It took me a while to get to this book, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down! I found John Redfyre engaging, intelligent, and a great detective. It was so fun to follow him on this journey to find the culprit. I found his approach to interrogation completely different from other period novels and completely refreshing. He combined Sherlock Holmes with forensic technology. I loved it and can’t wait to read #2.

FALL OF ANGELS by Barbara Cleverly is part of a new police procedural series set in early 1920s Britain and featuring Inspector Redfyre, who combines aristocratic heritage and crime-solving ability. After attending a Cambridge University Christmas concert, Redfyre witnesses a possible murder attempt on the young female soloist named Juno Proudfoot, and later investigates the death of another – seemingly connected – young woman. This is a pleasant "cozy" with a wonderful historical feel and the mystery is puzzling, but the pace is rather slow at times. Some of the dialogue, especially between Redfyre and female acquaintances, seems stilted or overly clever even as it raises important questions about equal rights and feminist issues. With emphasis on social class differences and added tension between town and gown, these generally likeable characters show potential for more in the series.

Good mystery, but the pace really dragged. I enjoyed the setting and characters - I'm always looking for good mysteries set in the 1920s.

At first look, this book ticks a lot of boxes for me: it's set in 1920's England, is a murder mystery, the storyline centers around a group of suffragettes. But the execution was poor and I'm kind of annoyed that I bothered to finish it so I could write a review. The protagonist, DI Redfyre, was given no personality and his backstory wasn't set up well at all. The writing was stultifying and hard to follow, with big chunks of dialogue in the form of extended speeches. As a reader, I didn't get to know the victims nor the witnesses and suspects, so there were no stakes and it was impossible to try to guess who might be the murderer or why they did it. This series should be scrapped.

This book is not for me. I didn't like the format or the story line.

Hard to believe this is the same author that writes the Joe Sandilands series. I thought this particular title was quite unevenly written. The central character, Inspector John Redfyre, might be interesting on further acquaintance, but I thought that his various attempts at levity that were inappropriate, under the circumstances. I also found myself losing interest during what were almost soliloquies by various characters. Inspector Redfyre's potential love interest, Eadwig, was almost always referred to by the childhood nickname "Earwig," even by Inspector Redfyre's aunt and the author (quite annoying). Overall, I had really expected better from an established author, but would be willing to read a sequel.