I am really, really, fond of Historical Mysteries and this one just jumped into my pile of books that I am really loving and "cannot wait for the next one" piles. I requested this one because I am currently reading both Charles Finch's "The Charles Lennox Series" and the "Maisie Dobbs" series by Jacqueline Winspear and loving both so very much and this one looked like it was along the same lines as both of those series. I was not disappointed.

Set at the beginning of World War 1, the main character of Chief Inspector Beech is a man who fought in the war and was injured and sent home. Dealing with his memories of the war, his injury and the loss of friends and family alike, he is called to the home of Lady Harriet Murcheson, where he finds her husband dead from a stabbing of scissors to the chest, and the Lady herself refusing to both talk to him or confess to the murder. In realizing that the Lady Harriet is also injured, he calls upon his friend Dr. Caroline Allardyce to help him and in doing so, an idea forms in his mind and from that, the Mayfair 100 is formed - women AND men, helping those who are reluctant to contact the regular police or women who are unable to contact anyone due to their station and the fact that they were, women. Comprised of two women [though there are more than that in "unofficial roles" and three "Yard" men, they are there to tackle the cases that are often lost in the wind.

This was a good mystery [though I had it figured out by the end - not ALL of the particulars, but most of them; it didn't take away from the book or the end though] and I really, really like all the characters. It was well thought out and brings to you another level of the war and London during those early days of it [the Zeppelin raids are mentioned and I cannot even imagine the terror that those attacks brought]. It also shows some of the seedier sides of London and its surrounding areas and that was a bit of a surprise to me - not that I am clueless mind you, but some of this stuff was really out there [they sold HEROIN at the local pharmacists shops!] and I spent a good amount of time researching different things that were brought up and then spent a good amount of time in sadness at some of the other things I learned - the things that people are driven to do to survive never fails to break my heart and there is a lot of that aspect in this book. In fact, this book was a lot grittier than both the Charles Lennox and Maisie Dobbs books and I was unprepared for that. It doesn't take away from the story, in fact, it adds to it - bring even more realism to the story. It was just a bit of a shock.

I will be reading ALL that the author writes in this series. I absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for providing this ARC in return 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 😊

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fun historical cozy. I enjoyed it a lot and will be looking out for sequels.

Thanks netgalley for the chance to read and review this one

One of the things I consider when reading a historical novel is whether or not it is evocative - whether in description, dialogue and characterization it adequately evokes a feeling of the time and place in which it is set. This mystery, set in London in 1915, is evocative all right. Unfortunately it doesn’t evoke the feeling of WWI London so much as it evokes the feeling of a TV show set in WWI London. The plot and writing was simplistic and the characterizations superficial. While it was fairly historically accurate overall, it was pretty anachronistic as regarding social norms. This was one of the things that gave it that “TV show” feeling — period television is pretty notorious for transplanting a modern mindset to historical settings. All that said, it was a rather fun, quick read — unchallenging but entertaining in a very TV-like way. If half-stars were allowed, this review would be 3.5

Murder In Belgravia is the first book in the Mayfair 100 series.

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more. I will say that this a darker cozy mystery but not overly so. The story is set during WWI in London, where the social structure is starting to crumble, woman’s suffrage is beginning, and the seamier side showing the ease with which heroin and cocaine could be obtained if one had the money and a doctor who would prescribe them.

The story starts with Chief Inspector Beech being called to Lord Murcheson’s home to investigate his death. When he arrives Lady Harriet refuses to talk to Beech about her husband’s death unless it is someone equal to her social status only admitting to having killed her husband. Beech can see that Lady Harriett needs immediate medical attention and calls Dr. Caroline Allardyce, a long time friend and doctor at The London Medical Hospital of London.

As Beech begins to investigate he learns that Lord Murcheson was injured during the war and when he returned home his doctor was providing Murcheson with drugs that caused him to have periods of violent outbursts. Caroline, after having had a chance to exam Lady Harriet, and telling Beech of her injuries, neither one feels she was capable of murdering her husband.

What with the war causing a shortage of officers, Beech proposes to his superior, Sir Edward Henry, that there be formed a group that will deal with crimes to and by women. Sir Edward agrees to the plan so long as the team is kept secret. Beech asks Caroline to join, he also asks a long friend, Victoria Ellingham, he also asks Arthur Tollman a retired police officer and he also asks Billy Rigsby, a young police officer to round out the group. He hopes that people who are going to be interviewed will more willing to talk with someone who is not apparently with the police. Tollman and Rigsby will be used to provide protection for Caroline and Victoria. Their work will take them into the seamier areas of London as they search for the murderer.

I really am looking forward to more books in the Mayfair 100 series. I found it to be a very interesting book and had a very interesting cast of characters. Would love to learn more about the main characters and see what romantic interests might be in store for Beech.

Murder in Belgravia is the first book in a new series, the Mayfair 100 Mysteries. The series is set in World War I era England.

