***Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review***

The Lost Boys of London by Mary Lawrence is a novel set during the reign of Henry VIII. The main character of the novel is Bianca Goddard a alchemist’s daughter and an alchemist herself. Her husband is away fighting the Scots. Bianca spends her time in her shop selling her creams and potions. It seems that young boys are being killed around London and Bianca starts to fear for Fisk’s life( a kid who is always on the street trying to help his mom in any way he can) her friend. She helps her Constable friend in order to find evidence to save more young boys from this killer.
It was interesting but sometimes the words used were hard for me to understand. I liked that although it was part of a series I never felt that parts were missing, so you can read it as a standalone.

This is the fifth book in a mystery series set in the Tudor era. After being a fan of the previous four books, this was just as enjoyable and fast-paced. There were twists and turns that kept me guessing who the killer was! Bianca is a clever and fun heroine! I love reading about her adventures as well as learning a little bit about Tudor history!

The Lost Boys of London by Mary Lawrence is a novel set during the reign of Henry VIII. The heroine of the novel is Bianca Goddard a alchemist’s (really a pharmacist in our time) daughter. Her husband is away fighting the Scots. Bianca spends her time in her shop and at times employs a street boy, Fisk, to help her with deliveries. It seems that young boys are being killed by hanging with a rosary wrapped around their necks. Bianca fears for Fisk’s life. She enlists the help of her Constable friend in order to find evidence to save more young boys from this predator.
I liked the style of writing in this novel and enjoyed it. However, I found the time period not one of my favorites in history. I did enjoy this book and would recommend it and Ms. Lawrence.

I want to apologize for taking so long to review this ARC. When I requested it I had no idea it was #5 in a series. Being one of those people who likes to read things from beginning to end, I had to find the first book, and then the second book and so on. Boy was that a good decision. This series is phenomenal. Not only is Bianca Godard a fascinating character but the setting of the books is unique as are the various murders Bianca helps solve.
I recommend reading this book series in order. It is wonderful to see the characters develop and experience their triumphs and losses with them. Lawrence is a talented storyteller who transports to reader to the England of Henry the VIII. I love how she weaves the language of that time period into her tale. I must confess that I love looking up these unfamiliar words even though there are enough context clues that it really isn't necessary. But I become so fascinated by the minutiae that I just want to know more.
Thank you Netgalley for this copy and Mary Lawrence for her patience. I'm glad I was able to take this reading journey.

I love this mystery series and the latest entry did not disappoint. The characters are engaging and the mystery keep me interested until the end.

This was my first book from Lawrence. Even though this was the fifth book in the series, it was fine to read as a standalone! I'm sure reading the previous four would have made for a richer experience. As it stands, this is one of those reads that I don't have strong feelings about. Bianca was interesting enough to follow but I wasn't particularly attached to her. The most striking aspect of Lawrence's writing is the attention to crafting an authentic setting for her characters. I've only read a handful of historical books that completely transport me back in time, and only one of those was a mystery. It's reads like this that make me so happy to have all of my creature comforts and convenience of modern communication when my husband is away.

I admit, it took me a while to slog through as I had just hit a major reading slump and the language, while accurate for the time definitely was a challenge for me. Between the language and my detachment from the characters, I struggled but other readers that enjoy historical mysteries will absolutely enjoy The Lost Boys of London.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book provided by the author. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Really enjoyed this book BUT AGAIN I didn't realise till I finished that it is a series so I will be reading the rest and also reminding myself to check if the book is in a series

this was a really good historical novel and I really enjoyed reading it, the characters were great and I really love the tudor time period.

It was a good book! It was fun to get lost in Tudor England for awhile. I had not read much historical fiction in a long time! What a great book to come back to!

While her husband fights the Scots on behalf of King Henry VIII, Bianca Goddard earns her coin by concocting medicines that offer relief to London's sick. Some unfortunates, however, are beyond any remedies she can provide--like the young boy discovered hanging from a church dripstone. Examining the body, Bianca finds a rosary twined around the child's neck. A week later, another boy is found dead at a different church. When Fisk, Bianca's impish acquaintance goes missing, she fears he may become the third victim...

