This is one of the mystery books series that i can't get enough of! J.C. Briggs writes beautifuly Charles Dickens and his mysteries, and all the cases he follows after to the end!
You can't stop until the last page, and you still want more

Charles Dickens finds more crimes to solve. This time it is three women who have been murdered and yet another woman has been accused of murder. Charles has always championed the cause of those less advantaged. When it comes to these women, Charles, along with Superintendent Sam Jones work hard to set matters right.

As this is the fourth book in the series, I have gotten to know a lot about Charles Dickens. In this book the deeper part of London life in the mid 1850s helps reader to learn more about the man himself, especially when it came to certain facts about his childhood. I cannot help but feel like I am reminiscing while reading these books. There is a vibe, the vibe that I never lost after seeing the movie The Christmas Carol when I was a child. There was a certain atmosphere in that move that left an impression on me. While there are times we think of imagining ourselves in the past, London at that time definitely does not appeal to me.

As this book delves into that time period, it becomes easy to imagine Charles growing up, even though among difficult circumstances. As Charles and Sam work hard to tie the murders together, having come to know the man through the pages of this series thus far, it is easy to see why he was so talented.

I am sort of a stickler for reading books in order whenever possible. I think they way these books are written, especially as we get to see Charles's home life with his wife and children, they would better read in order.

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

A moody atmospheric novel.A really entertaining series each book took me back in time great characters well written .Highly recommend.#netgalley#saperebooks

This historical fiction delivers in every single way! I loved it, I loved the inclusion of real people as fictional characters, I loved the writing and the pace. I loved the ending! I can't wait to read more by this author and see where they go next with their incredible writing. Historical fiction is my favourite genre at the moment and this one is definitely in my top 5 of 2019.

The Quickening and the Dead by J C Briggs
Having read and enjoyed Murder by Ghostlight I was very much looking forward to reading this novel and I was not disappointed. The story, set in London in 1850, involves three young women and three deaths. Lavinia Gray disappeared on the eve of her wedding and later her drowned body is discovered. A pregnant Evie Finch is found dead from an infection in a dirty lodging house and a milliner’s apprentice, Annie Deverall is accused of the murder of Dr Plume.
A prison visitor becomes concerned about Annie’s well-being and enlists the help of Charles Dickens to investigate. Again he has help from his friend Superintendent Sam Jones as he tries to discover who has murdered Dr Plume. This is a standalone novel and you do not need to have read the preceding books to enjoy it. It is full of detailed historical background detail. An entertaining and gripping read.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for an advance copy of the novel in return for an honest review.

I love a good mystery every now and then and this one caught my eye. Charles Dickens the author plays the investigator in this series, along with a London cast of characters. I read almost all of it in one sitting, my only setback was that this was my first in the series and there is quite the cast of characters without a character list. Otherwise this was an interesting and intriguing mystery

This is the fourth book in the series involving the character Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones by J.C Briggs. Each can be read as a stand-alone story but I recommend you read the series from the first book to get an understanding of the characters

Lavinia Gray disappears on the eve of her wedding, Evie Finch dies in a filthy lodging house, Annie Deverall stands accused of the murder of Doctor Lancelot Plume. Three seemingly random events, but Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones are about to discover that these seemingly random events are three are connected.

Over all a well written series of murder mystery books and I would recommend the series to readers of historical fiction and the works of Charles Dickens.

A mention also has to be said for the authors description of Victorian London throughout the series I find it be very atmospheric.

2.5 stars

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This is the fourth book in this series, but the first book I've read. This is a stand alone mystery and you don't need to have read the previous books to understand what is going on in this book.

The book is set in 1850 in London. Author Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones join forces to solve a new mystery. Two women are dead and a third is accused of a brutal murder. Initially the cases don't seem to be related, but as Dickens and Jones begin piecing the clues together, it appears they are. The duo enlist colorful characters to aid them as they dip into the less than savory depths of London's seedier sides.

I really enjoy historical fiction books, but this one was a bit dense for my taste. It was well-written, but I found my mind wandering as I read the book and couldn't get into it as much as I'd like. It took me far longer to read than normal, mainly because it took effort to make me keep reading. I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy this book, it just wasn't for me.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I start by thanking NetGalley for my eARC for my honest review. J.C.Briggs once again has brought 1850’s London to life. His wonderful duplication of Dickens atmosphere from his books along with his keen understanding of mid 19th century make this, the fourth in the series as good as all the previous. We once again step along to aid Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones in the breakdown and eventual solving of yet another period crime.

