“The Hangman’s Secret” is the second in a series set in Victorian England by Laura Joh Rowland, who also pens the Sano Ichiro books set in ancient Japan. This one’s backdrop is obviously a different part of the world, but frustrations and conflicts abound in both, a hallmark of the writer’s style.

There’s a lot going on in this book, perhaps too much. First, my pet peeve – I really, really dislike books written in present tense. It’s supposedly “the thing” these days, but I find it just too twee.

Quickly – Sarah Bain and her friend Hugh Staunton (who have definite secrets of their own), along with their young friend Mick O’Relly, have been summoned to the scene of a terrible murder. This arises out of their work for Sir Gerald Mariner, who as a newspaper publisher employs Sarah to take photographs of crime scenes. It’s is ascertained that the murder of Harry Warbrick is all tied into his work as a hangman, specifically the hanging of the “baby butcher” Amelia Carlisle. This murder begets another, and Sarah and her crew soon begin to realize that whatever happened at Amelia’s execution is the catalyst for all that comes. The ending finds them all in peril.

Thwarted at every turn by the authorities, at conflict eventually with the newspaper, and traipsing from London to Leeds and back, it’s not easy going. In fact, it got to the point where I just wanted Sarah and Barrett, her policeman/paramour, to get on with it already. These are characters I could never warm up to, and I found nothing appealing about the plot to warrant any deep interest.

Caught up with all this is Sarah’s search for her long-missing father, which occupies much of her thoughts and emotions. Got pretty tired of that, quickly, too.

The middling stars point solely to the author’s ability to conjure up a setting that captures the timeframe. Unfortunately, I won’t be reading another.

Thanks for the publisher for a copy ahead of publication.

A fantastic read filled with suspense and action. The relationship between the characters, Sarah, Lord Hugh, and Mick, was well done. This reader had a sense of what they meant to one another. I am particularly critical when it comes to pacing, this book did a wonderful job at maintaining the steam throughout the novel, masterfully moving it forward. I enjoyed the setting and the mystery does keep one guessing up until the end. A Net Galley book.

This is the third in the series by Rowland - the previous two Victorian mysteries being 'A Mortal Likeness' and 'The Ripper's Shadow' which brought us into the lives of intrepid photographer Sarah Bain and her friends undertaking investigations into local crimes (usually murders). Their involvement in the Jack the Ripper links to the role of Inspector Reid still being involved with the police alongside PC Barrett who is also the lover of Sarah.
Sarah and her team of Sir Hugh Staunton (in a homosexual relationship with a Roman Catholic priest) and young street urchin Mick O'Reilly who has a hankering after a theatre actress Catherine when he's bunking off school work for London's Daily World - owned by wealthy banker Sir Gerald Manner.
On a cold January morning - a lot of the plot is covered with foggy London town and rain in the criminal underbelly of the city - Sarah, Hugh and Mick are called to a very gory scene where pub owner Harry Warbrick has been found hanged and decapitated. He was previously England'stop hangman - so who has turned the tables on him?
Sir Gerald hopes to scoop not only the story but solve the murder in a competition against the police force. When they dig into Harry's past they find a disturbing story unfolds about his execution of Amelia Carlisle -the 'Baby Butcher' who murdered 100s of babies she'd 'farmed' from mothers eager to give them up for adoption.
Based in Whitechapel it brings all the evocative life of that time in Victorian England. There are some good scenes described at Newgate Gaol and also at a Lunatic Asylum (two classic locations for Victorian novels of this genre)
The plot goes along well leading to an exciting conclusion and a list of suspects has to narrowed down by much undercover investigation and cunning work amongst Sarah and her team.
There is a sub plot around Sarah's past personal life - some of which it appears had been expanded in previous novels. Overall I would have felt better to have read the first two before this one to set the scene, particularly about Sarah setting up her business as a crime photographer (although I am aware many women were at this time exploring many sides to the growing popularity of photography and its use in murder investigations).
There are some great characters in the story such as Mick and the cunning Sir Leonard Hargreaves seeking to be Lord Mayor alongside many a pub of ill repute, theatre and coffee houses. The workings of the police and the Old Bailey also gain important mentions as the plot evolves.
Overall an entertaining read. If you've already discovered the previous two novels you'll slide easily into the plot but my only criticism was the hints at back stories which sometimes I couldn't understand.

Absolutely enjoyed reading the book. I could not put the book down. I wish I could have read the 1st 2 books first to better understand the context of the other crimes solved. Overall, I loved the context that assisted in the plot to flow as Sally and her team investigates the crime of the hanging.

This is a vivid, enjoyable novel with a likable cast of characters and plenty of intrigue and suspense. Great detail is given into the personalities for the characters. A very unusual bunch of characters: gay disowned lord, street urchin and an unmarried young woman with a very murky past. It takes a team of people with nothing to lose and nothing to hold them back to get to the bottom of the matter. And that is very grisly and wrapped in may layers of time, lies, secrets and evil deeds. The atmosphere of this book is wonderful. I felt like I was in the story.

