Thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the characters in this series. The interactions between them all are lively and interesting. An intriguing thriller with an unexpected ending.

Plague Pits and River Bones by Karen Charlton has Detective Stephen Lavender and Constable Ned Woods investigating murder, the slave trade, and highway robbery.

Set in 1812 London, the novel is another well-written entry into this historical mystery series. The introduction of a Moriarity-like character is interesting. He will undoubtedly add another dimension to future books.

Well-researched with the benefit of Author's Notes and a bibliography. Many of the events are taken from life and woven into Lavender's investigations.

I thoroughly enjoy this series.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Historical Mystery. Jan. 11, 2018. Print length: 343 pages.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of Plague Pits and River Bones, the fourth novel to feature Detective Stephen Lavender of the Bow Street Runners.

It's 1812 and times are tough. Magistrate Reid doesn't have enough money to keep the office running and build the much needed extension so he uses his detectives as PIs and hires them and their skills out to anyone in the country prepared to pay the fees. Lavender has returned to London from one of these cases to find himself the only detective available and a multitude of crimes to cover, the highway robbery of Lord and Lady Yarborough, the investigation of threats against an ex ambassador and the curious sawn off foot found on the Greenwich shore. Overworked and exhausted Lavender stumbles his way through all these cases, ably assisted by Constable Ned Wood.

I thoroughly enjoyed Plague Pits and River Bones which has so much going on it never flags and held my attention from start to finish. Despite the multitude of plot lines it is an easy novel to follow and Ms Charlton weaves them all together seamlessly. There is never a dull moment and it is fascinating to watch it all come together as Lavender and Wood fight a worthy opponent. It's a ripping yarn.

I feel that this is a slightly darker novel than its predecessors and doesn't have the same lightheartedness. The antics of the builders at Bow Street offer a little light if somewhat macabre relief but the overall tone is darker. Much of that comes from the pressure on Lavender. He has too many crimes to solve and no manpower so he is constantly exhausted which, in turn, causes problems in his marriage with Magdalena, his wife, feeling neglected. Magistrate Reid, his boss, is also feeling the pressure which makes him short tempered and autocratic when deciding Lavender's priorities. The novel also touches on some serious issues which are heartbreaking to read.

Throughout it all Lavender keeps plugging away at his cases. He is a dogged, tenacious detective with an intuitive ability to read crime scenes. It often brings him into conflict with Reid who prefers fact based cases but he carries on regardless as he is mostly proved right. I like him as a character as he seems very human, able to regret his mistakes and enjoy any faint praise Reid bestows on him.

Plague Pits and River Bones is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thanks Thomas & Mercer and netgalley for this ARC.

I'll be a lifelong fan of Karen Charlton and Detective Lavender. This seres stays fresh, fun, and grows it time. Can't wait to read the next one.

"Plague Pits & River Bones" is a mystery novel set in May 1812 in London, England. It's the fourth book in a series. You don't need to read the previous books to understand this one, and this story did not spoil any previous whodunits.

The vivid historical and setting details made the story feel unique to that time and place yet didn't slow the pacing down. I appreciated that a character got ill after being submerged in filthy river water (which is realistic) rather than emerging from the experience unscathed. I cared what happened to the characters, and they had realistic reactions to events. It was a clue-based mystery with several matters needing Lavender's attention at the same time. While I wasn't surprised when he uncovered what was going on and who was behind it, I did fully enjoy how the different mysteries unexpectedly touched on each other.

There was a fair amount of bad language. There were no sex scenes. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting novel.

5 stars

Constable Ned Woods and Constable Barnaby respond to a disturbance where a naked and deranged man is spouting biblical phrases. On their way to take him back to Bedlam Asylum, Woods notices a detached foot rotting in an old boot.

This is only the first in a series of crimes both petty and major to occur in London in 1812. There are too few police officers for the population and they are being “lent out” to other districts all the time. This is how the Bow Street contingent supplements their meagre stipend from the crown. Detective Lavender’s boss wants to send him to Ireland for an investigation. (Can you imagine? From London to Ireland traveling overland in 1812? Wow!)

I was very interested to learn that some of the events in this story really did happen. I did not realize that Ms. Charlton did such in depth historical research to write her books. I thought they were wholly a product of her imagination. And what an imagination! What a great writer!

