First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Christopher Huang, and Inkshares for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Always looking for new and exciting authors, I turned to the second novel in this series by Christopher Huang. Once more set during the inter-war years, Huang takes the reader into the middle of a murder at a club frequented by the British upper crust. Exploring the challenges of Britain’s 1920s class, race, and culture, Huang checks all the needed boxes to create an entertaining read for the attentive reader. A stellar follow-up that reminds me a great deal of the classic mystery writers from ages past!

Assuming the role of Secretary at the Brittania, a private club in the heart of London, former Lieutenant Eric Peterkin has a busy schedule outside of proofreading manuscripts for publication. He is just recovering from the murder of his predecessor and the ensuing drama in naming a killer, seeking now a respite to allow the Club to flourish once more. One of the esteemed members of Britannia is Colonel Russell, whose four sons have met various demises during the war period. With four widowed daughters-in-law, Colonel Russell has his hands full trying to keep the family together and the peace amongst them.

When a man who was a close friend to one of the Colonel’s sons re-emerges with stories of wartime espionage and double-crossing, Russell cannot believe what he is hearing. He callenges the man’s stories and the reputation with which his son is left, especially now that he cannot defend himself. Soon thereafter, Colonel Russell is thrown from a window at Brittania and killed, leaving Eric Peterkin to investigate once more.

A man of mixed race, Peterkin must not only try to pull on the various stories people tell, but climb out of the cultural preconceived notions people in Britain make of him. He faces concerns not from the Club members, but the investigation that Scotland Yard puts on, herded by a man whose time in Hong Kong leaves Peterkin worried that notions of Chinese heritage can only handicap an ability to be taken seriously. With a killer out there, Peterkin must turn over every stone, even as many wonder if the murder were simply retribution for the duplicitous work the younger Russell undertook for the enemy during the Great War. Still, amateur sleuth or not, Eric Peterkin is never one to let a good mystery pass him by. Another stellar piece by Christopher Huang that had me turning pages and wondering well into the night.

I enjoy discovering new authors and their work, which is why I was so excited to stumble upon Christopher Huang not long ago. Devouring the opening story in the series left me needing more and this ARC scratched the itch. The narrative captures the sentiment of 1920s Britain effectively and uses nuanced preconceived notions of the time to propel the story forward. The flow served to guide the reader along, with easy to comprehend themes and an effective pathway to better understanding where things were headed. Peppering in historical references and using them to tell the story keeps the reader involved and ready to play a role in the mystery. Huang’s focus once more on developing characters helps add depth and flavouring to his story. He builds up a little more backstory for Peterkin, while also offering more with the introduction of his sister, Penny, and others. The cast of characters is well suited for the piece and kept me entertained until the final pages. Plot points evolve in the story at various stages, providing some entertainment and excitement for the attentive reader. Surprises serve to provide some sense of unpredictable nature and ensures the reader keeps forging onwards as a killer waits in the shadows. I am committed to this series, which harkens back to some of the great stories penned by great mystery writers who lived and wrote during this period.

Kudos, Mr. Huang, for a piece well worth my time.

"Whispers rippled through the audience, drowning out the excited scribbling of the press. Eric could almost see the adjective dashing being scratched out, replaced with sinister, in the description of Ward’s scar. "

This was a thrilling mystery and Huang beautifully sets the scene in post-war London, with vivid details that transport you to the Britannia Club and beyond. The characters are so layered and intriguing, with clever dialogue and just as important—what isn’t being said. Family secrets, the effects and aftermath of war, and a Clue-like cast of suspects and witnesses, the brilliant ending made the slower pace of some parts totally worth the wait.
I wasn’t familiar with this author before reading A Pretender’s Murder but am certainly a fan now and hope there is more to come in this series!

Thank you Inkshares and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

London, 1925 and former Lieutenant Eric Peterkin is the new secretary of the prestigious Britannia Club, whose members are exclusively British soldiers. One of their most esteemed members is current acting president Colonel Hadrian Russell, who lost sadly lost all four of his sons in WWI. Now he dines at the club on Fridays with their four widows: Lady Alice, the matriarch and mother of the Colonel’s only grandchildren, Miranda Eliot, now running her husband’s business, Flora, a glamorous vamp and Lucy, married to Andrew who died uncovering a spy ring. She is the youngest and now lives with and keeps house for the Colonel.

Peterkin had recently been involved in solving the murder of a club member so when Colonel Russell is shot and thrown out a window onto the street, he once again becomes involved in the investigation into his murder. Although Inspector Benedict Crane of Scotland Yard is leading the investigation, Peterkin is able to talk to witnesses and family members and get to the heart of why he was killed. All four of his daughters in law harbour secrets that will eventually lead Peterkin to uncover an imposter as well as the motives for the murder.

