Death and the Black Pyramid

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A John Rawlings Georgian mystery - Apothecary John Rawlings has been summoned to Devon by his beautiful but unpredictable mistress. Leaving his daughter Rose in the good care of her grandfather, Rawlings sets off for Exeter. His fellow stagecoach passengers are a motley crew, and include a large and talkative German lady, a dance-master and a bare-knuckle fighter known as the Black Pyramid. Before the journeys end a man has been found brutally murdered, and Rawlings is once again drawn into a complex and dangerous intrigue.From Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Lake's lurid 13th Georgian historical (after 2008's Death in Hellfire), apothecary John Rawlings, summoned by his pregnant mistress, joins a London carriage bound for the West Country. Other passengers include Jack Beef (aka the Black Pyramid), a bare-knuckle fighter, and his agent. Rawlings, who does detective work for Sir John Fielding of Bow Street, soon gets embroiled in a murder case after a fellow traveler is bludgeoned to death during an overnight stop at an inn. While the Black Pyramid disappears for many pages, Rawlings, with the help of local constable Tobias Miller and fellow Bow Streeter Joe Jago, manages to track down and interrogate all the other passengers on the ill-fated coach. Coincidences abound, as Rawlings observes midway through his deadlocked investigation. In the end, Lake offers a bizarre, if not wholly original resolution to a mystery that will strike many readers as an 18th-century twist on Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. (Sept.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ReviewApothecary John Rawlings crisscrosses Georgian England by stagecoach to uncover the identity of both a murderer and a victim in this latest installment in the long-running series (Death in Hellfire, 2008, etc.). Mr. Rawlings has already given up hope of marrying his ladylove, the free-spirited Marchesa Elizabeth di Lorenzi, when he receives a letter summoning him to her home in Exeter. Dashing for a stagecoach bound there, he finds himself traveling among a motley company including an ill-tempered German spinster, a dancing master, a comely milliner and a formidable yet courtly boxer, the Black Pyramid. Before Mr. Rawlings can reunite with Lady Elizabeth, one of the party is brutally murdered at the last inn of the journey--bludgeoned to death with a savagery that tells the apothecary this is no ordinary highway robbery. Temporarily leaving the case in the hands of the competent local constable, Mr. Rawlings goes to Lady Elizabeth, only to find that in the midst of death we are in life: The Marchesa is enceinte and still will not marry him. She will, however, accept his ministrations and use her considerable influence to help him investigate the suspects. The passengers meet again at a boxing match and a ball, and still Rawlings cannot unravel the mystery until he journeys to Lewes, where he encounters a darker past than he imagined. Rich in period detail and colorful characters, with a neat puzzle, moments of sweetness and a satisfying conclusion, this adventure will please series fans and newcomers alike. --Kirkus Reviews, 15th July 2009Traveling by coach to visit his mistress, apothecary John Rawlings (Death at St. James' Palace) is thrown into a very complicated murder investigation when one of his fellow passengers is killed. Series fans will remember that Rawlings generally investigates for Sir John Fielding, London magistrate and head of the Bow Street runners. This time out, Rawlings is on his own. VERDICT Readers who miss Bruce Alexander and T.F. Banks will like Lake's Georgian procedurals. --Library Journal, 1st July 2009Traveling by coach to visit his mistress, apothecary John Rawlings (Death at St. James' Palace) is thrown into a very complicated murder investigation when one of his fellow passengers is killed. Series fans will remember that Rawlings generally investigates for Sir John Fielding, London magistrate and head of the Bow Street runners. This time out, Rawlings is on his own. VERDICT Readers who miss Bruce Alexander and T.F. Banks will like Lake's Georgian procedurals. --Publishers Weekly, 13th July 2009