Once again, J.C. Briggs takes us back to the dark streets of London in Death at Hungerford Stairs. This is the second book in the Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones mystery series. This time, Charles Dickens finds himself at a workhouse he knew as a boy. He is haunted by the memories that it left him but they discover a small boy murdered. This is just the first murder in a series of murders of small boys. Who is responsible? Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones are left with very little evidence that takes them through the darkest depths of London.

For the most part, this book can be read as a standalone book. However, there are a few details and storylines that continue from the first book. I highly suggest reading the first book in the series before this book. I feel that these books are not the average mystery. The twists and turns keep coming and the clues are not obvious which makes it more interesting to solve the mystery while reading. This story is also extremely dark. Every time I pick up this book I envision a dark, foggy, dangerous Victorian London. The author truly excels with this aesthetic.

There are so many characters in this story. Sometimes it is difficult to keep track of them all throughout all the investigating and interrogations. The street talk and accents while they add great detail and realism to the story can be quite difficult to read. Although, it is the details that make this story so wonderful. I love how the author portrays Charles Dickens. Both his frustrations with his wife and his concern for the poor. Overall I rate this story 4 out 5 stars.

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I didn’t read the first in this series but I may go back and pick it up. I enjoyed this book so very much. Being set in the 1800’s the story has a bit of Sherlock Holmes on the streets of Dicken’s Village.

The story keeps you on the edge of your seat and meeting Superintendent Sam and Charles Dickens as investigators was just delightful.

You need to be a fan of OLD English lit. If you aren’t a fan of the storylines of Holmes, Jack the Ripper and the like you won’t want to read this… Or maybe reading this will take you back to trying the classics.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Death at Hungerford Stairs by J.C. Briggs is a unique peek in Dickensian London. A dark peek, yet rich with characters and scenes that feel very much like his work. Impoverished children and families struggling to feed themselves amounts tradesmen and rich opulent families. The ability to function and try help such a large intractable problem is admirable. Well written yet so dark from the time and subject matter.

This book is AMAZING! A mystery set in London during the 1850's, the author does a wonderful job detailing the historic backdrop for this serial killer mystery. Hold on tight because this book will have you at the edge of your seat until the very last page.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Sapere Books for a review copy of Death at Hungerford Stairs, the second novel to feature Victorian author, Charles Dickens, as an investigator.

When Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones are hunting for a young boy, Scrap whom they befriended on their previous case, they are asked to identify the body of a young boy found in a building at the Hungerford Stairs. When another young boy’s body is found with the same chalk drawing of a masked man nearby they have little doubt that they are hunting a serial killer.

I thoroughly enjoyed Death at Hungerford Stairs which is a good mystery wrapped up in a wealth of historical detail. In fact, the novel is a tour de force on Victorian living conditions and the life and work of Charles Dickens. The squalor, dirt, poverty and desperation leap off the page and are heartbreaking and, to my comfortable modern mind, stomach turning. Definitely not the “good old days”. Equally the novel spends time on Dickens’ thought processes on how to continue with his serial novel David Copperfield and references to his previous novels. I don’t want to denigrate an excellent author but, never having read any of his work and being unfamiliar with the plots, these passages passed over my head and didn’t hold my attention.

I enjoyed the mystery of who the killer is and the motivation behind it although it’s a bit slow in unravelling and some of the connections seem a bit of a stretch in hindsight. Nevertheless it held my attention throughout. Much of this, I think, is down to Charles Dickens being an appealing protagonist. He seems progressive in his outlook towards social problems, how much of it is true to his views I can’t tell, but it seems realistic, but less so in his dealings with his wife and children where they often appear as encumbrances. He is also smart, caring and enthusiastic.

Death at Hungerford Stairs is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is the second in the series by JC Briggs with Charles Dickens (yes, that one) as the protagonist. In Death at Hungerford Stairs, Dickens and his friend, police superintendent Sam Jones, are searching for Scrap, a missing friend of theirs who lives on the streets. The body that’s discovered in the old blacking factory at Hungerford Stairs isn’t the boy they were searching for, but a stranger — and he’s been murdered. Later, another dead boy appears, killed in the same manner, and the chase is on to find the killer — and save Scrap.

I enjoyed this book very much, just as I did the first in the series, though I have to say the weaknesses are the same. On the plus side, I really loved the insight into Victorian London and the way the squalor of its poorer quarter sits side-by-side with (but overlooked by) areas of extreme wealth and opulence. Again, I think the author’s scene-setting is exceptional and felt that I was walking through London of the 1850s.