Although this is the second in the series, the writing and background assures that it can be easily read as a stand alone novel. The cast of characters is well drawn and London during a time of transition is well depicted. The war has changed for many with so many widows now dependent on family or earning their own wages with some women now running their husband’s businesses and wanting more freedoms. Many returned soldiers are struggling with life changing injuries and PTSD that also affect their families. Although the pacing of the mystery is gradual, it builds well and allows for the depth of atmosphere generated by the period and setting.

Londinium was formerly an outpost of the Roman Empire. Surviving pieces of the wall built by the Romans were incorporated into the newer London buildings. In 1925, a pipe in the Britannia Club burst. Workmen uncovered a room that had previously been sealed. A proper entrance to the new pipe room would provide access from the kitchen to the back door.

Eric Peterkin was the new club secretary of the Britannia Club, in this Golden Age puzzle box mystery set in post WW I. The whodunnit explores themes of murder, the trauma of war, race and lies and deception of the intricately detailed protagonists.

“The Britannia was full of men still overshadowed by the war.” “Lieutenant Peterkin’s ears still rang from the shell…blind blackness, something acrid in the air…He felt around, pushing away…much of the collapsed dugout…His fingers found fabric…a sleeve…Private Dent…not all of Private Dent…” The explosive sound of the burst pipe triggered this memory.

Colonel Hadrian Russell was the acting president of the Britannia Club. He possessed great strength and fortitude despite the death of his four sons in the Great War. The Roster of the Fallen was a wall of brass plaques with the names of club members who’d fallen in battle. “Hadrian belonged to that class of officer, usually high up enough to see very little of actual fighting, who thought that shell shock didn’t happen to men of strong moral fiber.”

Hadrian, considered to be the “magnanimous patriarch”, was left with four daughters-in-law. George Russell, the eldest son died when his outfit’s attack on the Germans failed. His “gracious widow”, Lady Alice, was the de facto matriarch of the Russell family. She habitually wore black mourning attire. David was burned by mustard gas. His widow, Flora Grace, was a “glamorous (trouser wearing) vamp”. The trousers were "calculated to obfuscate her femininity, yet somehow managed the opposite.” Patrick died by sniper fire only weeks before the Armistice. Twenty year old Patrick had just married nineteen year old Lucy. Lucy, a “girl ingenue”, favored wearing white-and-navy sailor dresses. Andrew Russell’s cause of death seemed questionable. He died in a Parisian hotel while trying to flush out German spies. His widow, Madame Eliot was a “glittering professional” content with running her own business.

On the night in question, Hadrian Russell was visited by Capt. Gregory Ward. Ward had returned to England with the hope of reinstating his membership in the club after a lengthy absence. After fighting in the war, he came down with consumption and was sent to a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps to recover. With Eric Peterkin’s assistance, Ward recovered his father’s Webley revolver from the club vault. The revolver, wrapped in oilcloth, was scratched with a small rectangle divided into triangle quarters by an inscribed X. The same marking was found in the imprint of a woman's boot in the Parisian hotel room housing Andrew Russell’s body.

“A loud bang, another bang, and a crash like breaking glass-the window had been broken outwards-Colonel Russell on the pavement outside…the Colonel’s fingers were frozen around the barrel of a “Webley” revolver. Why had Hadrian gone back to the Britannia Club at half-eleven? Why was Ward’s gun in Hadrian’s hand?

Enter Inspector Benedict Crane…”his blond beard was cut in the fashion more common in Chinese caricatures. Benedict had spent a decade in Hong Kong. He made it clear that Eric Peterkin, an amateur sleuth, would only get in the way of his police work. Crane claimed to know how the criminal mind worked. A picture of pomposity! Eric had his own challenges. As a child, he watched his mother work with a tutor to “iron out” all traces of her Chinese accent. She knew the struggle of having to prove she was English enough. Did Eric, raised in England, have to prove that he was Chinese enough? Will the two detectives come to respect each other’s investigations and theories in an attempt to unlock the tangled mystery and solve Hadrian’s murder?

Author Christopher Huang continues to impress with his second Detective Peterkin novel. There are many intangibles implemented to resolve this complex, historical fiction mystery. Being trustworthy is not the same as being truthful!

Highly recommended.

Thank you Inkshares and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning half of this book and the foundation took a while to grip me but as I went on it didn't progressively get any better in terms of engagement. I wasn't as invested and was taken out of the story often. Overall just not my cup of tea.

