Ashes to ashes..........

A raging fire in 1882 in an upscale neighborhood of London bring Pall Mall Gazette journalist, Alexander Lonsdale, onto the crowded scene. People begin milling about in the course of confusion. A woman neighbor falls prey to Lonsdale's random questioning skills and devulges that the owner of the house ran outside to alert everyone and then ran back into the burning building. Later, his body was found on the floor with one side of his head bashed in. The front door seemed to have been locked from the inside as well. Strange........

Lonsdale, a long-time member of the Colonial Service, resigned his previous post in Africa over the mistreatment of the Boers. His newly found profession has been less than challenging as an article reporter until now. Suspicious by nature, Lonsdale believes there's more than smoke and charred wood leaning against this newspaper story.

Lonsdale side-steps orders from his editor and takes off to the Metropolitan Police Morgue to view the body himself. He's taken along Hulda Friederichs, a feisty and outspoken female reporter who bears the name of the "Prussian Governess". They meet with Dr. Bradwell whose usual bedside manner is reserved for the deadly silent. The dark humorous banter here is priceless. Beaufort interlaces this sharp dialogue continuously throughout the storyline which elicits some laugh-out-loud moments.

Lonsdale alerts Dr. Bradwell that the fire victim's head is quite misshapen. Upon closer inspection, Bradwell makes the gruesome discovery that the dead man's cerebrum is missing. A real case of unlawful entry, wouldn't you say?

When other bodies begin to show up with their cerebrum missing, the police and the newspaper editors try to squelch the stories so as not to panic the community. But Lonsdale and Hulda work together presenting quite the street skills. Both reporters know that the more they can reveal, the greater the prize will be in their eventual news story. But their lives will definitely be put in jeapardy while in the crossfire of events.

Simon Beaufort lines this story with the snap of true events and real individuals of the time period. It is a fascinating read injected with powerful scientific methods and discoveries. We as readers see how the puzzle pieces of popular/unpopular thinking float to the surface with likes of demographics, statistics, eugenics, and Darwin's Origin of the Species. We will see how the newly introduced science of fingerprinting with its arches, loops, and spirals come into play.

A highly entertaining read that will certainly light the flame of interest, Mind of a Killer will ask for a penny for your thoughts.........cerebrum or not.

I received a copy of Mind of a Killer through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Severn House and to Simon Beaufort for the opportunity.

1882 London and someone is killing people and stealing their cerebrum. Alex Lonsdale is a reporter trying to find answers along with Hulda Friederich, the first female reporter at the newspaper. A very good mystery that I'm sure is the beginning of a new series. Well written with great twists and turns
and some thought provoking ideas.

Alec Lonsdale writes for the Pall Mall Gazette in London, 1882. After once again having an interview canceled about the London Zoo, Alec happens on a tragic house fire. He joins the crowd and asks a few questions. Patrick Donovan's body is eventually recovered from the fire. A young whore approaches Londsale and tells him that this isn't the first death and that they are not accidents.

Curious, but cautious, they arrange a meeting for the following night. Lonsdale attends the post-mortem and both he and the doctor are shocked that Donovan was not only murdered, but that his cerebrum has been excised. Now, Lonsdale is definitely intrigued and plans to meet the woman that night. He arrives too late; the woman and her companion are dead and Lonsdale himself is attacked.

The police are reluctant for Londale and his colleague Hulda Friederichs to print anything about the story and discourage any further investigation. 

A tale of Victorian crime and mystery populated by many real characters of the era and with reference to many cases pulled from the headlines. The plot of the narrative is fiction, but suspenseful and engrossing with intriguing characters, both real and fictional.

Of interest to me were the episodes with Sir Francis Galton, "Sir Francis Galton, FRS was an English Victorian statistician, progressive, polymath, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, eugenicist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto-geneticist, and psychometrician. " (Wikipedia)

His presentation in the novel was a combination of hubris, unintended comedy, and general unpleasantness. Although familiar with his name and with several of his accomplishments, I'd never read anything about the personal life of the man. I've ordered a biography that promises to explain his remarkable accomplishments and hopefully, how the man himself (aside from his work) was viewed by his contemporaries. 

A compelling historical mystery, Mind of a Killer introduces an appealing protagonist in Alec Lonsdale set in a Victorian world of scientific advancements.

Who is Simon Beaufort? Simon Beaufort is the pseudonym adopted by Susanna Gregory and Beau Riffenburgh.

Read in Jan.; blog review scheduled for March 12, 2018.

NetGalley/Severn House

Historical Mystery. April 1, 2018. Print length: 256 pages.

Alec Lonsdale is a journalist who witnesses a bizarre house fire. He follows the clues to the heart of a deadly conspiracy that threatens an oblivious society.

This mystery/thriller held me in its grip from start to finish. Granted the prologue had me confused and I may have forgotten what was presented there until the end when I finally understood how everything connected. Lonsdale was a fun character, smart as he learns his way in his new role.

The supporting cast, from Lonsdale’s brother to the fellow journalists, were just as intriguing as our main character. The plot moved along at a good pace, releasing information at just the right moment to keep a reader guessing. Although there are horrible crimes committed -murder can be messy- it is not presented in an overly graphic way.

All in all, this is an excellent novel for historical murder mystery lovers.

