I am almost caught up to the current Lady Emily novel! This is the 13th in the Lady Emily series, and it doesn’t disappoint. I’d commented in my review of a previous novel, A Terrible Beauty, that it felt like Alexander was revisiting old ground, and I had mixed feelings about that novel. Not so in this one (or the immediate predecessor, Death in St. Petersburg).
Emily and Colin are back in London in this novel, and we see the reappearance of our favorite butler, Davis, along with the Duke of Bainbridge and Emily’s three sons. Queen Victoria has just passed away, and the nation starts to prepare to have King Edward take the throne. His security starts to have misgivings; however, when bodies start appearing in public places dressed and killed like past kings of England. Colin is summoned to investigate, and he permits Emily to explore beside him as he’s simultaneously trying to find out why he’s receiving mysterious, anonymous letters.
While I was reading novels 10-11, I was worried that Alexander was a little off her game in terms of plot/general suspense, but this novel shows that she hasn’t lost a step in her writing. I was totally sucked into this one through the puzzle element of both the mysterious letters and serializing of the murders. I would absolutely recommend this novel as a great read that will become impossible to put down.
It has been great to watch Emily grow from a Victorian to an Edwardian, from a scared young lady to a confident woman, from a wife to a mother, from an accidental investigator to a seasoned detective… and I look forward to her next adventure. From the synopsis, The Shadow of Vesuvius includes her friend Ivy, whom I’ve been wondering about as we haven’t seen her for the past several books.