1841. Liberty Lane, now Mrs Robert Carmichael, is honeymooning on Cephalonia, when she and her husband meet an Englishman, Mr Vickery, who invites them to dinner. Through Vickery, they meet a handful of people, including a handsome, blind, teenaged Greek boy (Georgios) who may be a son of Lord Byron. His mother is dead, and the boy had been living with his great-grandparents, who are recently deceased. Vickery plans to take Georgios back to London and adopt him. In an early morning accident, one of Vickery’s English friends drowns, and Georgios, who was also swimming, feels responsible. The Carmichaels leave, shaken, but with no expectation of seeing any of these people again.

Back in London, Robert is called away to Italy for something unrelated to the story. Liberty learns from a society friend that Mr Vickery has returned to London with Georgios (now George), and all of London is talking about this “son of Lord Byron.” Eventually, Vickery calls on Liberty, asking her to investigate a possible kidnapping attempt on George. Liberty finds a woman who claims, unconvincingly, to be George’s mother. Then a murder occurs and the boy disappears.

I’ve read and enjoyed other Liberty Lane mysteries. As usual, Peacock brings the world of Victorian England to life. Liberty’s friends Amos Legge and Tabby add good color and helpful detection skills. Fool’s Gold lacks a romantic element, which I missed. The mystery is layered and engaging, although I was disappointed in places when Liberty did not see obvious clues. The ending was not exactly what I expected, but I’d figured out much of it. Still, the writing is good, and I love these characters. I’ll be reading more of this series.

"A series of anonymous letters leads to a case of cold-blooded murder for 19th-century private investigator Liberty Lane.

September, 1841. A new arrival has taken London society by storm. Lord Byron’s handsome illegitimate son, George, recently arrived from the exotic island of Cephalonia in the company of his guardian, the mysterious Mr Vickery, has been setting female hearts aflutter.

But not all the attention George attracts is welcome. Mr Vickery has been receiving disturbing letters from a woman who calls herself Helena, and he hires Liberty Lane to find out who Helena is and what she wants.

As Liberty is to discover, there is more to this case than meets the eye. Is George really Lord Byron’s son – or is he an imposter? And who exactly is Mr Vickery? What is his agenda? When Liberty comes across a body shot dead near Mr Vickery’s home in Muswell Hill, the investigation takes a shocking turn."

PIs, Byron? Um, YES!

I love historical mysteries so I was happy to be given a review copy by Severn House through NetGalley. Then I realized it was #8 in a series. Would I be able to enjoy it without having read any of the previous books? Yes, it worked well as a stand alone. However, now I really want to read the rest of the series. The characters are well drawn and there are no jarring modern words or actions that would take the reader out of the story. The mystery is excellent and the settings range from the Greek Islands were Liberty, the Victorian private investigator, and her husband, meet George. He is a young man who, they are told, is the illegitimate son of Lord Byron. The scenes of Victorian London were not overdone. Sometimes authors tend to paint the background with a heavy brush and it can take away from the story. If you enjoy books by Deanna Raybourn and Tasha Alexander, add this series to your to be read list.

Caro Peacock continues her Regency Liberty Land mysteries with Fool's Gold. Lord Byron's illegitimate son George is introduces to London high society, but all is not as it seems. His declared mother is murdered. George disappears. Liberty Lane is a private investigator who tries to untangle a collection of convoluted plots. Read and find out whodunit.

I'll admit I was puzzled at the opening to this book: Liberty Lane has married her sweetheart Robert Carmichael and they are honeymooning in Cephalonia in Greece. They see an impossibly handsome young man diving into the ocean and later meet him, discovering the graceful youth, Georgios, is blind—and very possibly the illegitimate son of Lord Byron. It almost read like a Tasha Alexander book.

It is only when the couple are back in London and Robert is summoned on a delicate mission on the Continent that Liberty finds herself helping the young man again. Adopted by an impetuous man named Vickery and now known as George, he is being fitted for a university education and a gentleman's life, but Vickery lives in fear that someone is planning to kidnap him because they think he knows where Lord Byron's "lost treasure" is. His fears come true when a woman shows up claiming to be George's mother. Soon Liberty and her friends Amos Legge, the groom who cares for Liberty's horse Rancie, and Tabby, the street girl who assists her in her private inquiries are deeply involved, even traveling to Vickery's new country estate to keep George safe.

Once Robert leaves, this becomes a suspenseful mystery where the ever-shifting clues make Liberty—and the reader—wonder who she can trust; even the sweet-tempered but troubled George comes under suspicion, and red herrings abound. The Victorian setting is well described without the author feeling she has to do an information dump every so often. A big plus is that the mystery isn't solved immediately as in some historicals, with the solution coming in a day or two. Weeks go by with no answers, as in a real investigation. Liberty herself makes several missteps, showing that while she is dogged and discerning, she is not infallible. Tabby, as always, is a delight, and one could only dream of having a friend as good as Legge. One suspect, however, is pretty obvious, and you wonder when the character will show up again. However, I didn't see the twist coming until almost the end. This seemed back in form compared to the previous book FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES, which I found a bit tepid.