There are many scoundrels who would prey on wayward, penniless boys. But Bianca suspects the killings are not brutal acts of impulse, but something far more calculated. In her room of Medicinals and Physickes, she examines the sole piece of evidence: a sweet-smelling, stained cloth. If Bianca can unravel its secret, reputations and lives will be saved. The expected hour of the next murder is approaching, and a single misstep may mean another boy is lost forever...

I have read other books by this author and really enjoyed them which is why I requested this book. I couldn’t get into this book at all. It was not my cup of tea. Sorry. I am a big fan of historical fiction and will probably try some other books by Mary Lawrence.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A good historical mystery novel. I read this before reading the previous books in the series, now I’m definitely going to go back and read the others.

The author has done good research and their is authenticity in characters, and is not the run off the mill books.

I will definitely recommend this book for both historical book readers and mystery readers.

I read the book in one sitting!

The Lost Boys of London, book five from the Bianca Goddard Mysteries, by Mary Lawrence was a great read for me. I would love to read the other books in the series. This one gets five stars from me.

In an interview published on Debbie de Louise's Ruff Drafts (June 4 2019) Lawrence indicated The Lost Boys of London would be the final book in this series. I hope this is not so. Bianca is such a wonderful character, I would love to read more of her adventures. If this is the last book, it finishes the series on a high note.

This is not a 'cozy mystery'. True, Bianca is an amateur sleuth. Her powers of observation place her far above the level of law enforcement in London at that time. True, there are characters who
appear throughout the series. This is true for all series. Unlike a typical cozy, this series was set in the waning years of King Henry VIII reign. What sold me on the series was Lawrence's decision to not focus on Court life. She chose to write about the common Londoner of that time.

The Lost Boys is set during the last of winter. That period when the chill is still evident and snow has given away to continual drizzle. The plague years are all but over, and now the streets are filled with beggars and orphans left destitute by those grim years. Another group drawn to London are the people of the monasteries that were shuttered by Henry's reformation.

Murder is never to be taken lightly. Most agree that the murder of a child is especially loathsome.
Combine this with the method of murder, strangulation with the corpse dangling from a church
wall, the reader is almost compelled to stay up and find the solution along with Bianca. Adding to the tension, a boy who has caught Bianca's attention -- she wishes to make him an apprentice-- has disappeared. It is rumored that Fisk is part of a loose gang of boys organized by a Fagin like character. She fears the worse.

Her mood is not improved by the lack of news from the war in Scotland. Her husband, John Grunt,
is a pike man in this war. Lawrence moves the action from London to Scotland revealing the horrors of that conflict. This conflict know today as the "Rough Wooing" describes battle behavior that horrifyingly still continues in the 20th Century. War is transformative, will John be able to escape unchanged?

The third element in the Lost Boys of London is the introduction of the politics of the Church of England. Lawrence presents a church crushed by the power of the Bishops, by the lack of charity, by the priest more concerned with appearance than with ministering to his congregation. The war in Scotland seems very remote; the war of Faith walks the streets of London.

Through all this Bianca is alone. Left with a few friends such as Meddybemps, her bar maid friend, and her maybe immortal cat, she mourns her miscarriage. Lawrence's decision to let incidents in previous books play out in current titles brings a sense of realism to her work. The overall tone
of this mystery is stark. The puzzle is not easily solved. The life and death situations seem very real. This is a historical mystery at it's finest.

Highly recommended for history fans. Suitable for sophistication YA readers through adult. (less)

The author has beautifully portrayed England of the 1500s, the places, dialogues, costumes and ways of living. The characters are well developed and likeable. The suspense is somewhat sudden and off the track but that doesn’t pull the flavour of the book. The topic is a heavy one handled deftly. An enjoyable historical fiction. The title has an in-depth meaning.

Not having read the first 4 books in this series, I still found this a satisfying mystery. Characters are well-developed as well as the setting. I'm glad I read it, and hope to to back and read the others.

A fitting end to a masterful Tudor Mystery series!