I chose this book on Netgalley because I was curious of a Victorian mystery where Charles Dickens would be the investigator. I knew it wasn’t the first in the series but I didn’t know it was #4. I would probably have reconsidered, because I found that I was missing out on some of the back stories in the novel. Many characters have met before and I felt like a late-comer at a party.

I have read a few Dickens novels but I am in no way very knowledgeable of all of his novels or of his life, and I didn’t get many of the allusions. The good point is that we get a good feeling about Charles Dickens’ personality and back story, but the bad point is, I have no clue if it’s true or rather romanticized. In the novel, Dickens is little short of a saint, he helps out every one and understands all the social issues of his time.

That said, the mystery itself was entertaining and the world on Victorian London in 1850 is perfectly drawn in all its misery. You can really feel the damp streets barely visible in a thick fog and smell the open sewers. It’s a dangerous maze where even street urchins can lose their way and disappear to dangerous thugs. The book is more worthwhile for the large cast of characters and the atmosphere, rather than for the plot itself. On the same period and nearly the same subject, I would rather recommend The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry. That said, this book made me want to read another Dickens (which is the point, I guess), but not exactly to catch up on this series.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.

There’s a lot to love about this book and still I was quite disappointed.

Charles Dickens is here presented as a man interested in crime. And he truth, if he never actually helped the police in a true crime, there is evidence that he was really interested in crime and its nature. Briggs gives us many hints into Dickens’s life, and even someone who, like me, doesn’t know much about him, has an opportunity to form a clear idea of the man. He’s depicted as a very passionate and compassionate man. Brigg’s sympathy – I’d even say admiration – is obvious.
Briggs also clearly knows Dickens’s work in depth. There are many mentions of characters and events in Dickens’s novels (especially Oliver Twist and David Copperfield), which seem to merge into the environment the characters of this book live in. It’s like Dickens’s fictional world and the real world he lived in were part one of the others, equally real and meaningful. But there are not only the novels. Dickens’s social work is also mentioned, which I particularly enjoyed. I knew that Dickens was strongly interested in social issues, but here I got the impression he was a true activist, which doesn’t surprise me.
The world Dickens (and his characters) lived in is recreated so vividly and so lively. Briggs describes Victorian London with that ease that comes from long frequentation and keen interest.
The language Briggs chooses for this story is very peculiar, very unusual for our times (the omni narrator is quite telling), and I think this comes form trying to reproduce the Victorian’s language for a modern reader. Which I enjoyed and didn’t find at all confusing, even when the author uses techniques (like head-hopping) that today are frowned upon precisely on the ground that they will confuse the reader.

All these aspects directly connected with Dickens are fantastic. They feel real, accurate and well researched from an enthusiast that loves Dickens and his work.

The rest of the novel, the true mystery, presented far more issues for me.
It’s clear from the beginning that there is a lot going on, which wasn’t really a problem for me. I trusted the author to bring all together in the end.
Sadly, that didn’t quite happened.
There are threads that seem to be very important… but disappear in the folds of the story. While the lives of the different characters are vividly depicted, their importance to the plot often failed me. I got the impression that the large cast of characters really only existed for the sake of it. There are episodes – including one very long that I truly loved – that don’t bear any importance to the core of the mystery, to the point that – once I read the ending – I wondered why so much space and importance was given to it. This happens at both a micro and a macro level, and this more than anything else confused me.
I found the ending extremely unsatisfactory and in some ways completely disconnected with the story narrated throughout the book. Which is truly a shame, because for the most part it was a very good book.

London 1850 and what intrigued me most was the involvement in a big way of Charles Dickens!


Three girls murdered. There is a link of a spurious awful Doctor who has used his position of supposedly being moral and ethical to ruin three women and on further investigations many more.Annie is in Newgate prison for the murder of Dr.Plume and it does not help that she does not talk about the case to support herself.


Collaborating with Sam Jones, both he and Charles Dickens believe that the girl is innocent and now they have to find out through a very complicated web of people, stories and deceit to find out exactly what went on and how they can get Annie set free.