Since Sano Ichiro began investigating in Shinju, I have been reading the historical mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland. Rowland attention to research and scene setting pulls the reader in to the novels. The reader can picture the scene as if they are walking along the street with the characters or watching through a window.

The Victorian Mysteries featuring Sarah Bain are far from the setting in the Sano Ichiro mysteries but Rowland attention to detail is still the same. You can see the smog of London smell the gas lamps along the street hear the horses and the crowds as you walk along with Sarah and her friends, Hugh and Mick.

Come along and search for the truth with Sarah as she tries to ferret out the details of her past and save innocent people from being wrongly accused. Rowland's novels are a true delight for mystery and historical lovers.

In "The Hangman's Secret", we follow a photojournalist on her quest to find the "next big thing" - that is, when "big" = gruesome and awful! She takes crime scene photos for a newspaper, and it's during this endeavor that she and her friends stumble upon a mystery they weren't expecting.

This book is marked as "Victorian Mystery #3", but I haven't read the previous two - and still enjoyed it! I liked the main character, Sarah, and enjoyed the intrigue and danger that lurked around every corner.

The pacing was excellent - I didn't find myself getting bored at all. The ending left me wishing that I had another 200 pages!

Bonus points for an amazing cover, I love it.

I received this arc through Netgalley and Crooked Lane books. It was the 3rd book in the series, however that wasn’t a problem at all, it can stand alone. Previous events were written about, but the author does a recap, so you don’t feel like you’ve missed out. It’s a great setting for a book in Victorian times and a hangman’s murder! It’s fairly fast paced. I enjoyed this read. It kept me guessing and I liked it better than I do most crime stories.

I could not get into this book at all. I've had it for a while now & try to pick up where I left off but find myself picking up my phone to look at social media because I'm bored with this book. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

I couldn’t get into this book. I tried so hard and it just wasn’t the book for me. There was never a part that would keep my interest.

First of all I would like to say that the cover of this book is really great. The characters of Hugh and Mick could have done with a little more information. Hugh is mostly just 'the homosexual' and Mick 'the urchin'. Since this is the third book in a series, I suppose the author plans to work on these characters in books that follow this one. I had no trouble getting into to story although I didn't read the first two books. In fact, sometimes I could have done with a little bit less information regarding the past of the three main characters.
The story begins with a rather gruesome murder but in the middle there was a lot of running to and fro and thinking in circles, while not much was happening. At least, not much for the reader.
Sometimes I'm surprised how many good/excellent authors are 'out there' that I never heard of in the 44 years since I learned to read. Laura Joh Rowland is one of them. I will certainly try and read more of her books.

Thanks to NetGalley for this book.

I will post my review on Amazon as soon as the book is published.

Kudos for this one.. really!
I absolutely loved reading the little details about two of my favourite serial killers. And the plot twist was nice; I didn’t expect it at all.

I didn't realize when I started this book that it was third in a series. Some of the character histories and previous events in the books were mentioned at first, but the book can still be read as a stand-alone Victorian mystery.
When the hangman is found murdered, a contest begins between the London police force and Daily World reporters to see who can solve the crime first. Crime photographer Sarah Bain and her two friends, Hugh and Mick put themselves in danger to follow the clues.
I like the author's writing style and I'm interested in reading the first two books in the series, especially the one about Jack the Ripper. The character Amelia's story sounded familiar to me because it's based on an actual serial killer in Victorian Britain. Thank you to Laura Joh Rowland, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Set in 1890 in London, we follow a trio of journalists investigating a murder of a hangman who himself has been hung.

The narrator of the story is one of the journalists, a photographer, Sarah Bain who lives well ahead of her time (in her early 30s, still single and focusing on her career). I immediately took a liking to her. Actually, not only her but her 2 partners as well - Hugh and Mick - who are both very likeable characters and compliment each other well. The three of them go on to investigate crime and face many many obstacles.

Despite the book being a book number three in the Victorian Mystery series by the author, it can be read as a standalone. The background of the characters is nicely sumarised for anyone who missed out on the first two books.

This was a fun read, quite different from typical crime novel but one that I enjoyed.

This is the 3rd in a series but can be read alone. There’s enough backstory to get you mostly up to speed. I did have a lot of questions about the previous books and had to keep reminding myself to stay in this story.
I’m not very familiar with this author so I don’t know her writing style but it reminds me a lot of YA books. I can’t put my finger on why, as the characters are not YA. Sara, the MC, is in her early thirties.
Sarah Bain is a photographer in Victorian England. She’s also an amateur sleuth. She partners with Lord Hugh Staunton, a disgraced lord, and Mick O’Reilly, a young kid from the streets.
Her paramour is a police officer, Constable Thomas Barrett. Her investigations lead her to butt heads with him.
This is a quick and easy little read. The author does a good job of sucking you into the world but doesn’t burden you with worldbuilding. I found it a bit slow around the 30% mark but it picked up and the last half of the book just flew by.

