Death of a Dancer

I rarely pay attention to book reviews which proclaim any novel to be 'a real page-turner' that the reviewer simply 'couldn't put down'. The second novel in Caro Peacock's Liberty Lane series, however, finds me sorely tempted to employ such enthusiastic praise myself. I enjoyed the first novel, Death at Dawn, which I read last year, but must have been in the right mood when I picked up the sequel today, because I read from cover to cover without pause. Really!

My introduction to Liberty Lane, an amateur lady detective of independent spirit if not means, was slightly hazy when I started reading, and for once I was glad of a brief update in the first few chapters. After the death of her father and the departure of her brother, Liberty has show more established herself in a modest home of her own, with the company of Mrs Martley the midwife, and a protective circle of friends including Amos Legge the groom, and musicians Toby Kennedy and Daniel Suter, old friends of Liberty's father. Confident and practical, Libby is outraged by her brother's suggestion that she should marry Daniel for security, but when she goes to talk with her friend at the theatre, she finds that his heart is already engaged to a young dancer. After a catfight on stage, Daniel's lover is framed for the poisoning of the prima donna, and Liberty is once again personally involved in a murder mystery.

Even though I will admit to not being overly familiar with the dawn of the Victorian era, the historical accuracy - and atmosphere - of Caro Peacock's novels are near flawless. From the streets of London to the workings of a theatre, the reader is drawn into Liberty's world. The first person narrative is also engaging, and Liberty is the type of strong, active heroine who can carry a whole novel. Her voice is friendly without being introspective, instructive but not patronising, and filled with personality. Yes, the 'Victorian lady detective' is a rather overused character trope at the moment, but even though Liberty has rather radical views for her time, situation and gender, her independence is somehow fitting and never anachronistic. Daniel is also endearing, and I hope that he returns in the next two stories.

The identity of the murderer kept me guessing until the end, but then I never try to solve the mystery ahead of the detective anyway. The clues are there, I think, and the denouement contains a surprising twist. Liberty's clandestine alliance with Disraeli, her mysterious yet respectful sponsor, continues from the first novel, and he looks set to make a career out of her amateur sleuthing. I can't wait to read on! show less

Review is based on an ARC.

I love a good mystery; even more, I love a good story. Caro Peacock's A Dangerous Affair is both. As with all good mysteries, the story starts further than halfway along the series of events to get the reader hooked. While the method is sound, the hook in this case is a little weak. The characters mean nothing to the reader as of yet, and we have a hard time caring how they feel about each other and what they think about the events. Fortunately, the story moves along quickly and you need not spend much time fretting about the first few pages. I was quickly drawn into the murder of one of "London's most beautiful dancers" and the whodunit aspect of the story. As time rapidly diminishes, the characters are thrown show more into a whirlwind of activities, accusations, and discovery of information, speeding toward their hope for justice.

Tracking a victorian music teacher through her investigatory adventures in a mere 300 pages, the reader is confronted with an intriguing political figure, a trashy dancer and her meek, sweet, perfect competition, a country boy with a heart of gold and an ear for all the town's gossip, a childish man of stature, and a surprising variety of other actors, most of whom the reader feels some connection to. I found myself engaged and moved by almost all of the characters, though, surprisingly, not the main two. I felt that the actions and emotions of Ms. Lane and her best friend Daniel necessary to the story, but I was not at all moved by their plight on a deeper level. Rather, I found myself drawn to Mr. Disraeli (incidentally, based upon a real historical figure), Amos Legge, and even Kennedy as the real heart and soul of the story.

I flew through the pages even while surrounded by conversations, and I insisted on finishing the novel once I arrived at work, resigning myself to later hours worked so I could learn all that Peacock could tell me!

Highly recommend to anyone with a taste for mystery. I also note that, while the novel is set in victorian times, it is not weighed down with victorian details. show less

Caro Peacock's A Dangerous Affair is the follow-up to A Foreign Affair. Liberty Lane is adjusting to life on her own in Victorian England. Her father has died and her brother is away working for the East India Company. Liberty teaches music lessons to make her living, obviously not a well-to-do living. But, she is able to luxuriate in her morning rides on her beautiful horse Rancie, a final gift from her father. Even this joy she knows she will soon have to part with because she will not be able to afford Rancie much longer.

Daniel Suter is a close family friend. So when he is completely devastated by the arrest and conviction of his love, Jenny Jarvis, for a murder Liberty is convinced Jenny is innocent of, Liberty sets out to prove show more Jenny's innocence. But time is short. Liberty has about two weeks before they will hang Jenny from the gallows.

From page 1 of A Dangerous Affair, I felt as though I was stepping back into a Dickensian London. The novel opens in the jail cells of the Old Bailey with Daniel and Liberty having to pay off the gaoler to gain admittance to see Jenny following her trial and conviction. Daniel and Liberty obviously don't fit in, but they also appear to be of higher stature than they actually are, thus introducing a major theme of the novel: appearances.