It's 1545 London and Bianca Goddard once again is called upon by Constable Patch to lend her skills, and finds herself in the midst of a troubling puzzle. Patch is of course unconcerned that these things are happening outside his jurisdiction. He's ambitious!
At two different times in differing places boys have been hung from neighbouring local church grotesques (gargoyles). Bianca is scared that her young friend Fisk who's been missing will meet the same fate.
Along with Bianca we find ourselves "in a world full of lost boys—abandoned children, of men killed in battle, men scarred from war, of boys who grow into petulant kings, and men who forfeit the gift of loving their children." (Part of a very poignant comment at the end of the novel.)
Meanwhile, over a year ago, Bianca's husband John Grunt had been dragged off with King Henry's army, intent on taking retribution against Scotland. England is winning, well actually raping, pillaging and burning across the borderlands to Edinburgh. Then comes Melrose Abbey and the profaned destruction of the Earl of Angus’s family tomb. The Scots would have their revenge. That came as a rout of the English Army at Ancrum Moor! Fleeing the carnage John struggles for home. A long and painful journey.
There's no media to give a blow by blow update, all Bianca and her friend Cammy can do is rely on passing newsmonger's rumor, "misconstrued by miles of weary couriers". I must admit to sometimes hating the immediacy of communications in our times, but when wondering about loved ones as here, it's a boon.
I love the cover of this book. The watchful poignancy of the young lad reflects that which the novel hints at for those caught up in circumstances beyond their control. Of wariness, helplessness and confusion, and trying to overcome the worst of circumstances.
Having read all previous titles in the series, this last novel was a fitting conclusion. I found that the caring Bianca (as an alchemist/ herbalist), despite her many woes and troubles, marches to the beat of her own drum in a way that fits with the times. She displays insight' courage and charity, alongside starts that occasionally make you scratch your head and wonder what the dickens she's up to. Journeying with her are a string of colorful characters, including a cat, that either enrichen and enliven, or disappoint and disappear.

A Red Puddle Print ARC via NetGalley

The Lost Boys of London by Mary Lawrence

I have been into historical fiction lately so I picked up this book. I am not familiar with the author’s style. There are too many characters even at the beginning. It switches back and forth on two different locations. One in London with Bianca and the other in Scotland with John in the throes of war. I continued reading the book because I want to know who took the boys. I want to know who the killer is. Lots of killing, brutal killing and vivid descriptions. I am not a fan of that.

It pains my heart reading this book about the boys. It’s a story set a while back but I know there are still many sad stories about children. I think I enjoyed the second half much better as stories started to unravel. Dots start connecting. I admire Bianca’s desire to help and solve the mystery.


Thank you #netgalley and Red Puddle Print for the free copy. All opinions are my own.

Absolutely loved it. Tales a little while to get into the language of the day bit it makes it authentic. Obviously well researched. Apparently this is the end of a series which both pleased and disappointed me. On one hand I get to read more from this lovely author but then I know when it ends. Still, I can't wait to get my hands on the other books.

Highly recommend. Thanks Netgalley and publisher for this arc.

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is the fifth book in the series but the first I have read. It didn’t take long to put the characters into perspective. Once I did, I found it a highly compelling story of Bianca,, a healer and detective in the time of Henry VIII. She is called upon to help investigate the murder of a young boy, found hanging from a church in the City. When a second boy is murdered and hung from another church, it becomes clear that there is a message being sent but by whom and what is the message.
The book takes us through the harsh streets of London from tenement to markets and back. It is a dirty and dangerous place made even more so by the religious confusion brought on by Henry’s break with Rome and the teachings of Martin Luther. It is rife with multi-faceted characters who are just trying to survive as best they can.
Bianca not only wants to figure out who is behind the murders and prevent further ones but she also wants to find the young boy she wants to make her apprentice who has disappeared without a trace. Are the two mysteries entwined? Bianca must find the truth and find it fast. She is an incredible heroine, brave, smart and capable and assisted by a wonderful black cat named Hob. The reader must keep reading. It is a page turner.
Five purrs and two paws up.

