Murder by Ghostlight
By: J. C. Briggs
Publisher: Sapere Books
5 Stars

As a lover of mystery books about books and authors, this series immediately caught my attention, especially since it features Charles Dickens as the protagonist. In Murder by Ghostlight, the third installment in J.C. Briggs' series, Dickens teams up with his friend Superintendent Sam Jones to solve yet another intricate mystery. While the stories are fictional, Briggs does an excellent job of infusing Dickens’ character with traits and values true to the real-life Dickens. Known for his strong ideals about society and justice, these values are subtly woven into the fictional Dickens without feeling preachy—though perhaps Dickens himself wouldn’t have minded a bit of preaching!

In this particular novel, Dickens finds himself in Manchester, participating in a play. After an evening out with the theater company, he returns to the stage house alone, only to discover a murder. When the police arrive, Dickens becomes the prime suspect. This twist adds an intriguing layer to the story, as Dickens now experiences the fear and uncertainty of being on the other side of a murder investigation. It’s a humbling experience for a man already known for his deep empathy, giving him an even greater understanding of the plights of those he seeks to help.

The mystery itself is masterfully written, with plenty of unexpected twists and turns. The ending is far from predictable, keeping the reader engaged from start to finish. I highly recommend this entire series, but Murder by Ghostlight stands out with its strong characters, thoughtful character development, compelling plot, and well-crafted mystery. A must-read for any mystery enthusiast!

Thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for an ARC of this book.
#NetGalley #MurderByGhostlight

🔎 This is the third book in a series where Charles Dickens (the Victorian author) is solving crimes around London. However, in this story Dickens is a suspect as well!

🔎 Just like I noted in my recent review of the second book in the series “Death at Hungerford Stairs”, this book is written very much in the style of a real Dickens novel, and I am totally here for that!

🔎 If you know anything about Dickens’ life, you will know that he had a difficult childhood, and his father was put in prison for not being able to pay his debts. In this story, when Dickens is accused of murder and put in a jail cell, he was quite impacted by that since he was very aware of how horrible prisons were. I love how the story feels so biographical. From the circumstances he gets himself into, the places he goes, his reactions to things, and even the references to his books… this truly feels like you are reading about the real man, not just a caricature of him.

🔎 The story is a solid murder mystery and I quite enjoyed it, but the Dickens connection is what will keep me coming back for more. Thankfully, there are 10 books in this series (so far), so I have a lot more reading to do! I’m looking forward to it.

Thank you @NetGalley and Sapere Books for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Another amazing story written by J. C. Briggs.
A mystery that keeps you at your toes, with characters written in a way that makes you root for them till the end

A great read could not wait to finish it just had to keep reading it’s just so good you will not want to put it down would recommend definitely

Series keeps getting better with each book.And i can't wait to read more of it. And see what else the characters get into .

Charles Dickens is on the set where he is performing in a play. When a fellow actor is found murdered, Charles is arrested for the crime. The night's performance went off without a hitch and the cast met at a Tavern afterwards. After that, for some reason, Charles headed back to the theater. This is when Charles found the man's dead body lying on the stage. Startled by a sudden noise, Charles grabbed the pistol that was lying next to the man and fired off a warning shot. This led to his subsequent arrest.

Of course Charles is innocent. However, will he be able to convince the authorities of this? What of superintendent Sam Jones, his friend and also the policeman Charles has worked with previously to solve other murders?

As always, the author delivers an excellent story in this series. We continually get to know Charles, his writing, his family and his take when it comes to solving crimes. The fact that he is the principal suspect makes this book even more enjoyable. This quick read was packed with great suspense, interesting and compelling characters and a surprising conclusion.

Many thanks to Sapere Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

First sentence: The actor on stage seemed to be asleep, one long white hand hanging from the arm of the velvet chair, and the white of his shirt showing momentarily in the flickering lamplight. His head was on his chest and he was quite still.

