The Sculthorpe Murder ( Detective Lavender Mysteries, #3 )

I have always loved historical mysteries and so I was curious and hopeful when I requested to read this book even though it is third in a series. The setting is Northamptonshire in 1810 when two Bow Street policemen, Detective Lavender and Constable Woods are sent from London to Middleton to investigate a very grisly and violent murder. There are so many red herrings, multiple plots. and colorful characters in this book. Karen Charlton has a gift for describing the scene and atmosphere so well that I really felt as if I was there and when I "returned" to modern times that I had taken away some knowledge about this time period. I was very impressed with the end of the story where Ms. Carlton talks about how she came up with the idea for the book and I was very impressed with the amount of research she did. She includes some actual historical figures as characters, and crimes that really did happen. This is a tiny bit of reference to people and happenings that occur in the first two books but it does not detract from the book in any way. I absolutely loved this book. I love this time period with the beginnings of modern police. I remember reading Bruce Alexander's Sir John Fielding mysteries and was so sad when he passed away as I really enjoyed that mystery series. I am just so thrilled to have found another author who writes this kind of book with such accuracy and talent. I will definitely be reading the first two books in this series to catch up and waiting for the next one. I received a copy from the publishers for free in exchange for an honest review.