The Secrets of Gaslight Lane
The Gower Street Detective: Book 4
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The new novel in the atmospheric Gower Street Detective series introduces a chilling locked room mystery to Detective Sidney Grice and his precocious ward March Middleton.
London, 1883. All is quiet at 125 Gower Street. Private detective Sidney Grice is studying up on the anatomical structure of human hair whilst his ward, March Middleton, sneaks upstairs for her eighth secret cigarette of the day. The household is, perhaps, too quiet.
So, when a beautiful young woman turns up at the door, imploring London's foremost private detective to solve the mystery of her father's murder, Grice can barely disguise his glee.
Mr. Nathan Garstang was found slaughtered in his bed, but there is no trace of a weapon or intruder. A classic locked-room case. But what piques Grice's interest is the crime's link to one of London's most notorious unsolved murders. Ten years ago, Nathan's uncle aunt and servants were murdered in their sleep in the very same house.
Now, it seems, the Garstang murderer is back . . .
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kasasian's fourth Victorian-era whodunit featuring the misanthropic Sidney Grice and his ward, March Middleton, falls short of the high standard set by such previous entries as 2016's Death Descends on Saturn Villa, which cleverly integrated humor into Grand Guignol plot lines without diluting the horror or the puzzle. In this outing, Grice's snark; the malapropisms of his inept maid, Molly; and tongue-in-cheek references a doctor recommends "Dr Lestrade's Nerve Tonic, Gregson's Cocaine tablets and... Mycroft's Extra Strength Laudanum" distract from what should have been a compelling mystery. Charity Goodsmile consults Grice and Middleton about the murder of her father, Nathan Mortlock, in his London home. Mortlock's valet, Austin Hesketh, discovered his master in bed with his throat cut shortly after returning from visiting his mother; 11 years earlier, Hesketh was on a similar excursion when Mortlock's father and five others were massacred. Grice's investigation of Mortlock's murder expands to include the older ones. Given the brilliance of earlier volumes, fans can hope for a return to form next time.