Chief Inspector Peter Beech realizes that crime is changing in the city of London now that the war is going full force. Many women have come to the city to work, taking over jobs previously held by men. Beech comes up with an idea to form a special task force to investigate crimes involving women. He firmly believes that Scotland Yard should add female investigators. Scotland Yard has a policy against women working with law enforcement, so while he is allowed to move ahead with the idea, Beech has to keep it quiet. The task force will have no arrest powers or permission to conduct official investigations. And there will be no women on the payroll, visible at crime scenes or mentioned to the media. Beech is optimistic that his experiment will be successful, even if they have to be completely behind the scenes.

Mayfair 100 is the phone number for the task force. Their first case involves Lady Harriet Murcheson. She has confessed to murdering her husband by stabbing him with a pair of scissors, but preliminary investigation of the scene points to someone else committing the crime. Can they discover the truth.....without anyone discovering them?

I love the setting and basic premise of this new series! So creative! The character development in this first book and the mystery kept my attention from start to finish. Victoria Ellingham and Dr. Caroline Allandyce are both intelligent, determined and feisty. C.I. Peter Beech is a great character as well. He knows his job....and knows when changes are necessary to make sure crimes are investigated and solved quickly. Beech knows that crimes committed by, and against, women need the thoughts and ideas of women involved in the investigation process....and he is determined to make that possible!

The mystery progressed at a nice pace with plenty of twists and suspects. I enjoyed how the new task force learned to work together and how each character developed during this first story. This series has a classic murder mystery feel to it. Loved it!

I will definitely be reading more of this series! I can't wait to find out what case they will investigate next!

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

"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."

A timely and timeless new series of British detection.

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.

3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this and I recommend it, but I did have some issues with it. The characters all feel a bit two-dimensional, and not particularly deep. And the whole thing reminded me a bit of Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman, in that many of the characters particularly the women, speak as though they are modern progressive feminists, which doesn't ring totally true. All the main characters are pretty liberal-minded and forward-thinking for 1915. However...I freaking loved Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman! That kind of progressive badassery and rebellion against the times can feel highly satisfying. So even though I wasn't convinced this was realistic, it was fun and incredibly engrossing. I enjoyed the little band of investigators and following along where the clues took them. 

I look forward to the next entry in this series, but I'd like to see a little more depth and character development as it progresses. I think fans of Rhys Bowen's books would enjoy this one.

I received this as an ARC in exchange fore a fair review. I absolutely loved it!! This book was a great read. I enjoyed the author's writing style greatly. The characters were all well thought out, as was the plot. The setting was well written the reader felt as if you were there. If you enjoy historical mysteries this is the book for you.

this was a delightful book and i can't wait for the next in the series. i love books which feature strong women and the men who support them. there was clearly alot of research done about life in london during the first world war and it made for an interesting read. the injustices that were/are suffered by women, by the gay community, by the class system at the time all play an important part in the plot.

Murder in Belgravia by Lynn Brittney is the first instalment in the Mayfair 100 mystery series focusing around a special task force in the London Metropolitan Police especially created to deal with crimes involving women.

Set in London in 1915: war veteran Chief Inspector Peter Beech realises that, with so many men at the front and so many women left in the city, it is only natural that more and more crimes will see women’s involvement and he suspects – based on his own experience – that male policemen may be ill-equipped to deal with it. The war is changing society, but society has not changed enough yet to allow a woman to be part of the police. So Beech works to get permission to create a task force of professional women (we see a doctor in this instalment, a lawyer and a pharmacist) and policemen – these latter will both protect the women and do the actual arrests. This task force needs to be kept secret and will never be exposed, no matter what good results they may achieve.

I really really enjoyed the historical setting. It is quite clear that the author did a great deal of research for this series… which in a way is what I found the biggest issue too. The central part of the story brings into the plot many historical facts (the bombing of London, the groups of patrolling women, the liberal use of drugs which were still unregulated) that while interesting in their own right, have little or no real importance to the actual plot. Which is a shame, because this made the central part of the story drag a bit and it was indeed a bit distracting.

The mystery plot in itself was quite straightforward, if realistic and logical. Nothing spectacular in terms of ideas, but I actually like this because it goes well with the setting, since the central idea of the series is clearly to spotlight what women could bring into the game with their professionalism in everyday life.

The cast of recurring characters (and there will be quite a lot from what I see) is nice and relatable. I know I’ll read more in this series if I’ll have a chance.

This era is a favorite of mine for historical fiction. This is a murder mystery set in London. It's a good read but not remarkable compared to other novels of the same content. It's a good read overall.

A very good read set in Great Britain during WWI. This is a time period where I feel like books are fantastic or they're bad with horrible historical details. This was a good one with good characters defined by the time period where women were just starting to have a role outside the house during WWI. Good characters, good mystery and the historical setting is believable. There were times I didn't love the writing style, but it didn't take away from the overall enjoyment of reading this book.

What a wonderful start to a series! Murder in Belgravia is a delightful and engaging read. I absolutely loved the story. The story is set in Britain during the first World War.

