Historical mystery featuring female private investigator Liberty Lane
September, 1840. Novelist and patron of the arts Lady Blessington has hired Liberty Lane to escort a French gentleman to The Hague. For he has in his possession important papers that will assist in the forthcoming trial of Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, the late emperor's nephew who has failed in an attempt to seize power in France.
Plans for the undercover expedition are disrupted however when a body is found hanging in the attic at Gore House, Lady Blessington's Kensington mansion. Uncovering evidence that the murder was meticulously prepared for and planned well in advance, Liberty determines to track down the killer. But she is about to find herself plunged into a highly dangerous game involving blackmail, treachery, espionage - and cold-blooded murder.
Caro Peacock grew up in a farmhouse that, for most of her childhood, contained half a dozen brothers, sisters and cousins, twice as many cats and dogs, no central heating and one bathroom that stopped working every time the spring that supplied it water silted up. This possible bred the habit of curling up in a quiet place with a book, and later, a passion for travel that led to a rather disrupted education. Somewhere along the line, she acquired a great interest in Victorian history––which she considers a much misunderstood period––and particularly the part played in it by independently minded women. Caro rides horses, climbs, trampolines and spends some time every year studying wild flowers in the Alps.
This book is the seventh in the Liberty Lane series and while you can read it without having read the previous six I think you probably miss a lot of Liberty's background if you haven't read them. I am in that situation as this is the first book by Caro Peacock I have read. I enjoyed the book and it can be read as a standalone story but now I want to know more about Liberty and Amos and Tabby - her assistants.
Liberty is asked by her friend, Lady Blessington, to escort a friend of Prince Louis Napoleon to The Hague as he has papers which will aid the Prince in his forthcoming trial. But it seems other people are involved including Mr Disraeli with whom Liberty has crossed swords before in her business as a private investigator.
It soon becomes clear that there are many more people involved in the case than were at first thought and Liberty is none too sure who she can trust in this web of double crossing, spying and deceit.
I enjoyed reading this story set in 1840 with its background of the international politics of time. I thought it was well written and I liked Liberty as a character and she made an interesting narrator. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical crime stories. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley for review.
This is the seventh in the series. I didn't realise this when I started it or I would have begun at #1 as I hate reading a series out of order. However, not having read the earlier books didn't diminish my enjoyment at all. I felt that I got to know the characters quite well and pretty quickly. The mystery itself was intriguing and the murder that occurs took me by surprise. As did the way in which the murder was executed; very devious and chilling. This novel has everything I would expect of the genre; mystery, murder, political intrigue and spies as well as a romantic interest, although the romantic interest took a back burner in this installment. I enjoyed the character of Liberty Lane and the group of people she surrounds herself with. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical crime novels. This is one of my favourite genres so I would really like to read this series from the beginning. 'A Foreign Affair' is #1 and appears to have also been published under the title 'Death at Dawn.'
Another excellent addition to the Liberty Lane series. Glad to have Robert back in the picture even if it was all too brief in this book. I am curious what will happen next...
I like this Victorian Era detective series. This book was different in the Liberty was not hired but asked to help a rich and powerful friend. Liberty is originally contracted to act as escort to a Frenchman who was part of a plot to place Prince Louis Napoleon on the French throne. The goal is to get him back to France with the important papers he is carrying in order to defend Prince Louis at his trial. Instead Liberty finds herself sucked into the world of International politics, spies, lies and murder. At the same time she is having a personal crisis of faith in herself and her relationship with Robert.
I enjoy this series. Liberty is a strong female character with a brilliant mind but at the same time she needs the help of her friends to get to the end of her cases. I am interested to see where the next book takes her from here.
I was confused by the constant references to earlier cases and previous history between some characters, but not others. It would have been nice to not rely so much on the references. But overall, it was an entertaining read, with some good corners of characterization (Tabby the urchin-apprentice, Slater, the unknown spy-hunter) and imaginative events (the manner of death) for the heroine to chase after. There was a lot of closeup on her routine, which was madcap and a little exhausting, even to read. Well done on geography and many details of the time period, but 1857 women detectives? Direct access to a lady's house? A lady earning her grand manner of living by writing on strict deadlines? There may have been several elephant-size anachronisms but i still kept reading.
Investigator Liberty Lane is hired by Lady Bessington to escort a gentleman to the Hague with papers to help free Napolean . Good mystery and Intrigue. Part of a Liberty Lane series