"The heiress of Linn Hagh" by Karen Charlton. This book is published by Thomas & Mercer in 2015 and has 325 pages. This is Book 1 of Detective Lavender mysteries.
It's year 1809. Detective Steven Lavender and Constable Woods are on an overnight journey to investigate disappearance of an Heiress, Helen Carnebie, from a room locked from inside, weeks before she comes into her inheritance. The policemen fight Highway robbers with the help of a beautiful and curvaceous Spanish gun wielding beauty and foil the attempted attack on their horse drawn coach.
How can someone disappear from a room closed from inside? Why does she disappear? Is she dead? Who is the Spanish beauty?
Detective Lavender is attracted towards Spanish Magdalena at first site. There is a spark. His thoughts about her are not exactly decent. But she disappears from the story after their first encounter to appear at the end of book. Her story will appear in subsequent books.
At Linn Hagh, he encounters a strange family of two brothers and a sister, all half siblings of the heiress. Servants, who would not speak. Gypsies who are allowed to stay on the estate by the father of the heiress. Maternal relatives of the heiress. Villagers who look at the pair of detective and constable skeptically. Village Vicar, Doctor, Inn keeper etc.
It's a tale of a big mansion and once affluent family now constricted for resources. There is inheritance. There is a motive. There are mad person, tiff between gypsies and farmers & then there is a possible murder. Linn Hagh, a remote rural estate in north east England and Belligjam, the town, is where the story happens.
Detective Lavender has a easy task of determining how the heiress disappeared from locked room and a difficult task of finding her. The mystery of disappearance is solved easily, thus making the title a bit of misnomer.
The story happens 200 years ago. So it was expected that the story would create 200 year old atmosphere. But despite the props like horse drawn coaches, mounted police etc. you don't get the period feel. The genre of the book is historical mystery. Does the author compete with Agatha Christie? Not really, but she appears to be from the same school.
When I read the blurb and decided to read the book, somehow I had an impression that Detective Lavender was female. But he turned out to be a male.
Why did I read this book? Name of detective.
What I didn't like? Atmosphere of 200 years ago is not created.
What did I like? Methodical approach.
Read if you have time.
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