Like Dickens himself, Briggs seems to separate the minor characters, who are pretty much caricatures, from the major ones. Dickens, Sam Jones, Jones’s wife and some others feel very real, people with feelings and emotions and complex back stories (though we see a little less of them than we did in the first book, which is a bit of a shame).

The minor caricatures are all faintly comic, identifiable by street speech, odd appearance and strange names— Occy Graves, Zeb Scruggs and so on. They have back stories, too, but the telling of them, often in story form in the dialogue, doesn’t allow us the same kind of insight that we do when we’re allowed to live lives with them, as we are with Dickens and with Jones. The downside is that I couldn’t connect with them in the same way, and that was a pity because (no spoilers) even at the moment of highest drama, I was left largely unmoved by the fate of the characters involved.

I enjoyed the plot, too, though it was perhaps a little bit slender and didn’t really involve a huge amount of detecting. But it had a satisfactory ending and one which I didn’t guess.

I’d definitely read more by the same author, and this gets a solid four stars. But much as I love the description I do think less is more and I’d have sacrificed some of it for a little more plot and some deeper characterisation.

The things I don’t really like about this book are the things I don’t really like about Dickens’ works, which is something I hope the author will take as a compliment. Fans of the great man will love it, I suspect.

Thanks to Sapere Books and Netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I liked the first book in this series and I loved this one.
It's a very good historical mystery, well written and well researched.
The characters are well written and the historical background is detailed and interesting.
It was an engaging and entertaining read with a well devised plot and a good mystery.
I look forward to reading the next installment in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Sapere Books and Netgalley for this ARC

Thank you to Sapere Books and NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
This is the second installment in the Charles Dickens Investigation series, and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. This mystery involves the death of several young boys. Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones soon discover there is a serial killer on the loose. I really like this series, and I am looking forward to the next installment!

‘The smell everywhere was of rotting sewage, decaying food, and filthy humanity.’

London,1849. A boy is found dead in the River Thames at Hungerford Stairs. Young Scrap has gone missing and novelist Charles Dickens and Superintendent Same Jones of Bow Street have been searching for him. Dickens and Jones are relieved that the dead boy is not Scrap, but who is he and why was he killed? And where is Scrap? He might have gone looking for Poll, a little dog who belongs to his friends the Brim family. Both Scrap and Poll are missing.

Dickens and Jones continue looking for Scrap, and for Poll. Their search takes them into danger in the poverty-stricken slum backstreets of London. The bodies of two more boys are discovered. There’s an image, a sketch of a mask found near each of the corpses. It must be significant, but what does it mean?

‘Secrets. Behind every murder there were secrets.’

The search for Scrap and Poll becomes the search for a serial killer. Can Dickens and Jones find the killer before more boys are killed?

This is a fast-moving story, with well-developed characters and with more than a few twists.

This is the second book in Ms Briggs’s Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones series. While the murder mystery at the heart of this novel does stand alone, I strongly recommend reading the series in order. Several of the characters appear in both books, and Ms Briggs has paid a lot of attention to backstory, character development and setting. I enjoyed this novel as much as the first and am now looking forward to reading the third novel in the series. I loved the descriptions of Victorian London (I could almost feel the dank fog and smell the decay). I liked the way Ms Briggs introduces fact into her narrative, and her depiction of Charles Dickens as both man and author.

Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Can they find the killer before it is too late? Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones make a good team and they stop at nothing to find the answers that they need. They have both been looking for a young boy & his dog and now that a body has been found that are scared that it is him. It isn't but who is the young boy will they ever find out as they are so many children that are suffering in these times. The case takes a bad turn when they find out that they young boy has been killed now they are hunting a killer. Can they find this person before more children are killed? Their young friend Scrap was able to find his way back home with his dog who had been stolen to be used as bait. They both can breathe easier now that he is safe.
Now they can use his help as he is able to find out information from the streets as another young boy has been found and the boy's mother has given up all hope as he was all that she had left and they know that there is nothing that they can do for her but to find the killer. There are many suspects and they will need to travel all over the country looking for clues. But will they lead them to the killer?
Charles is many things a caring father, a loyal friend that will do anything to help others and a writer who keeps others entertained with his stories of David Copperfield. Sam is a man that is trying to look after his wife who is still trying to move on from the death of their child. He is a good leader and a loyal friend.
A great read keeps you turning the pages to see what they will be doing next. The characters all fit perfectly in the book as they all play a part in finding the killer. I was lucky enough to receive a copy via Netgalley & the publishing house in exchange for my honest review.

First, wow! This author certainly knows his Dickens! I really enjoyed all the historical details, the writing, the characters...

The plot is tight, and the suspense will keep you turning page after page. I can't recommend this book enough and I will read the rest of this series, no doubt about it. A new favourite ♥