The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian

From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to search


The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian

Kasasian Curse.jpg
Buy The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Category: Crime (Historical)
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Ani Johnson
Reviewed by Ani Johnson
Summary: Victorian investigators Grice and Middleton are back again, this time ready to take on anything as trade has dropped off. (Sending an innocent man to hang will do that!) It's clever, funny, gory and leaves us with as much mystery for next time as it solves this. Great stuff!
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 320 Date: June 2014
Publisher: Head of Zeus
ISBN: 978-1781853252

Share on: Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn



Personal (not private!) detective Sidney Grice is still smarting because he's thought to have sent an innocent man to the gallows. It's also hit him in the pocket as work has dried up as a result. He's therefore pleased and intrigued when he's visited by a potential client who wants him to look into the Last Death Club, a group of people who have each put £2,000 in the kitty, the sum of which will go to the last person surviving. Unfortunately they seem to be dying quicker than planned and rather unnaturally. Sidney is about to accept the case when his client drops dead in Grice's study in front of him and his ward and assistant March Middleton. It may not improve his reputation any, but his attention has been piqued; he'll take the case anyway.

MRC Kasasian has done it again with this, his second Gower Street Detective Series. After The Mangle Street Murders their debut, March and Grice were vying for top Victorian sleuth spot with Holmes and Watson in my humble opinion. Now I've read their second outing, the newcomers are winning by a head.

The murder mystery is of the same high standard that didn’t disappoint last time. There are twists, gore, danger for our heroes, surprises and more gore. (Non-gratuitous gore though, fitting in with the time and place.) However, the factors that really lift it above the humdrum are our heroes themselves; the keepers of as many mysteries as their clients.

We learn more about March's past love life (meaning that these novels are best read in order). Actually we do more than learn, we gasp at a real revelation at the end. In between March is still trying to prove that women are as able as men, although this gets her into potential hot water.

As for Sidney, his personality is a maze of moods and attitudes. Yes, at times he seems to be fonder of March than he was and yet he has an odd way of showing his parental caring. We also discover what happened to his former eye and why he spends so long in his room. (No, not for that!)

I must admit to a soft spot for Grice. Intolerably rude, amazingly intelligent and with a disdain for all those dimmer then he (yep, that'll be everyone else!), he does tend to grow on one.

The detective duo is ably supported by wonderful characters that are secondary in appearance time only. I love Molly the maid who takes everything literally and, talking about love, if you were wondering what future March and her favourite policeman have in store for them, we're fed some more titbits.

Ok, I guessed the killer before the big reveal but it really doesn't matter. Mr Kasasian writes an excellent journey that's as entertaining and as important as the arrival at the destination. The witty banter, adventures, theories (the one about the supply of cats is definitely smirk worthy) and set pieces create a comforting indulgence that bears multiple reads. As for the end, that's quite a cliff hanger Mr K!

(Thank you so much Head of Zeus people for providing us with a copy for review.)

Further Reading: Stands to reason we'll, of course, send you in the direction of The Mangle Street Murders if you haven't read it already. If you have and you want to carry on with the Holmes and Watson feel, try Shadowfall: A Novel of Sherlock Holmes by Tracy Revels.

M R C Kasasian's Gower Street Detective Series in Chronological Order

Please share on: Facebook Facebook, Follow us on Twitter Twitter and Follow us on Instagram Instagram

Buy The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
Buy The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian at Amazon You can read more book reviews or buy The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian at Amazon.com.

Booklists.jpg The Curse Of The House Of Foskett (The Gower Street Detective Series) by MRC Kasasian is in the Top Ten Historical Fiction Books 2014.

Comments

Like to comment on this review?

Just send us an email and we'll put the best up on the site.