter 3.