When March Middleton goes to live with her guardian, the ‘personal’ detective Sidney Grice, she is faced with two problems: firstly, how is she ever going to live in the same house with a man so annoying, so irritatingly contrary and so stuffed with self-importance that she can barely get a word in edgeways? More significantly though, how is she to persuade the detective to take on the case of a young wife who has seemingly been stabbed to death by her quiet and unassuming husband?
This is a wonderfully grimy detective story in the tradition of Holmes and Watson, though with more grime, a sprinkling of sexist policemen and a distinct lack of meat at meal times. M. R. C. Kasasian paints a vivid portrait of Victorian London, complete with beggars, blind match-sellers and wig-wearing Italians. The writing style was at times a little disconcerting – seeming to jump about a bit, but that’s probably just me, and in any case, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and will definitely be reading more by this talented author.
Colin Garrow 