Author: Karen Charlton

I enjoyed The Sculthorpe Murder so much more than #2 in the series. Lavender and Woods are sent out of London to Northamptonshire to investigate the killing of an elderly man, presumably by a gang that has been terrorizing the area. I like that the trip takes Lavender away from his love interest. I really can only stand them as a couple for short periods of time. The plot was well-done with a good array of suspects and clues. I like that Lavender doesn't take things for granted and as an outsider can be more suspicious of certain people than the locals are. Wood gets a lot of screen time in this one, which I appreciated. He's a good, kind man and I liked his interactions with                                           . (Don't want to give anything away.) He tends to put people, including children at ease. Lavender, on the other hand, tends to make people a bit uncomfortable. He's the thinker where Woods is the talker. Together...

There were several good things about The Sans Pareil Mystery. I enjoyed learning about the theater in London in 1810 and it is interesting to note that both the San Pareil Theater and the woman running it did actually exist. The mystery itself was okay, although the clues were not necessarily as noticeable as the big flashing arrows saying "this is s bad guy." I like Lavender and Wood as a team, but Lavender seems older to me than young 30s, his attitudes and actions don't necessarily fit. Or maybe the reader's voice sounded older and that projected on to the main character? I had to remind myself that he was younger than I think. For the time period, it was also notable that women played central roles in the story, not just in the plot, but on the side-lines too. We meet women who have younger lovers, who support themselves and their household, who are brave, who are loyal, who...

I have a fondness for historical mysteries, so the setting of The Heiress of Linn Hagh caught my attention. It's a gothic mystery, complete with the rundown manor home, a missing heiress, gypsies, a madwoman, a beautiful Spanish woman and family secrets. The mystery itself is a little predictable, but I enjoyed seeing Lavender pull all the clues together. I don't know that Lavender himself is particularly likeable - intelligent, dedicated, tenacious, but perhaps not likeable. He knows it though, and brings Woods along. Woods is more likely to be able to get the non-gentry locals to talk. They are a good pair, each with his own strengths and weaknesses. I wasn't terribly fond of Lavender's obsession with the Spanish widow though. She could have been a fascinating character, but Lavender's lusting felt a bit forced. Woods may have been my favorite of the two. He's more down-to-earth, friendlier, is a family man. He's just a solid good guy who will have your back. The...