TW: homophobia from some characters to one of the main characters due to the time period this story takes place.

The hangmans secret⭐️

“Somebody was here after Warbricks head come off”
We know that there is no mystery in why these people were hung but what happened after the hanging, what happened to the innocent is a different story.

We follow a journalist who is (as most are) looking for the next best, gruesome story to bring them to the top. She finds clues, inconsistencies, struggles after the beheading site which indicate that something else happened. Something that wasnt supposed to.

Really enjoyed the writing style and the characters were intriguing and interesting.

Thank you so much to crooked lane books via netgalley for sending me an ARC copy of the hangmans secret by Laura Rowland. This will be released on January 18,2019
All opinions are my own.

Rowland's Victorian Mystery #3 is the Hangman's Secret. I got along okay reading this as a stand alone but am tempted to pick up the prior two because these characters are amazing. Set in London and Jack the Ripper time - women were considered like children - "To be seen and not heard". Sarah Bain is a newspaper photographer for the "Daily World" Gathered around her are a group of men with a zest for solving murders. It is enlightening to read these stories where life did not revolve around cell phones and the internet. Times were filled with hardships and challenges. Opening pages describe the hanging of a man who performed hangings for a living. Kind of ironic. Rowland weaves conflict of good against evil with both struggling to stay alive. Loved the duo plot lines that connected up before the end. "A copy of this book was provided by Crooked Lane Books via Netgalley with no requirements for a review. Comments here are my honest opinion."

I'd enjoyed Laura Joh Rowland's series focusing the Japanese samurai detective. The Hangman's Secret, the third in Rowland's series with Sarah Bain, the young photographer, and her colleagues Lord Hugh Staunton and young Mike combined romance with a complicated murder mystery.

We find that Sarah Bain is carrying the secret of her father's criminal history - he has been accused of molesting and murdering a child. Hugh is homosexual and was spurned by society when this secret was revealed. But Sarah, Hugh and Mike have the favor and trust of the wealthy and reckless newspaper man, Sir Gerald Mariner. As Sir Gerald seeks more complicated stories and takes greater risks, Sarah, Hugh and Mike find themselves in difficult waters. They are committed to solving the bloody murder of a hangman and are in a contest to beat the police investigators. As Sarah is in love with/dating Police Constable Barrett, this competition brings an added problem to them both.

The Hangman's Secret takes Sarah, Hugh, Mike and Barrett to grave danger - I found myself rooting for them throughout. While Mike acts quite young especially when dealing with his infatuation with the actress Catherine, The Hangman's Secret is a fun read.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I saw this book pop up on NetGalley and realized it was the third in a series that I have had on my To Read list for a while. I'm a sucker for Victorian era lady detectives. So, in preparation for this book, I decided to read the previous two first. I'm glad I did because while it does a good job of trying to catch the reader up on backstory for the plot, I feel like I got a better sense of the group dynamics and Sarah's family having read the first two books.

I enjoyed the first book, but I have to say that my opinion started to go down afterwards. Sarah is reckless and fickle. Hugh and Mick are fine. Catherine is just plain annoying. I go back and forth on Barrett. I didn't think I would like him after the first book. Even though I am not sure if he and Sarah are well-suited for each other, he seems to be the only one with any sense at times. The group's squabbles get in the way of moving the mystery plot further.

Like with the other two books in the series, the mystery plot is fairly complicated. I think this is because the group changes their whodunit theory every couple of chapters. They may solve the case, but it is not clean or through strong detective work.

The Hangman’s Secret (2019) by Laura Joh Rowland is the third in her Victorian series about photographer, newspaper reporter and private detective Sarah Bain. This work follows The Ripper’ Shadow (2017) and A Mortal Likeness (2018).

This engaging piece of historical crime fiction has a murder mystery as its main story with photography contributing to the action. Some of the side stories involving characters’ relationships and searches for missing persons are intertwined while others do not; those that are come together by the end in a manner that should be satisfying to readers.

Sarah’ character is well-developed and likeable, with a clear role and credible motivation and behaviour, though she has much more freedom than women typically do in literature set in the late eighteen hundreds.
Supporting characters and their roles are less well developed. As Sarah’s love interest, Barrett’s character could be developed and strengthened; perhaps the author did this in earlier books and is relying on readers reading in series.

The value of Catherine’s role is less clear; text related to her relationships with Mick and with the Sherriff do not flow as smoothly as the rest of the story; she seems an afterthought..

I liked this book, enjoyed reading it, and will look for more of this series.



Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Hangman’s Secret for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.