I have been reading this series since its inception and was happy to read yet another adventure in the life of Liberty Lane.

Of course, the catch is that it is the eighth book in the series, so would I find myself floundering at all? Nope, not for a second. Peacock is far too adroit and experienced a writer to fall into that pitfall and from the first page, I was pulled into this twisting story where the plot snaked in all sorts of unexpected avenues. So I had to read it in one greedy gulp to find out exactly where it was going.

Liberty Lane is clearly a remarkable young woman as a female investigator at a time when her male counterparts were looked down upon with contempt and suspicion – obviously there is a hefty backstory here. But I certainly found myself believing in the 19th century London streets depicted by Peacock and as a historian, there were no glaring anomalies that yanked me out of the story. Without holding up the action or pace, all sorts of little details contributed to make the world vividly convincing – and I very much liked the fact that she does not expect her horses to go galloping or cantering everywhere, which they generally didn’t.

I also enjoyed her characterisation. Alongside Liberty, there is a supporting cast who leap off the page – the beautiful, blind George is suitably enigmatic and Mr Vickery is by turns exasperating and open-hearted. But Liberty’s small team help to bring this story alive – it seemed entirely plausible that she would be on good terms with an experienced horseman, Amos, running a livery stable, for she often needs sudden access to transport and the main mode of transport back then is horsepower. Young Tabby, a streetgirl part of a gang of children surviving on their wits, is also a regular gatherer of information for Liberty.

However, while the setting is vividly depicted and the characters believable and entertaining, what sets this murder mystery apart is the sheer skill and dexterity of Peacock’s plotting. Just when I thought the story was off in one direction, it snapped around and the momentum and stakes were cinched ever higher. Of course, this means the ultimate climactic denouement has to not only deliver in terms of plenty of action and high drama, but also resolve all that tension entirely satisfactorily. And yes, this one certainly did. I have not read any of these mysteries before, but I’ll certainly be looking out for more – if your taste runs to historical murder mysteries with plenty of tension and action, then this one comes very highly recommended.

While I obtained the arc of Fool’s Gold from the publisher via NetGalley, this has in no way influenced my unbiased review.
10/10

May 1841 Liberty Lane and her husband, while cruising around the island of Cephalonia, meet Matthew Vickery and a blind young man called George, who Vickery claims to be the son of Lord Byron.
On arriving back in England, Vickery employs Liberty to found a woman calling herself Helena, who claims to be George's mother. The investigation becomes more serious when a body is found.
This is the first of the series that I have read and I found that it wasn't necessary to read the previous books.
An enjoyable and interesting mystery with a group of well-developed and rounded characters.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley and Severn House Publishers. Thank you.

4.5 out of 5 stars
This is book eight in the Liberty Lane series set in Victorian London - and, of course, its environs. I really enjoyed this book which functioned very well as a stand alone novel, but which has put me in the mood to download more of the stories to my Kindle. Author Caro Peacock has constructed a Victorian female private investigator in such a way that she doesn't irritate me at all - and that's saying something because I can be a very picky reader when it comes to time period mysteries.

In May 1841, Liberty and Robert are newly married and on their honeymoon sailing on a borrowed yacht close to one of the Greek islands, Cephalonia, when they see a young man diving into the ocean. His natural beauty and grace call to mind the images of Greek gods from art and literature. Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael receive an invitation from a wealthy man living on the island to come to dinner and they accept. There they meet the diver, a young man of eighteen or nineteen years, blind, and of an uncanny resemblance to Lord Byron. Their host, Matthew Vickery, plans to take Georgios to London to take his rightful place in society as a son, even though illegitimate, of Lord Byron. A tragic death by drowning happens before Liberty and Robert sail away from Cephalonia with Georgios blaming himself because he feels he carries a curse which causes danger to follow him wherever he goes. When everyone meets up again in London it looks as if Georgios (now called George) just might be right.

The Liberty Lane character has had seven previous novels in which to become fully formed so what I found here was someone who was unconventional for the times, but not a woman prone to making exactly the wrong decision each time she was given the opportunity. The supporting characters returning from previous books were just as well developed as were the new cast for this story. The historical time period rings true without spending annoying amounts of time discussing sewage and general grime and uncleanliness. (I do get so tired when those things are what an author relies on most to create atmosphere in a novel.) The actual mystery plot is very well imagined and carried out and I was completely fooled by who was behind the curtain moving people about like puppets. A very enjoyable reading experience and recommended for readers who enjoy sensible characters and a difficult problem to solve.

A very interesting and good read. The characters and plot was well developed and fun. I look forward to reading more from this author.