PDF Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery Lynn Brittney 9781683318934 Books
Download As PDF : Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery Lynn Brittney 9781683318934 Books
A high-profile murder propels a unique crime-fighting team into the dark environs of London’s underworld―and on a terrifying quest to track a ruthless killer.
London, 1915. As World War I engulfs Europe, a special task force is formed in the affluent Mayfair district to tackle the city’s thorniest crimes against women. When the bobbies and Scotland Yard come up short, there’s only one telephone number to dial Mayfair 100.
An aristocrat has been murdered, and his wife, a witness and possible suspect, will only talk to a woman. With the blessing of London’s Chief Commissioner, Chief Inspector Beech, a young man invalided out of the war, assembles a crew of sharp, intrepid, and well-educated women to investigate. But to get at the truth, Beech, Victoria, Caroline, Rigsby, and Tollman will venture into the the city’s seedy underbelly, a world where murder is only the first in a litany of evils.
Lynn Brittney’s Mayfair 100 series debut, Murder in Belgravia, is the darkly compelling story of a movement far ahead of its time, in an attempt to combat the prejudices against women then and now.
PDF Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery Lynn Brittney 9781683318934 Books
"It was 1915 and with WWI hovering in the background, it was the murder of an aristocrat with the suspected murderer being his wife, that had Chief Inspector Peter Beech persuading the Chief Commissioner to allow him full control over a small, select and secret group to do the investigating. The house in Mayfair which was to be their base, with the telephone number Mayfair 100, would house the specialist team as they endeavoured to solve their first case.
But everything wasn’t as it seemed. A young girl was missing, the butler had absconded, the mistress was gravely ill in hospital, and the German Zeppelin was making its appearance. But Beech, along with two police officers, Rigsby and Tollman, plus Victoria who had trained as a lawyer and Caroline, who was a well-respected doctor, were determined to find the answers. And in doing so, the underbelly of London showed its face. Gangs, drugs, brothels – the shocking details were staggering. But could they solve the vicious murder?
Murder in Belgravia is the first in the Mayfair 100 Murder Mystery series by Lynn Brittney and I loved it! Excellently crafted historical mystery with red herrings and twists which meant I had no idea who the perpetrator was until the reveal! A fabulously written police procedural that I highly recommend – and I KNOW this is another series I’ll be following closely 😊"
Product details
|
Tags : Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery [Lynn Brittney] on . <div><b>A high-profile murder propels a unique crime-fighting team into the dark environs of London’s underworld―and on a terrifying quest to track a ruthless killer.</b><BR><BR>London,Lynn Brittney,Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery,Crooked Lane Books,1683318935,Detective and mystery fiction,Historical fiction,London (England),Murder - Investigation - England - London,Murder;Investigation;England;London;Fiction.,Nobility - England,Nobility;England;Fiction.,Organized crime - England - London,Sex role - England - History - 20th century,Women detectives - England - London,Women detectives;England;London;Fiction.,World War, 1914-1918,ENGLISH HISTORICAL FICTION,ENGLISH MYSTERY SUSPENSE FICTION,England,FICTION / Mystery Detective / General,FICTION / Mystery Detective / Historical,FICTION / Mystery Detective / Police Procedural,FICTION / Mystery Detective / Women Sleuths,Fiction,Fiction-Mystery Detective,Fiction/Mystery Detective - Historical,Fiction/Mystery Detective - Police Procedural,GENERAL,General Adult,Monograph Series, any,Mystery/Suspense
Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery Lynn Brittney 9781683318934 Books Reviews :
Murder in Belgravia A Mayfair 100 Mystery Lynn Brittney 9781683318934 Books Reviews
- This is the first book in a series known the Mayfair 100 Murder Mysteries. The story takes place in Mayfair, London, in 1915. Mayfair 100 is the telephone number for the home where the special crew of investigators base their operations. Following are my Pros and Cons
Pros
1. The author described the time period and locations well. I love historical novels in just about any genre, so I enjoyed this aspect of the book. It was a solid historical mystery.
2. I definitely appreciated the focus on intelligent women and their abilities. This was a time when women were just beginning to really have the opportunity to prove their worth and competence in traditionally male roles and/or occupations. War is never good, but one thing both World Wars did do is prove to the world that not only can women step up and get things done when the men aren’t around, but they can also do it well and sometimes better!
3. The story included a female doctor and a female lawyer on the investigative team. I liked that the women were strong, smart, and capable. I also liked that the men on the team were protective of the women and tried to shield them from things they felt were inappropriate, even though they knew the women were capable and knowledgeable partners on the team. We were able to see both male and female viewpoints of this changing time within this story. The men on the team weren’t protecting the women to be rude or condescending – they were legitimately trying to protect them from things they simply thought ladies shouldn’t be exposed to. In the story, one of the women even accepted that she probably shouldn’t go into a male brothel as part of the investigation and left it to the men. This was no different than the men on the team felt that the women were better suited to question other women with regard to the investigation. Was any of this right or wrong? For the time period, it was probably neither actually... it was just how it was. Men and women were both dealing with enormous changes in “how things are done†and there was obviously a lot of adjustment from both sides. I thought the author incorporated a good mix of the changes beginning (with women taking on more non-traditional roles) with long-standing old values and traditions (men had to be the protectors of women, men adjusting to working with women, etc.).
