The Butchered Man ~ The Northminster Mysteries, book 1

The Butchered Man (The Northminster Mysteries, Book 1)

Harriet Smart

Northminster, 1840: Dr. Felix Carswell, young and fresh from Edinburgh University, is keen to make his reputation and to get away from his father Lord Rothborough’s influence. Accepting the post as medical officer to the City of Northminster Constabulary Felix comes under the command of the Chief Constable, Major Giles Vernon—and is immediately plunged into a murder investigation. Workmen have discovered a mutilated corpse in a ditch beyond the old city walls. The body appears to be that of a man of means, but who is he?

Vernon’s theories on modern policing become practice as he and Carswell attempt to identify the victim and catch his murderer. Their quest takes them into the seedy world of card sharps, clerical politics, and broken promises in a once beautiful cathedral city turned industrial powerhouse. When Carswell is called to leave the case momentarily to treat a girl in a model asylum for reformed prostitutes, he senses all isn’t as it seems. There may be a connection with the dead man. His discovery puts him at loggerheads with Vernon who finds his authority and personal integrity threatened by a potentially scandalous relationship. Can they put aside their differences and bring justice to the Butchered Man?

In The Butchered Man, Smart has created an elegant murder mystery set in the vibrant time when the Regency was giving way to the Victorian era. Vernon and Carswell have their virtues, failures and foibles, and fully inhabit their world in an intricate case sure to please the mystery lover. 

 

A Gentleman's Murder

A Gentleman’s Murder

Christopher Huang

Inkshares

November 1924. Great War veteran Lieutenant Eric Peterkin comes from an old British army family, which helped him gain membership of the prestigious Britannia Club for ex-military men. There have always been Peterkins in the Britannia Club. As the last of his line following the Great War’s slaughter, Eric was made welcome—after a fashion. There are some who count Eric’s half-Chinese blood against him, and he’s subjected to numerous casual swipes on the matter of his heritage.

Still, Eric counts as an officer and a gentleman, and he’s called upon to referee a bet between two club members, one of them newcomer Albert Benson. When Benson is found murdered in the club’s vault the following day, Eric’s instincts for justice are aroused—especially when it seems the police detective investigating has concealed evidence. Benson announced he would ‘soon right a great wrong.’ What did he mean? As Eric follows the trail from rural West Sussex to London’s Chinatown, danger takes shape on all sides. It soon looks like the murderer is uncomfortably close to home, and Eric must risk all he holds dear to bring the killer to justice.

AGentleman’s Murder introduces a new detective on the scene. Huang brings the world of the 1920’s to life, and Eric Peterkin is a great character with foibles, failings and bags of pluck who inhabits that world to the fullest.

Snap Judgment

SnapJudgment

by Marcia Clark

Thomas & Mercer

Criminal lawyer Samantha Brinkman is used to sparring with respected attorney Graham Hutchins on a TV legal show, and he turns to her for help when his daughter Alicia is murdered. After a high-pressure upbringing Alicia Hutchins won a place and much-needed independence at USC, and she seemed to have a glittering future. When Alicia was found with her throat slashed, suspicion turned on her controlling ex-boyfriend Roan Sutton – but then Sutton is found dead a few days later. Was it suicide – or did Graham Hutchins avenge his daughter?

A witness places Graham at the scene, but he denies any blame for Sutton’s death. Samantha and her team, investigator Alex and BFF/receptionist Michy set to work on the case, but uncover more questions than answers. Alicia’s halo slips a little as Samantha investigates the circumstances. Was Alicia a good girl having fun for the first time in her life, or were there darker forces at work? Matters are complicated for Samantha when a big time criminal shows up to call in a favor. Javier Cabazon isn’t the kind of guy you can say no to. He wants an important witness tracked down – or Samantha and her father Dale will pay the consequences. With Cabazon’s deadline, and the police closing in on Graham Hutchins, Samantha and her friends need to pull out all the stops. She plays by her own rules and is willing to bend or break any law to get results – but can Samantha cut through the mass of motives and family secrets to pull it off this time?

SnapJudgment sees the return of a terrific character in Samantha Brinkman. Marcia Clark renders the world of high-stakes law and flexible morals in perfect three dimensional clarity.