The relationships of the characters in this novel have a hint of Dickens in them as well. There are of course the shallow characters focused solely on money and position; they were devoted to material possessions. But for those who valued the people in their lives more than money, there was completely selfless devotion; no false appearances. Sometimes an attempt at such devotion in characters can come across as forced, unbelievable, but Peacock's development of her characters made this devotion occur perfectly natural.

Liberty is a wonderful heroine. She's making the best of the situation she's been forced into by fate. She's a smart character and while she'll test the boundaries of propriety at times, she doesn't behave contradictory to society's mores. She does find them quite silly at times, but she isn't the rebel.

I have to say I was most taken with Amos Legge who works in the livery stable and takes Liberty out riding on Rancie. His position allows him to be "in the know" on all the gossip of London's wealthy. There is a slight mystery to Amos, but his devotion to Liberty is his most attractive quality. Another rather intriguing character is Lady Silverdale, a woman of wealth, but not deceiving appearances. Her devotion is to her family and her science. Lady Silverdale likes predictability, which science provides her, but her family deprives her of!

The depth and dimension of Peacock's characters makes Victorian London come alive on the pages. And her poetic language builds the stage on which they perform.

And perform they do. The plot is full of twists and turns, and I was definitely in the dark until almost the very end. Peacock gives the reader clues along the way, and you know they are clues, but how those clues fit together is the ultimate puzzle.

A Dangerous Affair is a romantic look at selfless relationships. It is a David and Goliath-type triumph, revealing the false appearances for what they really are; you will cheer!

I wasn't ready for A Dangerous Affair to end, but the conclusion led me to believe that this isn't the "end" for Liberty Lane. I'll be keeping my eyes open for this fascinating "problem solver" to resurface again in the future. show less

I'd forgotten about this series. This is the second book by Caro Peacock - the author is a literary reincarnation of Gillian Linscott. By the looks of it I really enjoyed the first in the series when I read it a couple of years back but I'd since forgotten about it. This story took me a little while to get into but I romped through it after that. The central character is Liberty Lane - a feisty young lady in early Victorian London - I suspect the author has thought it all through and Liberty isn't completely anachronistic, though even if she is it doesn't change the fact that this is well written and entertaining. I think I'll read the third in the series soon before I forget about it again!

I quite enjoyed this historical mystery, set in London at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. There's plenty of action and the right mix of dropped clues with complex possibilities and implications. (Ok, the clue-dropping is not always subtle and the good guys tend to be awfully good, but the reader is happy to lend her credulity in order to get on with the fun of discovering what complication or revelation will crop up next.) Heroine Liberty Lane is naturally endearing, though I find myself sceptical of the relative ease with which she's able to sustain her unconventional lifestyle. That said, the details of theatre life, the justice system as played out at the Old Bailey, and other aspects of the Victorian world are vividly drawn show more and convincing. I found author Caro Peacock's endnote, in which she discusses her potrayal of Benjamin Disraeli, interesting and refreshingly frank. A Dangerous Affair isn't a novel I'll go back to time and again, but I'd certainly be willing to sit down with another Liberty Lane mystery (perhaps the first, A Foreign Affair?). show less

I received this as am Early Review book and just got behind on reading. It has an interesting premise and the story was pretty good, but I did not know that it was a sequel to "A Foreign Affair." I believe that the story would have been much more enjoyable had I read the first book. The author, Peacock spends more time focusing on her already established character of Liberty, while letting the new character Jenny suffer under development.
I just didn't have strong feelings for Jenny and what would become of her did not bother me, though I was rooting for Liberty to come out on top.

Received this book as an Early Reviewer probably because historical fiction, based in Victorian England, is my idea of "literary potato chips"...I can't just read one.

Even though I didn’t read Peacock’s first Liberty Lane mystery, A Foreign Affair, I immediately found this book interesting. Liberty immediately reminded me of Philip Pullman’s Sally Lockhart though more high spirited and impulsive. Though very young, she’s such an interesting character that I can’t wait to see how she evolves.

The story immediately grabbed me, probably because it begins at The Old Bailey and sucked me in from there. I’m a long time fan of Anne Perry’s Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series and Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody series and following show more the evolution of Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily Ashton. This novel was such fun, it appears that Peacock (aka. Gillian Linscott) could potentially evolve this series to hold her own with Perry & Peters.

Peacock is placing the Lane stories in the earliest days of Queen Victoria’s reign (40+ years earlier than these other authors) plus Liberty is approximately Victoria’s age. There are a lot of stories to be told over a reign of 50 years and I hope Liberty is solving crimes well into her 70s. show less