Legal Research

Laura Shepherd-Robinson ? Daughters of Night

By Scott

The novel opens with Caroline (Caro) Corsham heading for a clandestine meeting at the pleasure gardens in Vauxhall only to find instead a dead woman, whose last words are ‘he knows’.  Caro knows the woman ,  a Contessa named Lucia having befriended her earlier in the year. However, it soon becomes apparent that the dead girl was actually a well know prostitute, called Lucy Loveless, and the authorities have little or no interest in investigating.  Caro, however, is not to be deterred and enlists the help of thief-taker Peregrine Child. And so begins a Georgian murder-mystery packing a complex and twisting plot covering child prostitution, loyalty to the king, illegal money-lending and additional murders; with a cast of flawed and duplicitous characters, where, everyone , it seems, has their price.

I do like a bit of historical murder-mystery, must have been all though Sherlock Holmes stories as a child. This however reminded me less of that and more of things I’d read by Iain Pears, Caleb Carr, and Kate Ross.  As with those authors, Shepherd-Robinson’s research of the times of which she writes gives the setting and locations a vivid reality which ? in turn ? helps breath life into her characters.  

I confess, I had not read Shepherd-Robinson’s debut novel Blood & Sugar ? where this book’s heroine – Caro , and Peregrine Child  ? made their first appearances, but I liked the fact that both characters are flawed. Indeed, the same can be said for the books’ third lead character ‘Pamela’ too. Like everyone else they are slaves to their time and their environment. I also liked that there was never any hint of romance between the Child and Caro.

There is no rush to the denouement ? indeed, some may find that the book takes rather too long to get there, taking a dickens-esq more is more approach to length. It probably could have been tighter, and lighter in term of length but the verve and  vivid evocation of 18th century London coupled with the engaging Caro and Child meant that I still polished this off in a couple of days.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pan Macmillan for this eARC to read and review

The post Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Daughters of Night appeared first on Information Overlord.

Full post as published by Information Overload on July 09, 2020 (boomark / email).