Very convoluted and I lost track several times. The widows never really felt more than shadows to me. Likewise the Chinese heritage of two characters seemed a trifle forced and not actually relevant. However I did enjoy reading it. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was an interesting read! I love historical fiction and thrillers so this was a best of both worlds situation however i will say that it had the tendency to drag quite a bit in the middle

Eric Peterkin is back with his underexplored perspective on Interwar Great Britain. Eric is the club secretary now, and he's got his hands full trying to make sure operations continue smoothly after the events of the last book. He's confronted with another case to solve when yet another member is murdered within the walls of the hallowed institution. Eric's sleuthing takes him across Europe and delves into the long shadow cast by the war and the lingering trauma its soldiers endure. This is a compassionate tale about what those who go to war must endure during the battle and then for the rest of their lives. Eric's intimates, including his friend Avery and his sister Penny, make appearances again and we are building a roster of interesting characters I hope we revisit soon.

Having read the first in the series - A Gentleman's Murder - I was eagerly awaiting the second, so was glad of an opportunity to finally read this. This book follows on from the first and there are a number of references made throughout this one - however, it can be read as a stone-alone novel.

Set in the years immediately following WWI, the scene is again set in the Britannia Club, a club for returned soldiers only in London, where we find Peterkin is now Secretary. Against a backdrop of post traumatic stress and the horrors of the Great War", social change, identity and the emancipation of women, murder is once again committed within these hallowed walls.

Returning from Hong Kong and now seconded to Scotland Yard, Inspector Benedict Crane investigates - whilst Peterkin himself conducts his own postmortem of events and interviews those close to the victim, many of who are hiding their own secrets.

As an exploration into the effects of war on those who survived and returned, this is very empathically done - in addition to taking into account the impact of those who remained at the home front and suffered trauma and loss of a different kind.

The mystery of who and why the Colonel was killed was well-crafted, with witnesses and suspects alike coming under the scrutiny of both Peterkin and the Inspector - with both gaining a little more than their counterpart based on the interpersonal relationships. Peterkin is aided in his investigation by his sister Penny and best friend Avery, with a host of other characters providing their perspective (at times I found myself questioning their relevance).

But the past has a way of rearing its head, old secrets long forgotten or buried are coming to the fore ... but at what cost?

Where this lost me a little bit was the need to go "off site" - that is to France and Switzerland" where answers were not forthcoming - and to me this was really was merely an unnecessary diversion for the reader. In addition, in order to portray the societal changes and struggles, I felt the narrative went on a bit too long as there are a number of different elements to be explored before all are brought together.

All in all, another decent novel from Huang.

I received an arc from Netgalley for a honest review.. it is a historical murder mystery focused after WW1 I thought the book was great on focusing on the trauma after the war. There was a lot of twists and turns so I was completely wrong on the murder mystery I didn't read the first book but I didn't feel completely lost.

This might be a simple case of this novel being not for me. I found the plot to be needlessly complicated, almost as if elongating the story for the sake of it. This resulted in muddy pacing and confusing worldbuilding, which in turn made my connection to the characters quite difficult.

I read A Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang and honestly found it needlessly complicated. The setup had promise—a mystery tied to post-WWI trauma and identity—but it got bogged down with too many layers and characters to track. I usually enjoy a good puzzle, but this one felt more confusing than clever. I kept waiting for it to click, but it just didn’t land for me.

Pretender’s Murder by Christopher Huang was exactly the kind of mystery I didn’t know I was craving—clever, atmospheric, and full of quiet tension that builds until it snaps. From the start, it had that classic whodunit feel, but with a refreshing twist on identity and deception that kept me intrigued the whole way through.

The story opens with a death that looks accidental—but of course, nothing is ever that simple. The more I read, the more I realized that every character was holding something back. Secrets aren’t just part of the plot—they’re the foundation of it. And what Huang does so well is explore not just what those secrets are, but why people keep them in the first place.

I loved how layered the mystery was. This isn’t just a case of uncovering a killer; it’s about unmasking truths people have worked hard to bury—some out of shame, some out of fear, and some for reasons that only become clear in the final pages. The title says it all—this is a book about pretending. About roles people adopt to survive, or to protect themselves, or to belong. And I found that theme really resonant.

What also stood out to me was how grounded the story felt despite its twists. The setting, the relationships, the tension between what’s said and what’s left unsaid—it all felt precise, intentional, and rich with atmosphere. It’s a quieter kind of mystery in some ways, but that just made it more impactful. Every detail matters, and every reveal hits harder because of it.

By the end, I wasn’t just satisfied with the resolution—I was impressed by how elegantly it all came together. A Pretender’s Murder is the kind of book that rewards a close read, and it left me thinking about how much of ourselves we show to the world—and how much we keep hidden.

If you love classic mysteries with a modern psychological edge and thoughtful character work, this one’s absolutely worth picking up.