Murder in Ratcliffe

A Penny Green Victorian Mystery #10

by Emily Organ

A Victorian wife has obligations to her husband and home. But Penny Blakely is no ordinary Victorian wife.

When a house in Penny’s neighbourhood is gutted by fire, she learns of a connection to an unsolved murder. Penny will always be a news reporter at heart and the mystery is impossible to ignore.

How did a young, middle-class lady fall from grace? And who killed her? Penny’s search for the truth takes her to London’s East End and a notorious street once known as the Ratcliffe Highway.

Her investigations stir long-buried secrets and she soon makes some unpleasant enemies. But will her new husband approve of her exploits and lend his support?

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Victorian

319 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2021

About the author

Emily Organ is the author of over thirty historical cozy mysteries set in Victorian and 1920s England. Her bestselling series include the Penny Green Victorian Mysteries, the Augusta Peel Mysteries, and her newest Emma Langley Victorian Mysteries, in which a plucky widow teams up with former reporter Penny Green. She also writes the Churchill & Pemberley cozy mysteries, featuring two spirited senior sleuths. Emily’s books combine warmth, wit, and a love of history, inspired by her fascination with London’s past. 

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

And so I return

These stories about Penny Green, lady newspaper reporter, and her family are a delight to me. They are a breath of fresh air and a way to relieve my brain of stress and worry . Penny is now lucky in love and her quirky father has been found. This is a charming story as are the other books in this series. Enjoy!

[Heatherinblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

a frequent complaint of mysteries

the solution is sudden and not a direction that anyone had been going! penny didn’t figure it out, someone tried to kill her. though it WAS a good mystery. probably the best one. not so much relationship stuff too. that was nice.

[Pat Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Great Read

I have enjoyed all the Penny Green Series to date and this latest is one of the best! Emily Organ is a gifted author who draws the reader into the story with multiple suspects to consider. Her attention to detail makes it difficult for the reader to determine the guilty person right up to the dramatic end.

[Melanie K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Excellent Penny Green Novel

This is a fast-moving murder mystery involving many suspects in several new locations. It had such a good plot, I finished the story in 2 days.

[Sheila Suzanne Peel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo

It was with pure delight that I read this book! Thank you for writing it. I wish you could right a few books at once. I recommend this series to all.

[Danielle Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story!

I adore the character of Penny and was so excited for a new book! And now I'm sad it's finished. As always I was captivated and had a hard time putting this book down just like the others in the series. I surely hope there are more to come!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in the series that takes place after Penny's long-anticipated marriage. (Hope that tidbit isn't a spoiler!) It's therefore somewhat different than previous books. It feels like an in-between story in which she's leaving an old single life and just beginning to get her bearings as a formerly-employed journalist, now married but not interested in settling down to the usual pastimes that would be expected of someone in her station of life. Thankfully, her new husband, the Scotland Yard inspector, cheerfully aids and abets her independent investigation of a cold case. I found it as absorbing as previous volumes. I'm (still) a big fan of her exploits.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue to enjoy this series. I actually bought this one, though they're all in Kindle Unlimited -- it was quite a while ago when it was on sale for 99 cents. I've already put #11 in my KU queue.

Penny and James are finally married which, by societal rules -- if not actual laws -- of Victorian England means she may no longer be employed. So she's looking for stuff to keep her busy -- writing articles hear and there for ladies publications. But, of course, she'd really like something meatier to get into.

When an abandoned house not far from them burns down and she learns a bit of history of the former owners, she's found her cause: figure out who killed the daughter of the house some 20 years ago.

I kept wondering if the burned out house would become a critical point but, (spoiler?) it seems it was just the jumping off point for Penny's investigation. Which takes her to the East End of London, the notorious Ratcliffe Highway, as well as into the circle of a prominent member of Parliament.

As usual, it's all very well put together, though I did feel, at times, that it was moving really slowly. And, though the pair are married now, there's zero romantic subplot -- which some my like and some may not.

[Clare Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Penny Green series and this one doesn’t disappoint

Now Penny is married and not working at the newspaper, I was afraid the stories may not be as entertaining or have as much humor as they did before. Here coworkers were men who enjoyed teasing her and had a light attitude about their work while they secretly admiring Penny’s diligence. But in this mystery, once again, there is some humor, intriguing facts about places and incidences in London’s history, suspense, and Penny and her husband work together and she sees her old boss and coworkers as she works on independent stories. While things are changing, I sense that it is realistic as Penny seems more confident and more “grown up” as she questions what she does and evaluates her choice. But she sticks to the best of her nature and her talent for getting at the truth no matter how intimidating it can be. If you like this series, you will enjoy this story.

[Ms Sarah E Woodall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing Victorian murder mystery

Another exciting adventure for Penny - now Mrs Blakely and no longer a journalist. This time she's investigating a 20 year old murder and disappearance. One of the best bits of these novels has to be the historical notes at the end of the book. They're always fascinating and bring the story even more to life. I'm hoping there will be more books to follow.

