1810 London, and a body is found under the floorboards of a house being demolished. But is the death of a young actress as straightforward as it seems.
Detective Stephen Lavender and Constable Woods try to solve the mysteries that turn up.
I enjoyed the story and I like these characters, except Dona Magdalena, who I did not take to in the first book. I am hoping that she will not be taking a prominent role in the next one, and that the mystery will be the main element, with the two Bow Street Runners. ( )

A dead body in a house being demolished leads to Lavender's involvement in chasing French spies. Roiling his superiors by looking too closely at some privileged spy suspects, he is also not being very successful in his pursuit of the Spanish Lady. All in all, a good second installment in this nicely evolving Regency mystery series. ( )

Interesting main character. Almost a 5 star. ( )

The second in the Detective Lavender series, set in London in 1810, Lavender is the chief detective in the Bow Street Runners. The body of a young woman is found under the floor of a derelict house about to be demolished. She is identified by the pathologist who had seen her on stage at a local theatre.

Apart from the murder mystery, the story gives interesting insights into Regency London. The Napoleonic Wars are not going well and London is full of foreigners such as Spanish that have fled from the invaders and French spies and those who who have fled from Bonaparte's regime. William, Duke of Clarence, who lives with an actress, is one of the circle of those who patronise the Sans Pareil theatre. (From the early 1790s until 1811, William lived with his mistress, the actress Dorothy Jordan. They had 10 children who took the surname Fitzclarence). Later he becomes William IV, married to Queen Adelaide. Ironically, in view of the 10 earlier children, their marriage is childless.

Lavender himself is very friendly with a Spanish widow. She is also a Catholic in a largely Protestant England.

The story becomes a tale of espionage when a coded document is discovered among the dead actress' papers.

This was one of those books that could have done with much better proof reading. The "typos" were made more noticeable by an earlier borrower who had gone through with a pencil striking words out and indicating omissions. Some errors were obviously caused by the use of an auto-correcter where the wrong version of a word had been accepted. All would have been funny if it hadn't become so annoying. ( )

This is the second in the author's series of historical mystery fiction set against the background of the Napoleonic Wars. The plot involves a kidnapped actress later found dead, military secrets, imposters and spies. It's a colourful mix, and I like the central protagonists, Detective Stephen Lavender and Constable Ned Woods. There are great female characters also, in particular Stephen's friend Dona Magdalena and Ned's wife Betsy. Plus for me, there was the interest in a short interlude set in Bexleyheath and Sidcup, the part of South East London/North West Kent where I was born and brought up and still live. Here is a description of the area in 1810:

"The marshland around Bexleyheath was bleak. Isolated buildings and disconnected settlements scattered the flat landscape. A raw wind whipped over the reed pools and dykes. Apart from a few lonely cattle on the horizon, there was no sign of life. Lavender cursed silently when he noticed that there was no church in the village either. There was only a small street of houses and the windmill".

A great series, and I will be reading the others. ( )