Premise/plot: Murder by Ghostlight is the third novel in J.C. Briggs' mystery series starring Victorian writer Charles Dickens. Dickens does not solve crimes alone; he works with Inspector Sam Jones. Briggs does a good job of peopling her world. The mysteries build on one another in terms of stories and relationships.

Dickens is NOT in London when the mystery opens--he and his friends, acquaintances, are putting on a show in Manchester. But the show--the last show anyway--did NOT go as planned. After the performance, one of the actors (or is it?!?!?!) is found onstage. The Manchester Police actually suspect Charles Dickens of the crime! Silly police. Of course, that gets cleared up relatively quickly--after a night in jail. Can Dickens help solve the murder BEFORE more murders are committed?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one. There is just something so lovely about these mysteries. I'm not sure I would call them cozy. I personally would...but maybe someone else wouldn't? These mysteries often have multiple bodies and sometimes the crime scenes can be horrific. But I love spending time with Dickens and Jones. I love spending time with the other characters we've come to know and care about. (Some of them are children.)

Quote:

What makes a man a murderer? When comes the moment that he steps off the precipice into the abyss? When exactly does he condemn himself? For whether he escapes or not, he condemns himself to exile from humankind. He becomes a hunted, homeless beast.

Murder By Ghostlight is the third in the series of mystery novels by J.C Briggs

As in the first two books the central characters are Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones of Bow Street, The storyline is full of twists and turns that held my interest from the first till the last page . This time the story includes the characters walking the streets of Manchester, London it also see Dickens having a spot chapel with the Manchester police.

Praise to the author on producing an another excellent

I look forward to reading more of this series!

Murder By Ghostlight is the third murder mystery featuring a fictionalized Charles Dickens solving crime in partnership with his friend Superintendent Sam Jones. Released 24th Jan 2019 by Sapere, it's 277 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a genuinely entertaining and well written historical mystery interwoven into a framework of historical fact. The dialogue and plotting are well paced and the setting (early Victorian Manchester) is enough of a departure from the almost de rigueur London to add another level of enjoyment for me. The characters are very well drawn and the plot is well paced. My only minor quibble with the characterizations is the slightly twee inclusion of secondary characters throughout the books who figure heavily into the historical Dickens' actual oeuvre. I don't doubt that Dickens used real people as inspirations for his characters - there's enough actual canonical documentation to prove that he did. I just found it distracting that one popped up every couple of chapters in this book.

This is a fun and worthwhile series especially for lovers of historical British crime fiction.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Murder by Ghostlight is the third entry in a mystery series featuring Charles Dickens. While in Manchester, performing with his troupe of amateur actors, he finds himself under arrest for murder when one of the actors is found dead on stage with Dickens standing over him holding a gun. When he is able to convince the police of his innocence, he joins with Inspector Hardacre of Manchester and his London friend Superintendent Sam Jones to find the murderer, especially as the same man has also killed a young actress for whom he had felt a fatherly protectiveness. A sprawling plotline ensues, encompassing visits to the grim slums of Manchester, Dickens’ personal and charitable interests, mistaken identity, and of course additional murders.

I enjoyed this book and the author has obviously done extensive research into Dickens’ life and activities, including a brief historical note at the end detailing the genesis of the idea for this particular plot. The characters are well drawn and sympathetic, and I could particularly identify with the author himself as he was sitting in jail wondering if he would be able to clear his name and thinking of his past experiences, although even with Dickens’ imaginative reconstruction I still didn’t feel like I had a sufficient understanding of the murderer,.The poverty and desperation, particularly in Manchester, which so particularly engaged the historical Dickens, was particularly well drawn. It was also a plus that I didn’t feel lost coming in on the third book, even though there were a few brief mentions of the previous case. Despite it being a little slow paced for my taste, with possibly a few too many coincidences, I will still consider looking up the other books in the series.

I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Another entry in the Charles dickens detective series.While the plot was a little far fetched i found the characters interesting and the plot enjoyable

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught.

