The Rookery Killer, Book 4 in Lana Williams' Field & Greystone Victorian historical mystery series, sees the return of Mrs. Amelia Greystone, widowed amateur chemist with a knack for helping to solve crimes, and Inspector Henry Field of Scotland Yard. This book picks up where the last book left off, and as such, I would recommend reading the series in order and in particular, reading Book 3 - The Gravesend Murder - before embarking on this tale.
Well-plotted and well-written, the book involves Amelia and Henry working together again, this time to find escaped racketeer, Miles Edgarton, who slips out of Holloway Prison to Whitechapel after some shady assistance from at least one of the prison guards. When the guard is found murdered in his lodging house, all avenues seem to point to Edgarton, but alas, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," (Hamlet, by Shakespeare) and Henry must look closer to home to find the killer(s) and clear his own name of wrongdoing.
I enjoyed this story, and the research the author has done for this story is quite evident in her writing. Some of the old characters appear, like Fletcher, Perdy, the Fernsbys and Master Leopold (I love this cat!), as well as some new ones, such as Marcus, a helpful street urchin from Whitechapel who aids Henry in the case. And of course, there's a little more progression of the very slow-burn romance between Henry and Amelia. The plot is cohesive and pulls together much of what starts in the previous book, so that by the end, it truly feels as if Henry and Amelia can move forward free of the shadows of the past. I'll be interested to see what twists and turns are in store for the duo in the next adventure, The Cursed Divination (Book 5). I'm also hoping that now that Henry has made a significant breakthrough in his career at the Yard, his insecurities and doubts about himself and of not being a "true" Field will lift moving forward. At times, it seemed that his concerns about his abilities and origins were a bit overdone and repetitive, but I'm "optimistic" that both he and Amelia are in for smoother sailing - or at least, are more skilled sailors now.
4.25 stars
I received a free Advanced Reader Copy from the author, and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.