[Nanette Williamson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Police procedural in Victorian London, where even social restrictions on women, which are as tight as their corsets, don't stop Journalist Penny Green from solving crimes. Elaboratey detailed, finely plotted, full of odd characters.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoy this series

Penny Green books are always a pleasure to read. The period of history in which she lives has always interested me and these books are well researched. I find it fascinating that Penny had to give up her job because she married it seems so old-fashioned now, but then I think of the 1950s a d That was two very long ago.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like the Penny Green Series. She doesn't back down from achieving her goals. Emily Organ writes a good tale, putting the reader in the period of the late 1800s. Life was certainly a challenge for women back then.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative and clever series!

Thanks to the author for all the research and cleverness she has put into this series! I hope there will be more as I have enjoyed reading them all.

[Amanda Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs Blakeley investigates..

Newly married and now jobless, as the Morning Express do not employ married ladies, Penny has plenty of time on her hands in between writing puff pieces for ladies magazines. So when she spies a cloud of smoke in the vicinity of her new home it doesn't take much more than that to get her seeking a story.

That the burning house was abandoned and empty is a relief but when a local residents cook tells her that the daughter of the household, Mary Steinway, ran away from home and lived just off the Radcliffe highway under the assumed name, Jane Stroud, was murdered twenty years earlier and it's never been solved there's no way Penny can walk away without a little bit of digging.

It's going to lead her on a chase round the roughest parts of the city and beyond to the hop fields of Kent. She'll meet Mary's former landlady and her daughter, Mrs and Sally Walcott, dodgy Mr Burns who won't meet out in the open, the down on his luck Mr Robert Masefield a friend of Mary's following the break up of her marriage, along with the MP Sir Octavius Harvey, who offers to help reopen the case, Mary's former maid Kitty Rendall, also her uncaring husband the Reverend Loach, and his current wife, Margaret who are adamant that Penny stop investigating and will she be able to find the missing friend Miss Molly Gardstein who fled and hasn't been seen since Mary's horrific death from strychnine poisoning who everyone believes to be the guilty party?

With her usual dogged determination Penny sets out to try and solve the mystery of who killed Mary Steinway, or Jane Stroud, and ensure that her killer faces justice.

Looking forward to another well crafted twisting turning tale from the 1880's soon especially as we head inexorably towards the Ripper era: I caution the author from letting Penny investigate such a well known crime but it would be a great opportunity for her to show the overwhelmed Division H and what life was like in Whitechapel while Jack was making his name.

Penny is a great character who has determination, without arrogance, and gets the job done better than the men who are supposed to be so much cleverer!

[Traci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the plot of this latest story in the Penny Green series ! I thought there were plenty of suspicious characters and action to keep me interested. I never guessed the correct suspect, which made the book much more interesting and enjoyable. I love the various places in and out of London the author introduces us to in every book. Would highly recommend.

[Joy Mortensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murderers Foiled Again!

A great Penny Green mystery-- I love the series! Penny's tenacious interviewing and meticulous research manage to reveal the people involved in a twenty year old unsolved murder.

[Christa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoy the stories in the Penny Green series and like the characters, but I do not find them to be well-written. For starters, you can count on Penny finding that "tears pricked the backs of her eyes" at least twice in each book--a phrase no one uses to describe tearing up let alone uses so often. But the author wrote it once, liked it, and is married to it, apparently. The dialogue between Penny and James--actually, between Penny and everyone in her everyday life--is both awkward and predictable because she has the same conversations with them in every book and even multiple times within each book. No wonder Penny finds middle class life dull and is desperate for adventure--she's living her own version of Groundhog Day (the movie, not the rodent weather-prediction holiday).

[Kevin Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in Ratcliffe, the final book in a brilliant series that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading. I'm so glad that I discovered author Emily Organ and her wonderful books. I'm sad to come to the end of the Penny Green Victorian Mystery Series but now look forward to reading other books by Emily. Recommended reads.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this series!
Organ takes the reader back to a fascinating time in British history and immerses us in the seedier, ordinary side of London.
This individual book is good, but it is the series in it's entirety that is so fascinating.

[Eileen Velez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read as always!!!

[Quartknee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm rating this highly because the story is engaging and if you've been reading the books in order, it pushes things forward with her husband and father. I wish there was more to do with James as I wonder how his coworkers would react to what his wife is doing. I'm sure there would be some pushback and tension for him as women of Penny's station only worked out of necessity so James would be seen as a poor provider for his family.

The case itself was rather slow-moving but each step in the progression revealed new locations along with bits of information about the long-ago murder. I was suspicious of the culprit and never figured out the motive until all was revealed but I find it sad and shocking that Penny was completely blindsided and never actually solved the case. She only really flushed the murderer out of hiding. The 'hero at the mercy of the villain' scene was action-packed with page-turning peril so it was easy for me to forgive the author for not allowing Penny to sort things out or to at least suspect or have even a small inkling of whodunnit.

