26. A Dangerous Affair

A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock
Liberty Lane, Book 2

Pages: 303
Finished: Feb. 6, 2009
First Published: Jan. 19, 2009
Genre: historical fiction, cosy mystery
Rating: 3.5/5

Reason for Reading: receive a Review Copy from the publisher, Harper Collins Canada. Plus it's the next in the series.

First sentence:

Neither of us knew the rate for bribing a gaoler at the Old Bailey.

Comments: The book starts with Liberty and a friend visiting someone in prison who is to be hanged shortly. Then the plot moves back in time to before the murder and approximately directly after the events of the first book. Liberty's friend is in love with one of the dancers in a ballet and the evening Liberty goes to the ballet the Prima donna attacks the loved one on stage and a fight ensues. Later that evening the Prima donna is found dead in her room and the loved one is eventually convicted of the crime and sentenced to hang. Liberty, along with her friends from the first book, set off to track down the real killer.

In the first of this series I had reservations about the main character, Liberty Lane, being to modern for her Victorian setting. This time around Peacock has fleshed the character out more and kept her within the confines of her time. She is a much more believable character now and I quite enjoyed this book for the cosy mystery it is. Historical events take place around the characters giving the sense of a real time setting. The mystery has lots of twists and turns and the ending is surprising. The ending also sets the stage for more books in the series. This is a fun romp in Victorian England with unique characters and a very enjoyable cosy mystery.