The Northminster Mysteries Books 7-9

The Northminster Mysteries #7-9

by Harriet Smart

Volumes 7, 8 and 9 of the acclaimed Northminster Mysteries. Northminster, 1841: a once-picturesque cathedral city, where dirty smoke stacks now rival ancient spires. Here, young Scottish surgeon Felix Carswell and Major Giles Vernon are tasked to uncover the truth in three complex tales of murder and detection set in Early Victorian England. The Fatal Engine As a harsh winter settles on Northminster, a reclusive inventor is found lying dead in his workshop in circumstances which suggest foul play, and Felix Carswell and Major Giles Vernon have a new investigation on their hands. They uncover a cut-throat world of technological rivalry, while the threat of industrial unrest hangs over the city, fuelled by bitter memories of a miscarriage of justice. Twenty years ago, followers of the radical agitator Crimson Mary were wrongfully hanged for machine breaking and now it seems that the mysterious Mary may soon return to take her revenge. Celebrated author Oliver Truro has arrived in Northminster to research his new book, and he is soon beguiled into organising Twelfth Night theatricals for the beautiful young Mrs Carswell at Hawksby. But Truro has secrets and enemies, and his presence has unwelcome consequences for all around him, not least for Felix, who is forced into a terrible dilemma when matters come to a tragic head. Meanwhile, unexpected guests force themselves on Giles and Emma, in the form of her half-sister and her children, an event which brings not only tension between them but profound changes in their marriage. In time, a dangerous enemy is revealed, and Carswell and Vernon face a race against time to avert a blood-stained Christmas. The Witches of Pitfeldry In the spring of 1842, Felix Carswell and Major Giles Vernon arrive in the picturesque village of Pitfeldry in the Scottish Highlands with their families, expecting a well-deserved holiday. But it is not long before they are forced back to work when a local woman is found lying dead on a lonely hillside. The victim is a respected member of the tight-knit community and the identity of her killer is a mystery. At the same time, Felix is confronted with a disturbed young girl who claims that she is being possessed by the Devil, and her younger sisters begin to display the same symptoms. Carswell’s adopted father, the Rector of Pitfeldry, is fearful that something unearthly is unfolding in the usually tranquil and remote glen, echoing a witch hunt two hundred years earlier that claimed the lives of twenty women. It is up to Giles and Felix to find the truth of the matter, as a succession of puzzling and shocking events come frighteningly close to home. Moonshine and Mercury In the summer of 1842, the spa town of Stanegate is booming, thanks to the vision of Captain Carrington, the enterprising proprietor of the Hydropathic Institute. Fashionable visitors can take the latest cures, luxuriate in the opulent Roman Baths and buy all the newest frivolities from the glamourous shops in the Parade before an evening’s entertainment at the newly built Opera House. But when the remains of a man are discovered in an animal cage at Askham’s Menagerie, the darkness under the glittering surface of the town is exposed. It is the task of Major Giles Vernon and Felix Carswell to determine who he is and how he came to such a terrible end. Was he killed by Moonshine and Mercury, a pair of beautiful and celebrated leopards, or is there something far more sinister at work in the resort? When a disaffected French chef commits suicide in the arms of his employer Madame Jacquot – the alluring manager of The White Hart Hotel – it seems so. As they hunt for the killer, Giles and Felix must cut through a dangerous tangle of bewildering clues, encountering old friends and new enemies, before the truth is finally laid bare.

1370 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 31, 2022

Reviews

[Dorothy R. Till · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addictive!

I have read the first 9 books in the Northminster Mysteries series and find they are very addictive and wonderful. Both Giles and Felix are brilliant, talented men who solve murders working for the Northminster constabulary. They are wonderfully flawed but decent men who live and love their way through life. I hope there are many more adventures to come. Withdrawal would be hard otherwise.

[Michael Wojciehoski · Rating 4 out of 5]

M and M

Libertines, cons, medical breakthroughs … oh my! No lions and bears. Interesting and the exciting with old friends and new.