"The sans pareil mystery" by Karen Charlton. This book is published by Thomas and Mercer in 2015 and has 323 pages. This is Book 2 of 'Detective Lavender' series.
Body of a young woman is found in a building under demolition. Detective Lavender is tasked to investigate. The victim is an actress. Autopsy reveals that she was wearing loose fitting shoes. There is a war going on between French led by Napoleon Bonaparte and combined forces of Britain and Spain.
Will Lavender solve the mystery? What will it be? Is it just a murder or is there anything more to it? Will the romance between Lavender and Magdalena flourish?
Sans pareil means without comparison. In the story its the name of a theater where the murdered actress worked. Apart from that the title had no connection tho the story. Title of first book of Lavender series was also based on name of a place. Looks like a trend!
Although the story starts as a murder mystery, the mystery is solved mid way and the story takes a turn for another mystery that takes up remaining book. Although this second mystery is solved, the story appears incomplete. Reader has a feeling that something is amiss. There is little deduction in the story. Although the ingredients are there, the recipe is not tasty.
Author has used real life characters of the time for this story e.g. Duke of Clarence, Dorothy Jordan etc. This lends authenticity to the fiction.
Spanish buxom beauty Magdalena Morales has become a good friend of Steven Lavender. They are attracted towards each other. Some people object to Lavender's friendship with Catholic Magdalena. But they still plan to marry. There is a palpable tension between Lavender and his boss over this.
Detective Lavender mysteries are all historical fictions. Story takes place in year 1810. It's the age without automobiles. Horses were the primary means of transport and horse drawn carriages were mode of mass transport. Things take there own time to happen. There is no hurry. Modern readers need to adjust tho the slow pace of this story.
Why did I read this book? First book was good.
What I didn't like? Unimaginative title.
What did I like? Characters of Magdalena and Wood.
Give it a miss.
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