I was a huge
fan of British author Ann Granger’s Mitchell and Markby contemporary mystery series
in the 1990s. When I couldn’t find a new title, I moved on to other authors,
not realizing Granger created multiple series characters. One of them is
Elizabeth Martin, daughter of a village doctor who died unexpectedly, leaving
her destitute in mid-19th century Victorian England. In the series
debut The Companion (Minotaur, 2007) a family connection in London
offered Lizzie a position as her companion and Lizzie had no alternative but to
accept it. Julia Parry, widow of Elizabeth’s godfather, is still distraught
about the loss of her previous companion, who walked away without notice two
months earlier. The police report to the family a couple of days after Lizzie’s
arrival that the corpse of a young woman they believe to be the missing
companion was found in a construction site. The cause of death is plainly
homicide.
Inspector Ben
Ross of Scotland Yard is assigned to the case. He is from the same county as
Lizzie and he reminds her that they met when they were children. He realizes
that Lizzie is better able to elicit information from some potential witnesses and
the two compare notes. Lizzie tries to hide her investigation from her new
employer, as she sees that her benefactor is more concerned about her
reputation than her unfortunate former employee. She also recognizes that the
position that looked like a haven may not be a good place to stay for any
length of time.
Granger was
an old hand at plotting by the time she wrote this mystery, with more than 20
books to her credit; her experience shows in the even pacing and convincing dialogue.
The clues are well placed and as in the best of mysteries the culprit is hiding
in plain sight. The 1860s London setting is gratifyingly realized with period
detail worked seamlessly into the narrative. Granger did her research and fortunately
didn’t feel the need to tell us all about it. The character of Lizzie as
protagonist is someone I could unequivocally support. For fans of historical
mysteries. Readers of Tasha Alexander, David Dickinson, Charles Finch, Robin
Paige, and Deanna Raybourn especially should consider these books.
Published as A Rare Interest in Corpses by Headline Books in 2006. The ninth in the series was published in audiobook and ebook forms in July 2023.
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Publisher: Minotaur Books, June 12,
2007
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Language: English
·
Hardcover: 320 pages
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ISBN-10: 0312363370
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ISBN-13: 978-0312363376
Aubrey Nye
Hamilton ©2023
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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