From that first scene, where the running boy barely manages to step over a steaming turd, you know that this is one of those marvelous works of historical fiction where you’re going to walk the streets at the side of the characters and feel the cobbles beneath your own shoes.

Not to mention breathe the same air and smell the same smells. Maybe it’s better not to go into too many details about the smells, at least not around mealtime.

This series takes place at one of the crossroads of English history, a time when there was ferment both politically and ideologically, a time when the world was changing but the impact of those changes was still in process. And like all times of great change, there were forces dead set on maintaining their power and the status quo, just as they were those who were agitating for the changes to come. And both sides used violence to make their point, with bloody results no matter who won.

Set at the sunset of the reign of Henry VIII, the focus of this entry in the series is split between Bianca in London and her husband John, who was conscripted into the army at the end of the previous book, The Alchemist of Lost Souls. John is in Scotland, just one of the many footsoldiers participating in King Henry’s “Rough Wooing” of the Scots, and learning the lesson that transcends time and place and applies to all wars, that war is hell, and that entirely too many of the men fighting it release their inner devils for the purpose.

Bianca has no idea where John is or how he is, all she knows is that he is gone and that she has been left to make the best living she can as a “white witch” dispensing medicinal herbs and tinctures, and to occupy herself as best she can by aiding the local constable with his inquiries. Meaning that Constable Patch has the authority, Bianca has the brains, and the Constable gets all the credit for her solutions.

Patch has called Bianca in to solve a terrible crime – one made even more terrible by its repetition. Someone is killing young boys and stringing them up from church gargoyles. It’s ugly and gruesome in every possible way. But it doesn’t make sense.

It’s unclear whether someone is targeting the churches, drawing attention to the inconstancy of their beliefs and practices as they are caught in the King’s religious caprices, or whether someone is trying to discredit the church as a whole in order to bring about more reform. In either these scenarios, the boys are part of the show and not its purpose.

Or is someone poking into the gangs of thieving boys in an attempt to uncover their masters? Or is it another possibility all together?

Caught between feuding constables, infighting clergymen and searching for the lost boys, Bianca is uncertain of which way to turn. She only knows that she has to get to the root of these crimes before more are sacrificed.

Escape Rating A-: This is apparently the final book in this series, and if that’s true I’m very sorry to see it end. Bianca Goddard is a fascinating heroine in so many ways. It’s not just her intelligence and her agency, although it is marvelous to read a historical mystery with a female protagonist who is neither noble nor a member of the upper classes. Bianca’s story portrays life among the groundlings, in its all too frequent nastiness, dirtiness and brevity. Her vocation is to do her best to ease the suffering around her.

At the same time, she is human in a way that is easy for 21st century readers to identify with. She’s smart, both too smart and too observant for her own good. She gets obsessive and absorbed in her work, has little patience for either small talk or fools. Her husband doesn’t try to keep her home or protect her from it. Both because he’s easy-going and because they can’t afford for her not to work every bit as hard as he does.

He does worry about her work investigating crime, and somebody should be worried. She sticks her nose and herself into places that are dangerous, and that danger all too often reaches out to grab her.

The stories in this series do an excellent job of portraying Bianca’s world, not just her personal circumstances, but the way that the doings of the high and mighty reach down and affect the lives of every person in the kingdom. Bianca is intelligent enough that when things happen, she doesn’t just know what, but she understands the why and the how of it, and so do we, even in circumstances that seem far removed from our own.

I like Bianca and I’m going to miss her. If you enjoy gritty historical mystery and want more, in addition to Bianca’s series (start with The Alchemist’s Daughter) there’s also Jeri Westerson’s Crispin Guest series, Candace Robb’s Owen Archer and Kate Clifford serieses and D.B. Jackson’s Thieftaker Chronicles in very similar veins.

One final note. Bianca has a cat named Hobs. As is usual for cats, it would be more accurate to say that Hobs has her. Due to a bit of magical realism in the previous books in the series, Bianca believes that Hobs is immortal, and the events of this book prove her correct. I want a cat like Hobs. Actually, I want all my cats to be like Hobs. Desperately. If this particular character in the story includes a bit of wish fulfillment on the part of the author, I understand completely.

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