Here’s the blurb
A churchyard discovery. A shocking secret. A deadly confrontation.
London, 1890. When the body of a wealthy widow is found in the neglected graveyard of St Anne’s Church, Soho, Emma Langley and Penny Green soon discover her respectable façade concealed a web of bitter enemies.
From a disgraced doctor stripped of his livelihood to a governess whose reputation was destroyed by lies, the victim, Mrs Melbourne, left a trail of devastation in her wake.
Then Mrs Melbourne’s Belgravia mansion is consumed by a mysterious fire. Emma and Penny must race to decipher water-damaged papers salvaged from the ruins that could hold the key to the truth.
But as anonymous threatening letters arrive warning them to abandon their investigation, the friends realise they’re hunting someone who will kill again to protect their secret. In the shadow-filled streets of Victorian London, can Emma and Penny expose the murderer before they become the next victims?
An atmospheric Victorian mystery that takes you from the crumbling graveyards of Soho to the grand squares of Belgravia – and will keep you reading late into the night.
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My Review
Murder in the Soho Graveyard is the third book in the Emma Langley Victorian Mystery series. I have read the previous two books in the series (see the reviews lower down the page).
Our two main characters once more find themselves involved in an unexpected mystery, while our cast of regular extras is expanding once more. When Emma comes upon the forlorn figure of a woman sitting on a bench she can’t help but ask if she’s well, and from then, Emma and Penny are determined to help her clear her name of any involvement in the murder of a rather nasty individual, masquerading as an unpright, wealthy Victorian lady while at heart, she’s manipulative and really quite horrible.
There are several suspects, all of them with their own particular axe to grind and the reveal, when it comes, wasn’t at all what I thought it would be.
Murder in the Soho Graveyard is another well-paced and well-plotted Victorian mystery featuring our two amateur sleuths.
If you want to start at the beginning of the series… (which you should!)
The Whitechapel Widow
London hunts the Ripper. A widow hunts her husband’s killer.
London, 1888. While Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror grips the city, Emma Langley’s world shatters when her husband is found murdered in Whitechapel. But grief is quickly overshadowed by a startling discovery: William Langley was not the man she thought she knew.
As panic fills London’s streets, Emma delves into her husband’s secret life, uncovering a web of lies that stretches from glittering society drawing rooms to the seedy gambling dens of the East End. Aided by Penny Green, a former reporter with a nose for trouble, Emma follows a trail of blackmail and corruption.
But exposing her husband’s killer could make her the next victim and in the shadows of gaslit streets, a murderer waits, ready to strike again…
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My Review
The Whitechapel Widow is a very well-plotted historical mystery set at the time of the attacks by Jack the Ripper in London. The author does a fabulous job of weaving the narrative through known events, and I really enjoyed the mystery elements. Emma is a great new main character, but I also enjoyed the inclusion of Emily’s heroine, Penny Green.
I will certainly be reading more of the series.
The Poison Puzzle
A secret society. A suspicious death. A trail of deadly clues.
London, 1889. When Emma Langley discovers a mysterious symbol in her late husband’s diary, she uncovers a connection to a secretive treasure-hunting group with powerful members. Her investigation takes an unexpected turn when Lord Charles Harpole, a society member, is found dying in his hotel room.
The authorities rule it suicide, but Emma and her friend Penny Green aren’t convinced. As they follow a trail of cryptic clues leading from St. Paul’s Cathedral to Hampton Court, they find themselves caught in a deadly game.
With suspects ranging from the lord’s grieving fiancée to his ambitious brother, Emma must solve the puzzle before the killer claims another victim. But in the fog-shrouded streets of Victorian London, someone will stop at nothing to keep the society’s secrets buried…
Emma Langley returns in this gripping Victorian mystery that weaves historical detail with page-turning suspense.
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My Review
I very much enjoyed The Poison Puzzle, the second book in the Emma Langley Historical Mystery series, but I must admit, I felt the buildup was somewhat better than the eventual resolution, which fell a little flat for me. That said, I will be continuing the series, as I do adore all the period detail for the books, and I certainly appreciated the research that went into making the treasure hunt feel very authentic.
MJ Porter 