A group of Africans are fleeing a ruthless showman, who want to display them to the London populace, and they ask Mr. William Arrowood for help. When one of the African party is found dead along with the man who had been trying to help, the race is on to find the killer and to unravel the truth from the prejudice of the time.

This was a dark and gritty tale. Much darker than I was prepared for. The author does an excellent job of showing the hard side of life in Victorian London. I felt the misery and despair of the poor of the time. I don't think I would have minded if the language hadn't been so vulgar. Four letter words abound!

Though I have heard of this series before, this was my first time reading one of Arrowood's adventures. I definitely think this is a series that need to be read from the beginning. The consequences of previous decisions were being played out, and I didn't always understand why things were happening.

I think I am not the intended audience for this book. I would only recommend it to mature readers looking for a gritty historical mystery.

I think it may just be me or the mood I'm in these days, but I could not get into this book. There was nothing really wrong with it -- what I read was well written, no editing errors that I spotted -- I just couldn't get invested in any of the characters. It may well appeal to others who have read this author's work in this series. #NetGalley #ArrowoodandtheMeetingHouseMurders

London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood. This series does such a great job portraying working class Londoners in 1896. This is the 4th book in the series about Private Investigator Wm. Arrowood and his assistant Barnett. Holmes and Watson they are not but they could certainly give the duo a run for their money. If you enjoy accurately portrayed historical mysteries you will definitely enjoy this series and especially this book.Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Publishers for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. As I often do, I discovered this series through NetGalley, not putting together that this was the 4th in the series! Happily, this is well written that while I guessed about a quarter of the way through that this might be a part of a series, there wasn't too much that I felt I missed out on. I really enjoyed this title! Seeing "the poor man's Sherlock Holmes" in action, but told through the perspective of his assistant Norman Barnett. I felt like we were able to see the man in action without being too attached to him, if that makes sense. As always, I get annoyed at the blatant racism of the Victorian era, but that author does a good balancing of it, without going overboard and cruel. Overall, an enjoyable read and I look forward to backtracking and starting at the beginning of the series!

Mick Finlay's Arrowood historical mystery series is one of my favorites—and I read a lot of historical mysteries. The series appeals to me for several reasons:

• It focuses on the lives of ordinary Londoners in the late 19th Century, people who are constantly having to borrow or cadge to get a meal, who live in crowded rooms, and who don't have the luxury of taking a break from their daily labors.

• The characters are complex. They have long histories with one another and ample points of conflict. In some cases the conflict is managed via an affectionate embracing of one another's failings. In other cases, the conflict is ongoing and painful.

• Finlay makes a point of building his mysteries around specific topics—in this case, the treatment of "Africans" in the British Empire, both in Africa and in England—shedding light on material that is genuinely interesting and often omitted from histories that focus on the upper classes, political maneuvering, and military conflicts.

• Arrowood, the central character in the series, has a deep-seated resentment of Sherlock Holmes, who he sees as a lackey for the upper classes, while Arrowood's identity is tied up in being a hero of the working class. I *love* the Holmes mysteries, but seeing Holmes treated as something other than a universal savior is actually a bit of a treat.

Arrowood and the Meeting House Murders focuses on a quartet of "Zulus" attempting to break an exploitative contract with the operator of several "freaks and wonders" shows. Their experiences in their homeland, part of what we now call South Africa, give ample testimony to the brutality and racism underlying the dubious accomplishments of the British Empire. They've experienced what will ultimately become the apartheid system, with separate laws and rights for Africans and Europeans. The plot grows more complicated with the arrival of a Black constable from Natal, claiming two of the four are affiliated with half-resistance, half-criminal operation and are responsible for robbing and murdering the son of a wealthy British resident of the Natal.

If you enjoy working-class, historically informed mysteries, you'll love Arrowood. If you haven't met him yet, seek out this title—or another in the series—soon.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.

[I will also be posting this review on Edelweiss and LibraryThing.]