The Quickening and the Dead

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

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.

‘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

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!

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.