The Secrets of Gaslight Lane

February 20, 2017
Kasasian’s fourth Victorian-era whodunit featuring the misanthropic Sidney Grice and his ward, March Middleton, falls short of the high standard set by such previous entries as 2016’s Death Descends on Saturn Villa, which cleverly integrated humor into Grand Guignol plot lines without diluting the horror or the puzzle. In this outing, Grice’s snark; the malapropisms of his inept maid, Molly; and tongue-in-cheek references—a doctor recommends “Dr Lestrade’s Nerve Tonic, Gregson’s Cocaine tablets and... Mycroft’s Extra Strength Laudanum”—distract from what should have been a compelling mystery. Charity Goodsmile consults Grice and Middleton about the murder of her father, Nathan Mortlock, in his London home. Mortlock’s valet, Austin Hesketh, discovered his master in bed with his throat cut shortly after returning from visiting his mother; 11 years earlier, Hesketh was on a similar excursion when Mortlock’s father and five others were massacred. Grice’s investigation of Mortlock’s murder expands to include the older ones. Given the brilliance of earlier volumes, fans can hope for a return to form next time.

February 15, 2017
A fourth case for pre-eminent personal detective Sidney Grice and his ward and assistant, Miss March Middleton (Death Descends on Saturn Villa, 2016, etc.), delves into grisly murders old and fresh in Victorian London.Miss Charity Goodsmile is recently bereaved of her father, whose throat was slit in his bed. The late Mr. Nathan Mortlock became sole heir to the Garstang fortune and the grim house known as Gethsemane after his family and nearly all their servants were brutally murdered more than a decade ago. On both occasions, the house was locked as securely as a fortress. The legacy intrigues Mr. Grice, in the callous manner typical of arrogant genius detectives, and he agrees to look into the case. Miss Middleton and Mr. Grice carry on an exhaustively detailed investigation while their maid continually spouts malapropisms that amuse neither Mr. Grice nor the reader. The pair examine the body and discover that Mr. Mortlock was strangled and tortured before his death. They question a parade of stock characters--a ghoulish undertaker, a dignified butler, a pretty French maid--but the housekeeper drops dead before they learn much from her. They scrutinize the crime scene and visit an insane asylum to question the maid who allegedly murdered the Garstangs all those years ago. The investigation builds to a wildly elaborate yet coherent conclusion involving corruption, mistaken identity, and a secret marriage. Kasasian faithfully imitates the tale's Gothic forbears in both bloody horror and florid prose. Readers might be better served by digging into the original Victoriana.

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March 1, 2017

The unabashedly arrogant personal detective Sidney Grice, and his beleaguered ward, Miss March Middleton, are hired by a beautiful woman to solve the bloody locked-room death of her father in a house that was the scene of a notorious mass murder a decade ago. The relationship between the irascible and overly literal Sidney and independent and tetchy March continues to evolve, and Sidney's delightfully strong-minded maid Molly, prone to malapropisms, plays a major part in this fourth adventure (after Death Descends on Saturn Villa) set in 1880s London. VERDICT This distinctive historical series is highlighted by its atmospheric writing, quirky characters, droll wit, and macabre touches. A treat for series fans as well as crime fiction devotees who relish convoluted plotting, a bit of gore, and idiosyncratic humor.--ACT

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