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.

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.