The war had a lot of consequences on people. Not just bombing, there was a rise in crimes in general and crimes against women. And it just doesn't end there. Drug trade and flesh trade were also at a high. Male brothels and female brothels were frequented by men of high society. Domestic violence in the well-known was also on a rise.

Lynn Brittney, the author, has included all these in the story and she deserves a standing ovation. Have you read a story that involves WW1, domestic violence, women's suffragettes and Women Sleuths? I hadn't until I came across A Murder in Belgravia.

Brittney's storytelling skills are simply marvelous. I was hooked on to the book till the end. It was completely engrossing and at the same time, interesting. I was curious to know who killed Lord Murcheson. Not Lady Harriet, no. She was not in a position to kill him, at least not after he hit her so badly that she fainted!

The story gets even more interesting when butler's role in the murder comes into the picture. It is either the wife or the butler when the man of the house is found murdered, isn't it? Well, not always!

I love stories in which women are portrayed as strong and independent. Mind you, this story was set during the times when women were not allowed to vote or work. The war changed all of this and many more. There are a lot of female characters in this book and each one of them have a story of their own. Not just the females. the story equally concentrates on the male characters, and this includes the boys who were found in the male brothel.

I started reading this story on New Year's Eve and completed it on the 1st. I must say that this is one of the best stories that I have read in 2019. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the Mayfair 100 Mystery. If you are a fan of Historical Fiction and stories set during the World War, then do not miss to read this book.

One of the best mystery I read in a long time. It's entertaining and a real page turner, once I started I was hooked could not put it down.
There's a very interesting setting with all the changes that WWI is bringing to London and to women position.
It 's well researched, with interesting and well developed characters and the right dose of humour. The plot is well developed and there is no plot hole nor anything left unsolved.
A great start for a new series, look forward to reading the next instalment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC

This is the first novel in a new historical mystery series set in Britain during WWI. The premise centers on the formation of a new detective unit which includes both men and women. The two women are a doctor and a woman who took law courses but, since she was female, could not obtain a degree. The men are forward thinking officers of the law.

The story centers on the death of a returning soldier who may have been murdered by his wife. A lot is thrown into the mix including scenes set in upper class homes, hospitals and brothels.

This was an interesting book with characters who were quite likeable. I look forward to the next in this Mayfair 100 series.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-galley. The opinions are my own.

Chief Inspector Beech is investigating the murder of a Lord supposedly at the hands of his meek, mild wife. With the country in the midst of war, many women are working in non-traditional jobs and Inspector Beech wants to bring women into the police force. He organizes s group called Mayfair 100 and off they go solving the murder and lots of other crimes. This is the first in the series. Looking forward to others.

A review will be posted on www.MapYourMystery.com on December 27,

Murder of an aristocrat in a WW1 setting

The story is set in 1915 and opens with the grisly murder of a Lord Murcheson, by all accounts an extremely unpleasant character. Suspicion immediately falls on his wife Lady Harriet. The upper-class DI Beech is called in to solve the crime. He has returned from being wounded in France and has now resumed his police duties. Scotland Yard is over-stretched with so many men fighting the war, so Beech forms his own group of investigators, which includes two women, also upper crust. One is a doctor and the other a lawyer. This unusual group soon find that Lady Harriet could not possibly have committed the murder as she had been brutally attacked and almost killed by her husband. The search for the killer now takes them into the seamy underworld of London, with drug dealers, gang leaders, brothel keepers and rent boys all involved.

The story is told with pace and tension. The WW1 background has been well researched and there is an interesting picture of women raising their profiles and demanding to be taken seriously with a role in the professions. Unfortunately, the writing is not so good and the book could have done with better editing. The dialogue is old fashioned and at times childish. The author had previously written children’s fiction and it rather shows.

This is an easy and interesting read and presumably the start of a series. There are some loose ends and also a hint of romance obviously waiting to be developed. It is a gripping story that many will enjoy and despite my reservations, I look forward to the next book.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

Love this book! It is slow at first then picks up to the point you are too interested to put it down! Good, clean mystery, an adult Agatha Christie, fascinating tale of London during the First World War! Great characters, DCI Peter Beech, his two charming childhood friends, from upper-crust families, Victoria, studied law and Catherine, now a Doctor, Victoria's Mother, Lady Maud, handsome young Policemen Billy Rigsby, his Mother, and Aunt from the East End, and older retired Police Sargent Tollman! I love this group of characters, brought together by DCI Beech to work together on a murder, at a time when women were not allowed on the Police force. The group are forced to work on the q.t, due to the prejudice of male policemen against the violent actions of Suffragettes. I could not put down this book! The main characters are people you want to spend time with, which makes me hope the next book is being written! The murder mystery is good, the scene of 19th Century London fascinating. I genuinely hated for the book to end!
Looking forward to the next murder! Thank you Netgalley!
I highly recommend! Enjoy!
Carolintallahassee