Murder in Regent's Park

The Blind Detective #2

by A.C. Koning, Christina Koning

First published as Game of Chance under A. C. Koning.

1929. War veteran, Frederick Rowlands, has escaped the bustle of London to a small holding in Kent. Despite the challenges of his blindness, Fred has established a secure life for his family in the countryside. But things are not as they seem .

One afternoon, Fred bumps into an old friend, Chief Inspector Douglas, who asks for his assistance in uncovering the killer of an alluring dancer. The serenity of Fred's life in Kent ends abruptly when he is transported back into the whirlwind of London, where he confronts his past life.

Fred and Chief Inspector Douglas have little luck in solving the mystery of the dancer. Instead, they become entrapped in an ominous game of chance, where everything is at risk .

Genres: Mystery

318 pages, Paperback

First published May 19, 2015

Reviews

[Spad53 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't mean to read the second book so soon after the first, but I couldn't resist. It was certainly an excellent continuation, but more like a classic whodunit. Here Rowlands and Chief Inspector Douglas suspect it might be a blind murderer. It’s all very compelling, I couldn’t put it down. My only niggle is rather banal, but I wish those who describe chopping wood on TV or as in this book , where Rowlands who is of course blind, chops wood with a single stroke. On TV you can see the producers have chosen lovely straight logs, not very long and about 10-15 cm wide. It’s not like that in real life, my logs are up to 40cm across, they’re not straight, and full of knots. I’ve just been out chopping and I’m completely bushed, and I regularly miss the place where I’m aiming the axe. I can well believe a blind man can chop wood, if it’s like on TV, but in real life you need to see where the log looks weak, and keep hitting the same place till it cracks. That’s often near the edge of the log, so missing can be downright dangerous.
Talking of TV, The blind detective would make a wonderful TV series.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in Regent's Park is the second book in The Blind Detective Series. It's been two years since Frederick Rowlands was drawn into a web of deception and murder and is now living with his wife, Edith and their three daughters in the country on a farm. Life is very different form their life in London but then a young woman is found murdered in her flat and in her hand is a braille playing card. Police suspect that the murder might have been committed by a blind man who could possibly have links to St Dunstan's Institute for the Blind and Chief Inspector Douglas asks Rowlands to go back to London to try to find out who may be the killer.

Rowlands travels to London and approaches St. Dunstan's with the idea of holding a reunion for the veterans who had passed through there but this is really a pretext for spending time there getting to know the current residents while making the arrangements. Then a second murder is committed and a third all with the braille playing card left at the scene and links to the art world begin to be suspected. Investigating these leads Rowlands is drawn into the society of artists, painting, and exhibitions as well as coming back in to the circle of Lady Celia West, the femme fatale who had bewitched him in the first novel.

Rowlands is an incredible character. His personality is so well rounded and developed that as a reader I feel I know him and particularly love that he is flawed and not perfect with his distraction by Lady Celia but there is never any indication of impropriety or disrespect for his wife on his part which makes him seem so very real. In this second novel I began to feel a personal attachment to his character.

What makes these novels particularly special though is Christine Koning's ability to describe and create a world where the reader is blind with Rowlands and yet hears, feels, tastes and smells the scenes as he does. The writing engages the reader on a completely different level and yet nothing is lost by this lack of visual description if anything the effect is that the reader is even more immersed in Rowlands experiences and gets a much vivid feel for the world around him.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Game of Chance presents another danger-filled murder mystery to Frederick Rowlands, blinded in WW1 but, decent chap that he is, determined to lead an independent life and provide for his family. The book is a charming period piece, from its Art Deco design to the twenties’ slang, which Koning handles with such dexterity; a ripping yarn in which an elderly spinster “raises a shocked lorgnette” and the murders are “perfectly foul”. There are fascinating historical details, but there is also a depth, as Fred struggles with the moral dilemmas of being required to spy on his friends, and ultimately with what it means to condemn a man to death. The whole is beautifully crafted, making full use of its playing-card motif as the characters play out their hands and win or lose.

[Yorky Caz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why but this didn't quite work for me. It dragged and just felt a little off kilter. Worthy of a 3.5

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book in the blind detective series - the second one that I've read, the first being Murder at Bletchley Park. As with my previous read, very interesting to try to understand something of a blind person's world, especially as the author showed that being blind doesn't exempt you from all the character variations of the sighted world. Good characters. The backdrop wasn't as interesting as the one for Murder at Bletchley Park, but still I felt part of the world in 1929. Enjoyed the outcome and reveal.

[Fanda Kutubuku · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has become my new favorite murder-mystery series! I love the premise of a blind detective, it makes him more interesting to read. It's a delightful read on every level.
My complete review: https://klasikfanda.blogspot.com/2026...

[Les Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable book. Looking forward to reading more of this author.

[Harry Dixon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read, but without the intensity of the first novel.

[isa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Married man in a situationship #2 but also solving murders

[Mary Warnement · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m enjoying this series and look forward to the next. I really felt I was in London.
Will Lady Celia appear in all? Will she have a new fiance in each?