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for the eARC.
Set in 1882 in Victorian London, I found this book quite enjoyable. The story centers around Alec Londale, a freelance reporter for the Pall Mall Gazette.  Hoping to land a permanent job there, he stumbles on a deadly fire that may just get him the story he needs.  A woman at the fire tells him the man killed in it is only one of several suspicious disappearances and probable murders.  When he meets her at a designated spot for more information, he is attacked and the woman and her companion murdered.  The police don't want him anywhere near the case, but his Assistant Editor allows him to delve deeper into the mystery.  He is (reluctantly) assigned a fearless feisty female reporter, Hulda Friederichs.
The sprinkling of real historic characters, which had me Googling a bit, were fascinating.  That and the vivid descriptions of Victorian London, along with Londale and Hulda, made the story come alive with me.  When Londale spends a night in the Lambeth Workhouse for a story, I actually wrinkled my nose and had the creepy crawlies!
Can't wait for the next in the series...maybe we'll find out if Alec will become romantically involved with?  A must read for fans of historic mysteries.

This novel, set in London in 1882, sees newspaper reporter Alec Lonsdale trying to solve a series of murders with little to connect them except his need to get an exclusive story for the paper.  Initially following a lead for a story, Alec uncovers links between the crimes as loners start vanishing from the city's streets and turning up dead with part of their brains removed.  Aided by the first female reporter for the Pall Mall Gazette, Hulda Friederichs, and the eccentric W T Stead, the newspaper's editor, Alec must stay one step ahead of the murderer who has no problems with killing anyone who stands in the way of the grand plan.

I really enjoyed this novel - I thought it was fast paced and engaging.  The insight into Victorian newspaper journalism was interesting and well-researched, and I loved the way that historical figures (such as those mentioned above) were included in the narrative.  I ended up doing a lot of Googling to see who was real and who was fictional!  

There were a few things that weren't perfect, such as the slightly underwhelming attempts at love interests for Alec; however, I assume this is establishing some characters who will appear in a follow-up to this story.  I also thought that there were rather a lot of characters that were difficult to distinguish from each other, but this was only true of those who weren't that important to the overall plot so it didn't matter too much.

I read this book without realising that it was by Susanna Gregory in an already-established writing partnership.  I'd not heard of Simon Beaufort before, so think I have judged the book on its merits rather than expectations.

Overall, I'd thoroughly recommend this to anyone (like me) who loves crime novels set in the Victorian period.  The setting is evoked well, the characters are engaging, and it's a cleverly plotted narrative.

4 stars

I read the Kindle edition.

This book is set in London in 1882. 

Newspaper reporter Alex Lonsdale is going about his daily business when he notices fire engines rushing by and smoke in the air. When arriving at the fire he sees that several homes are threatened and there is no sign of the occupant of the house where the fire started. Where is Patrick Donovan? 

A woman approaches Lonsdale and tells him that this is the sixth in a series of murders, for she is certain that Donovan is dead. She asks to meet him somewhere private. 

Patrick Donovan was murdered. Part of his brain was removed. To what end? Teaming up with fellow reporter Hulda Friederichs, they discover a pattern of such killings. But it seems there are those who do not want to the duo to get to the bottom of the murders. 

This book takes the reader on a tour around London in the 1880’s. From the slums to high society, we get a feel for the culture and people of that era. One is almost there, schlepping the streets as we follow our intrepid heroes – and as they nearly have to run for their lives. 

This book is fairly well written and plotted. The suspense begins immediately with the horrible fire at Patrick Donovan’s house and continues throughout the story. It is not the over-the-top kind of suspense one gets with a thriller, but rather a more gentle building tension. I liked Alec Lonsdale, but he seems a little timid for a reporter. Perhaps I’m too used to the in-your-face reporters that we have today. All in all, well done, Mr. Beaufort. 

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read and enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House for the ARC.

This is the first in a new series “The Alec Lonsdale Series” by the writing team whose Sir Geoffrey Mappestone books I have enjoyed. I have also read and liked most of Susanna Gregory’s Matthew Bartholomew chronicles and a few of the Thomas Chaloners.

Lonsdale is a former colonial administrator, now trying, in 1882, to establish himself as a reporter with the Pall Mall Gazette.He becomes involved in investigating the gruesome killing of a shop assistant
whose cerebellum has been carefully removed before his house was set on fire. Aided by his colleague Hulda Friederichs he discovers that this was not an isolated incident.

People in high places seem determined that they will not find the truth. Both reporters find their own lives endangered as the unravelling of the mystery takes them through the varied echelons of Victorian society, from the foetid dockside slums, to the rarefied atmosphere of gentlemen’s clubs and mansions. 

Many real characters from the period are to be found here, including Liberal politician, John Morley, the great campaigning editor, W.T. Stead, and the father of eugenics, Francis Galton. Much of the material used in the book comes from contemporary newspapers.

The story is ingenious but plausible; however it was a bit repetitive and I felt the material was a bit stretched at times despite the wealth of detail.. There were also times when Lonsdale appeared be rather more naive than one might expect and there was also a lot of  “gung-ho” behaviour which I suppose is meant to add historical flavour. The “love interest” was rather incidental and there, I suspect, only for future development and to draw readers into further episodes.

Overall I was a little disappointed, given the general quality of Elizabeth Cruwys’ output in various guises.I will try the next in the series but hope to find it a little less worthy than I found this.