4. I didn’t predict the murderer. That is a huge plus because I usually do figure it out!
Cons
1. The book is actually quite complex, but I felt the story meandered a bit, particularly with the part about the bombing of London. That wasn’t really an integral part of the story (other than to introduce Rigsby’s mom and aunt) and it felt like padding to me.
2. I honestly don’t know why, because I usually devour books like this, but this book took me forever to read. It was really slow and it felt like it was a bit too long. There wasn’t a lot was happening at all until the last 25% or so of the book. There was a lot of sitting around, planning, and talking… but not enough action! I also felt like the author did a lot of unnecessary explaining (even for some very basic situations). It was as if the author assumed the average reader couldn’t figure out what was going on without detailed explanations. Overall, there was simply not enough murder mystery! I’m glad I ultimately finished it, but I almost lost interest a few times at the beginning.
3. While I do love the pro-women aspect of the book, it felt a little preachy to me at times, which didn’t help with the meandering feeling I mentioned earlier.
4. I felt like there were some plot lines that were left hanging – like the previous relationship between Victoria and Beech. It was mentioned a lot at the beginning of the book and then just seemingly forgotten. Perhaps the author is saving that for future books in the series.
This book would have easily been a 5 star book if it had been a little more succinct… not necessarily shorter, but reducing some of the explaining I mentioned, quickening the pace of the book a bit, and focusing much more on the murder mystery would have improved it greatly in my humble opinion. That said, I loved the story and I will very likely read more in this series.
Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for a free electronic ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. - It was 1915 and with WWI hovering in the background, it was the murder of an aristocrat with the suspected murderer being his wife, that had Chief Inspector Peter Beech persuading the Chief Commissioner to allow him full control over a small, select and secret group to do the investigating. The house in Mayfair which was to be their base, with the telephone number Mayfair 100, would house the specialist team as they endeavoured to solve their first case.
But everything wasn’t as it seemed. A young girl was missing, the butler had absconded, the mistress was gravely ill in hospital, and the German Zeppelin was making its appearance. But Beech, along with two police officers, Rigsby and Tollman, plus Victoria who had trained as a lawyer and Caroline, who was a well-respected doctor, were determined to find the answers. And in doing so, the underbelly of London showed its face. Gangs, drugs, brothels – the shocking details were staggering. But could they solve the vicious murder?
Murder in Belgravia is the first in the Mayfair 100 Murder Mystery series by Lynn Brittney and I loved it! Excellently crafted historical mystery with red herrings and twists which meant I had no idea who the perpetrator was until the reveal! A fabulously written police procedural that I highly recommend – and I KNOW this is another series I’ll be following closely 😊 - This mystery takes place in London in 1915. It is a time of great change for London and Britain. World War I is raging and social divisions are crumbling. When Chief Inspector Beech is called to a crime scene in Belgravia, he encounters Lady Harriet who is only willing to speak to a married woman of her social class regarding the death of her husband. Luckily, Beech knows a woman doctor who meets Lady Harriet's qualifications since Lady Harriet is definitely in need of a doctor.
When Doctor Caroline Allardyce who has been an acquaintance arrives, she quickly notes that Lady Harriet is in grave distress. She is hemorrhaging and in need of emergency surgery. But Lady Harriet is also quick to confess to killing her husband. Only neither Beech nor Caroline believe her.
It is just at this time that Beech is being directed to form a secret police organization to solve some of the many crimes in which women are involved. He has been authorized to include women in his group though they won't be paid or have their work acknowledged. While there are a couple of amateur groups of women policing London since the war has started and so many young men are away serving, but the official London police are a boys only network.
Luckily, Beech knows two women who would be perfect for his new group. Besides Caroline, Beech also recruits a woman he once proposed to but who chose another man. She is now a widow after a bad marriage. Her mother encourages her to join with Beech and use the law degree that she hasn't previously been able to use since women aren't hired as lawyers either.
Beech also adds Billy Rigsby who has been invalided out of the Army and who has now joined the police. He was a boxer who won awards for his unit but a shattered left hand and a head injury made him find another career. He is now fit and strong and rather handsome too with an ability to charm women of all social classes. To round out his team Beech also adds Arthur Tollman who used to work for Special Branch but who had retired until being called back to fill in the ranks of the police.
They quickly learn that their investigation is not at all simple. Lord Murcheson was greatly changed by his war service. He's come home with war wounds that are so painful that his doctor has placed in a regimen of drugs including heroin and cocaine which have changed his personality and triggered intense rages.
When the investigation begins, a young housemaid named Polly is missing and the butler - Mr. Dodds - soon disappears too. As they track down the missing they discover a network of illegal drugs and prostitution and all sorts of other social ills.
I liked the setting very much. I learned that London was bombed by Zeppelins during World War I. I learned the state of medicine which lacks antibiotics and routinely prescribed opiates to suffers of all ages. No prescription needed to stop in at a local pharmacy and buy all the heroin or cocaine a person could want. It was also interesting to visit houses of prostitution including one devoted to homosexual young men who were used for all manner of kinky sexual things.
This was an entertaining beginning to a new series of historical mysteries. I liked meeting the interesting characters who will make up the new task force. I look forward to more stories that have them working to solve crimes.