Sadly, this installment seems to herald the end of this series. From a business standpoint, there should be two more books but from a narrative standpoint, she's going to have to get her job back at the newspaper or risk boring/half-baked cases with a heavier focus on Penny's personal life. James is much too proper to allow her to work with him openly so I can't help but wonder where things are going in her life. I guess we'll just have to wait for the next book to find out.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a relatively well written novel and it’s a great book for this period of time and keeps to the right tone. I would have given this five stars until I got to the conclusion. I can accept the fact that there are no telephones, that people just go places and it takes forever, that the main character is a tad naive considering the types of dark characters she encounters, and that the style of detecting is necessarily very slow, detailed, and yet questions are asked rather gently. That’s why I like reading books set in the Victorian era. All of it works until the end when the journalist/detective does something utterly ridiculous even for that era when confronted with the murderer. Especially after all this protagonist has been through, this is a stupid thing to do and caused my respect for her to plummet.I got over it enough to give this a four-star which is definitely a good review but I really wish the author had found another way in that scene. This is the first book that I have read in the series even though it’s number 10 and now I have book 1 so I will go and read that and see how things evolved from 1 to 10.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now married to James Blakely Penny has given up her career as a journalist, mostly. She still writes but it isn't nearly as exciting as it once was because she is freelance and has her subjects chosen for her.

That is until a home burns down near her present home and she finds there is a sad history that goes along with that house. Intrigued, Penny looks to find out why the daughter of the former owner disappeared and was subsequently murdered. To that end she needs to visit the East End of London where young women should not go or even want to go.

There she meets some very unscrupulous characters that tell her leave her investigating alone but Penny can't do that. Now she needs to know the answers to her questions for sure.

I love Penny Green. She is smart and not easily deterred from the goal she has set for herself.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 4 out of 5]

While helplessly watching an abandoned house burn a few streets from where the Blakelys live, Penny learned from one of the spectators about the tragic death of one of the house's previous owners (the Steinways). Twenty years ago, Mary Steinway was murdered by strychnine poisoning at an ale house in the less salubrious part of town. How such a gentlewoman come to have sunk below her rank was another question that bothered Penny aside from the obvious one... that of her unsolved murder. Some plausible suspects and red herrings here... all nicely woven into the characters' mundane quotidian lives... referring to Eliza's and Francis' but most definitely not Penny's more ambivalent and more adventurous exploits, sometimes even aided by her most understanding and supportive spouse... there was also their unreliable prodigal father.

[Dana Linde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of the Penny Green mysteries, and I can say I was completely surprised when the murderer was revealed. While the mystery-solving did not disappoint, the subplot relating to the return of Penny's father from the Amazon was a bit tiring. I could have done without it. I did enjoy Organ's look at how a woman's life changed with marriage. Thankfully, James is not the traditional spouse. I appreciated how he supported her in her attempts to solve the 20-year-old murder. The crime itself, reinforced more of what life could be like for a woman in the Victorian Age. As usual, I appreciate how the author allows the reader to tour the city and countryside through her setting descriptions. This was another great installment in the series.

[Judith Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Married

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the previous nine in the series. I don't know if the combination of marriage to the intrepid inspector or the mystery of the missing father has changed the prospective of the series. The solving of a 20 year unsolved murder has Penny's investigative instincts on full alert. However, her personality, appears to have changed somewhat in regards to solving the murder. James does not play a prominent role in the investigation due to the length of time passed and the fact it was handled by another office. All in all I didn't love the book. I will wait until the next book to make a decision as to whether to continue reading the series.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thankfully Penny is almost back to her best in this one despite having to follow the Victorian norms of being a housewife and having to give up her professional journalist role. But she still manages to get herself embroiled in a proper investigation into the death of what was a neighbour's daughter who found herself lost and broke after a bit of bad luck. And of course despite the dangers and warnings to leave things be she plows and on determined to uncover the truth where the local police failed 20 years previously. Added to this, her father has returned home and while she's willing to listen to him she has to convince her sister and husband to give him a chance to explain himself. Rather pleased to have the old Penny back.

[Ellen Myer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy all of the Penny Green novels and plan to go back and reread each of them. Character development has been excellent and I stay up too late reading the story. Clues are not always there to who the killer might be, but that makes it more interesting to me. Emily Organ has her own style and the character Penny Green, is gutsy yet "ladylike" as much as possible in pursuing her news story as well as solving a mystery. Uncovering a 20 year old murder of three people was fascinating. Her husband is supportive of her career as a journalist, which I am sure was very unusual at that time. This was one of my favorites- or so I think, as I reread the past stories.

[Linz The Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love this series and always look forward to the next book's release. This is a great series to binge if you have Kindle Unlimited. Just like the rest of the series, it's a quick enjoyable read. The books are around 200-300 pages and are easy to get into. Murder in Ratcliffe is no different. With these books, I love reading about how Penny finds herself in precarious situations and solves the murders. I rarely know who the culprit is, but enjoy how all of the evidence unfolds. Highly recommend it if you love mysteries in a Victorian setting.

For my full review check out: http://linzthebookworm.blogspot.com/2...