This book is very well written and plotted. It flowed easily and made sense. The suspense started out immediately – albeit somewhat humorlessly with the chasing of the demented asylum refugee and the discovery of the foot in the boot. There was so much going on in this book, it was a delight to read as were the previous books in this series. I appreciate the way Lavender’s team get along and their relationships with their families. I will continue to read Ms. Charlton’s novels, and I simply cannot wait for the next one to come out.

I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book to read and enjoy.

Thank you Net Galley. This was a great read. It combines the mystery genre with the historical and makes for an old fashioned detective story. No SOCO/CSI, etc. Just good old fashioned detection and deduction. Ms. Charlton writes an interesting story with unexpected twists and turns that keep you hooked till the end.

One of the things I hate the most about being a reviewer is when I find a fabulous book and it is mid-series. This is most appropriate in the case(if you forgive the pun) of The Detective Lavender Series. I was immediately drawn into the story and it’s wider setting.. It is written with a real flair for the sensory details that make the placement of the action in the time of London’s Bow Street Runners so realistic. The scent of the river, the warmth of a hearth, the flavour of Pies, the cityscape itself all add to this utterly immersive read.

Detective Lavender is besieged with a number of cases, his trusty Sergeant Ned is needed elsewhere and so he is flitting from staking out a disgruntled Liverpudlian with a grudge against the Home Office, dealing with a spate of robberies of the Rich on the Highways and Byways of the suburbs of the Capital and then there are the skeletal remains that just keep being unearthed at the Thames and closer to home in the very confines of Bow Street Station itself!

The plot is an expertly crafted group of threads that like the tapestries of old are eventually woven into a piece of such beautiful creativity. The story development never seems contrived and each piece of the puzzle is reached in a very organic way with different people gradually adding to the whole. Science, rumour, hard graft and luck all play their parts.


It is a real shame that my ignorance of the series has meant I missed the development of the characters in the three previous books ( something I am to rectify very quickly) as I am now a devoted fan of all. Karen Charlton has crafted such a lovable band here, from the highest echelons of society down to the lowliest copper and his ragtag brood and there uniting both these disparate worlds is Lavender himself and his exotic and stunning bride. He believes she has married beneath her, but they are perfectly matched, he clever, handsome and vital, she vivacious, bright and sophisticated.

This is a book that has extremely wide appeal, not as pompous as Holmes, this is a book of humour and warmth despite the grimness of the poverty depicted. Fans of the BBC hit “Ripper Street “who miss the show but need something a little less brutal to settle down with,will find this near perfect and the similarities with another beloved detective, Murdoch of Toronto are undeniable, but more than that, this is a book of such attention to detail, so evocative that it could not fail to make huge fans out of all who delve inside.

The fact that Lavender, Magistrate Read and the other lead Officers were realife “Runners” just adds a frisson to the whole book and even more reason for me to seek out the previous books to gorge on as winter approaches.

This is the 4th instalment of Lavender and Woods and it was an enjoyable read. I got drawn out from it at first then once I’d picked up a certain point I was back in the story.
I’m guessing the culprit before our detective does and wait for it to come through but I love how crime was back then and how they worked it out. I also enjoy learning about the era and how certain people were treated which wasn’t great.
I’ll continue reading as I enjoy learning of this time and knowing that the crimes are also true stories.

Plague pits and river bones by karen Charlton.
London 1812: Treacherous gangs roam the capital, and not even the Palace of Westminster is safe. When Detective Stephen Lavender is called in to investigate a highway robbery and a cold-blooded murder, both the cases take a dangerous and disturbing personal twist.
A very enjoyable read. I liked the characters and the plot.
Lavender and woods were my favorite characters. Loved how they helped each other out. Even woods son. I do hope there is .more to come. 5*. Tbc on fb.

I became immersed in the atmosphere and characters created in this series from the off - I thought they were brilliant. It’s just wonderful reading if your a fan of this era and genre and a damn good read if your’e not! The chance to read and review this latest offering was gratefully accepted and I was not disappointed - I thought it was excellent.. Good storyline that envelopes your imagination and to me there seemed to be an added dimension - emotion. Just a big fan.