I recieved an eARC from NetGalley for my honest review. Once again author J.C. Briggs has written a wonderful period piece in the style of Charles Dickens. You find yourself wonderfully enthralled not only by the atmosphere created, but you also find yourself walking the streets of Manchester, and London, with the character ( now seemingly friend) Charles Dickens. Working to solve the mystery which moves from one unexpected turn to another. Well written it leaves you hoping for only more in this series to come.

Murder By Ghostlight is the third mystery novel in the Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones series, though it is my first. Even though this is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. Author J.C. Briggs has written a well rounded mystery that is set well in the Victorian era. The storyline is full of twists and turns that really held my interests. I look forward to reading more of this series!

This is an unusual murder mystery with the person aiding the police in the capture of the murderer Being none other than Charles Dickens. It portrays him as a man tortured by the horrors of his childhood and seeking to help the poor and needy in the present. Initially he is accused of the shooting in the theatre where his play is being performed and he is deeply affected by a night spent in the police cells. His long-time friend, Superintendent Dickens, come to his assistance and together they set about bringing the real culprit to justice.

Life for the poor in late Victorian Manchester and London is very well described and lend an authentic atmosphere of the time. There are many references to Dicken’s books, as well as other literary works of the time and the book would be of more interest to those readers who are familiar with his work and that of his contemporaries.

I had not read other books in this series and reading this would encourage me to go back and read the novels which preceded it.

I love this series and this book is as good as the other installment in this series.
It's great to meet again the cast of characters and read the engaging plot.
The well researched historical background and the engrossing plot kept me hooked till the last page.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Sapere Books and Netgalley for this ARC

*Many thanks to JC Briggs, Sapere Books and Netgalley for providing mw with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
This is the third book with Charles Dickens as a character who solves mysteries with a little help from his friend, although the first one for me. It was an enjoyable read, as, apart from taking part in solving the mystery murders, I learnt more about his theatre in Manchester, his family and the writing process. There is a lot of Dickens in the narration, in the descriptions of Manchester and the poverty. Efforts by Dickens to help those less fortunate, especially children, are also mentioned. I have never read a biography of Dickens, so probably that was why I liked this novel.

1850 Manchester and Charles Dickens in on a stage holding a gun with a dead man nearby and thereby he becomes the prime suspect. With the help of Superintendent Jones of Bow Street they aim to find the real murderer.
The mystery was interesting enough. The story did drag at some points, with too much description, and I didn't like the dialogue in the vernacular as it stopped the flow of the story when I had to go back to make out what had been said.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Love a good mystery this one had me glued

‘She could hardly believe that Mr Dickens had been taken into custody.’

Manchester, 1850. Charles Dickens and his company of friends are performing ‘Money’, a play by Edward Bulwer-Lytton at the Queen’s Theatre. At the end of the evening’s performance, Charles Dickens and the other members of the cast had dined at the Concert Tavern, but Dickens then returned to the Theatre. Something had bothered him.

‘The theatre was quiet now, the stage illuminated only weakly by the ghostlight left on for safety, and by the oil lamp burning down.’

He finds a man dead on stage. There’s a pistol on the floor. Dickens hears a noise, he fires the pistol and shortly after finds himself arrested for murder. Will Dickens be able to convince the authorities of his innocence?

With the help of his good friend Superintendent Sam Jones of Bow Street, Dickens is released pending further investigation. Naturally, Dickens wants to find out who the killer was. He and Superintendent Jones, together with the Manchester Police, set out to investigate.

The investigation takes them into the slums of Manchester as well as into the streets of London. They quickly make some rather disconcerting discoveries and uncover a mystery or two. In the meantime, the murders continue. And as the story builds to its climax, Dickens himself is at risk.

This is Ms Briggs’s third novel in this series, and I enjoyed it as much as the first two. Dickens and Jones work well together: they are both aware of the inequalities in society and each is determined to do his bit to change them. This leads to some engaging secondary characters as well as some insights into where Dickens took inspiration for some of his novels. For those who’ve read the earlier books, some familiar characters will make an appearance. While this novel can be read as a standalone, I strongly recommend reading the series in order.

Highly recommended, and I am now looking out for the fourth novel in the series.

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