The setting was a very good one but poor downtrodden London is a far cry from the fashionable soirees and houses of London's aristocracy. The wealthy had it all and the poor were left in miserable conditions. It is no wonder that death took away so many children and people alike as disease was rampant.


Descriptions of the poorer parts of London were heartbreakingly rough.I felt I had to skip paragraphs as it was too graphic for me but then this is part of the story. It was a very good introduction to Dickensian England.

The Quickening and the Dead is the fourth in the series and the second I have read. I enjoyed the plot and characters. I still need to read the other two.

This is the 4th book in the series involving a crime solving Charles Dickens. It starts out with 3 seemingly unrelated deaths but soon evolves into something else. While this isn’t an especially “dark” book it is somewhat gloomy and Briggs paints an incredibly atmospheric picture of old London with all the appropriate sights and smells. If you like historically accurate stories you will really enjoy this. It kept me guessing until the end. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to read and give my honest opinion.

A Victorian London murder mystery and nicely done. Three fated women who are linked with three separate fates. A tale told by the Charles Dickens Investigations series, was a unique and interesting story.

What did I like? I love a good mystery every now and then and this one caught my eye. Charles Dickens the author plays the investigator in this series, along with a London cast of characters. I read almost all of it in one sitting, my only setback was that this was my first in the series and there is quite the cast of characters without a character list. Otherwise this was an interesting and intriguing mystery.

Would I buy this book? Yes, Id start with book one in this series though and just work my way up. I hate starting mid series but the title, cover, and description....I couldn't pass it up.

Thoughts for the author? This was a solid idea and great as a stand alone, but I would give people a character list since there are so many. I was glued to the pages, such an interesting idea. Four mysterious stars of entertainment!

‘And the dead shall be raised.’

London, November 1850. Lavinia Gray disappears the day before her wedding and is later found drowned. Evie Finch dies of infection in a filthy lodging house. Evie was pregnant and had been abandoned by her lover. Annie Deverall, a fifteen-year-old milliner’s apprentice is accused of the murder of Doctor Lancelot Plume, and is remanded to Newgate.

Three young women, three deaths. Is there a connection?

A woman who visits Annie is concerned for her welfare, and contacts Charles Dickens, who visits her. Charles Dickens is convinced that Annie is innocent. Circumstances enable him to enlist the aid of Superintendent Sam Jones to try to find out who murdered Dr Plume before Annie goes to trial.

‘No varnish can hide the grain of the wood.’

If Annie didn’t murder Doctor Lancelot Plume, who did and why?

This is the fourth novel in Ms Briggs’s series featuring the novelist Charles Dickens and Superintendent Sam Jones. While the mystery is self-contained and the book could be read as a standalone, it is worth reading the novels in order because of the way Ms Briggs develops several of the supporting characters. London herself is a major character: the fog, the lack of sanitation, the desperate circumstances of many of the poor and underprivileged. I enjoy Ms Brigg’s depiction of Dickens, the way in which she brings the darker side of London to life.

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

November 1850, Lavinia Gray fails to turn up for her wedding and is later found dead. Annie Deverall has been charged with the murder of a Dr. Plume. Evie Finch is pregnant and been abandoned by her lover. But is there a connection between them. Superintendent Jones with the help of novalist Charles Dickens investigates.
Easily read as a standalone story but I would recommend reading the first three well-written mysteries.
Another enjoyable and well-written mystery in this series with some delightful characters.

*Many thanks to JC Briggs, Sapere Books and Netgalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
*Many thanks to JC Briggs, Sapere Books and Netgalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*
This is the 4th offering by the Author in the series, and my second Book with Charles Dickens investigating this time mystery disappearances of three young women and trying to save life of another one accused wrongly of committing a murder. And again, the famous writer co-operates with Superintendent Sam Jones. Apart from the story itself, the novel focuses on the life in London in the mid-1850, and the Author definitely knows how to combine both themes. In the background we learn a lot about Charles Dickens's hard and gloomy childhood, and how his observations are incorporated later into his novels. A decent read full of Dickensian London.

Each installment in this series is better than the previous and this one was no exception.
This book is gloomy and atmospheric but it's also enjoyable and entertaining.
The historical background is well researched and the characters are well written and realistic as usual.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Sapere Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine