Death in the West Wind

John Rawlings #7

by Deryn Lake

Devon, April 1759...Newlyweds John Rawlings and Emilia are spending their honeymoon touring the mysterious county of Devon. Arriving in the remote hamlet of Sidmouth, where John wants to sample the health-giving benefits of sea bathing, he and his bride watch a schooner being towed into harbour by local fishermen and immediately deduce that all is not well on board. The gruesome discovery of the body of a young girl, badly beaten and bruised and draped over the figurehead draws the Apothecary into the investigation. He recognises the dead girl as Juliana van Guylder, daughter of a Dutch merchant residing in the port of Topsham. When the girl's brother, Richard, goes missing at the same time, John realises that, honeymoon or no, he is deeply involved in something rather sinister.
Soon the Flying Runners are on the scene, bringing with them Joe Jago, assistant to John Fielding, the Blind Beak of London. Although they know the identity of the dead girl, they are still no further towards finding her killer. Was she murdered by her possessive father, furious with her for her wayward behaviour? Or is the father of her unborn child to blame? If only they could be certain who he was. Perhaps her fiancee, Tobias Wills, exacted a deadly revenge for the betrayal. And where does the violent gang that has been terrorising Exeter, the mysterious Society of Angels, fit in to all this? John Rawlings is determined to find some answers...even if it means putting himself in danger.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Crime, Fiction, Historical, Historical Mystery

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Deryn Lake is a well-known historical novelist who joined the popular ranks of historical detective writers with her gripping John Rawlings Mysteries, Death in the Dark Walk, Death at the Devil's Tavern, Death on the Romney Marsh, Death in the Peerless Pool and Death at Apothecaries' Hall.

Deryn also writes popular historical romances including the acclaimed The King's Women, Sutton Place and Pour the Dark Wine.

Deryn Lake lives near Hastings, East Sussex

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cannot describe in polite terms...This was my fourth and last John Rawlings book. Man, was this ridiculous. Rawlings on honeymoon and involved in ridiculous crime investigation that goes beyond vulgar so cannot be described as Gothic, but close.

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[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent mystery and plot spoiled by the annoying character of John Rawlings' new wife, Emilia. Boy, is she tiresome, I'm almost wishing he had stayed with Coralie Clive.

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Sentence: A few miles beyond Exeter, the sea worked it usual magic and the wind changed, coming from the West.

Apothecary John Rawlins and his bride, Emilia, have decided to stay in England for their honeymoon. One of their stops is bustling port of Taunton. They are invited to dine with Jan van Guylder, his son, Richard, and his clearly upset and willful daughter, Juliana. A few days later, John and Emilia are at the beach when they see a ship being towed to shore. There is no crew on board, but the raped and beaten body of Juliana has been draped over the ship’s figurehead.

I so enjoy this series. With each book I learn new things about herbs and medical remedies of the period. An added element in this book was the character of Old Saul who taught John, and us, about remedies he learned from American Indians and Eskimos. Lake blends the historical and fictional characters so well giving great authenticity to the story.

I don’t know his age, but John is still quite young and it shows in his vanity and somewhat fickle nature regarding women. Offsetting that is a dedication to his craft, perseverance in finding the killer and a wisdom which comes from seeing the harsher side of life. [John:] “I think you are amoral, the whole damned bunch of you. [Peter:] “Fun though.” “Not for your victims,” John answered and walked away.” Emilia is wonderfully drawn with just the right amount of wisdom and impatience of a young bride.

While I missed Lord John Fielding, I found it refreshing for the book to be set outside London and Rawlings working in cooperation with Joe Jago, the Flying Runners, the local constable and Emilia. Lake doesn’t forget about her secondary characters but ensures they are fully dimensional and interesting.

The story was very well plotted with ghost coaches, former lovers, a depilated mansion not completely uninhabited, and escalating suspense. In spite of having figured out the villain, there was a a very satisfying twist at the end.

I loved that in my hardcover copy, Ms. Lake corrected and initialed three types missed by the editors. I am reading my way through this series in order and it is a pleasure so to do.

DEATH IN THE WEST WIND (Hist. Mys.-John Rawlings, England-1759/Georgian) – VG
Lake, Deryn – 7th in series
Allison & Busby Ltd., 2001, UK Hardcover – ISBN: 0749005017

[Robin Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the time the seventh John Rawlings mystery was published in 2001 Deryn Lake had been acclaimed as 'The Queen of the Georgian historical mystery by The Times, no less.
It's April 1759 and John Rawlings, Apothecary, is in Devon on his honeymoon. The streets of Exeter, the thriving port of Topsham, and the beautiful seaside hamlet of Sidmouth are all brought colourfully to life with the author's usual meticulously researched period detail.
The plot this time is quite a swashbuckling affair, and violent and bloodthirsty in places, but there's also tenderness and romance, and the author's trademark humour.
Devon folklore and legend plays a part in a fast-moving story with the sighting of a phantom coach, driven by a headless coachman, and there's a derelict mansion, high on the Moor, full of mystery and a hint of the supernatural.
Authors who write series as long as this often become formulaic but Deryn Lake brings something fresh and exciting to each new novel. This is a must-read for fans of historical crime fiction.

[Virginia Tican · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Rawlings while on his honeymoon found a very realistically human fair~haired figurehead on an apparently abandoned ship that almost run aground nearly hitting the smaller fishing boats and endangering lives. Further investigation proved that he and his wife had met and dined with the dead girl that was hanging with the ship's figurehead. This is about a group of young, bored and privileged members of the aristocracy of that area whose activities went beyond the normal pranks and escalated into rape, torture and other crimes. The tragedy here is that the catalyst was the motherless beautiful and promiscuous dead Juliana. To further complicate things, John Rawlings while he loves his wife, has not totally forgotten The Actress now finds himself fascinated and obsessing with the scar~faced Vigilante Marchesa with her mannish allure and noble courage, who is also about 13 years older than him and even 3 years older than Rawlings' mentor, the Blind Beak. John Rawlings surely does not do anything by halves. Remember the Masked Lady? I say Live Dangerously, what?!

[Sara G · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another solid mystery in the John Rawlings series. John and his new wife head to Devon for their honeymoon but quickly discover a young woman's gruesome murder. I liked John as always and the mystery was decent, but John's new wife Emilia was the worst. It looks like the next book in the series is set back in London so here's hoping we get less of her and more of John's other interesting connections next time.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

April 1759. John Rawlings and his new bride, Emilia, are on their four week honeymoon in Devon. Unfortunately for Emilia the discovery of a body means that Rawlings is drawn into the investigation, with the help of Fieldings' runners. Suspects seem many including the Society of Angels. But what is the mystery of the solitary highwayman, and a phantom coach which seems to have a headless coachman.
Another enjoyable mystery in this well-written series with its very likeable characters

[Voirrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

John is married - much to his own joy But married life is not quite as simple and straightforward as he had doubtless imagined - add a ghost ship and some rather nasty deaths to the honeymoon, and he finds himself being pulled in a number of directions at once.

[Kurry Swigert · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with book five in this series, I didn't enjoy this as much. I thought the author had the main character doing things unnatural for him. The plot was also convoluted and a bit fanciful. If the author continues with the patterns of book 5 & 7, I may not finish this series.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a number of this series and have enjoyed each of them.

[Kim Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was quite spooky in some places, and rather obvious in others. The ghostly coach and horses was rather obvious were some aspects of the story. In fact I was quite surprised how slow John Rawlings was to figure some things out. But then again he was on his honeymoon, so perhaps his mind wasn't fully engaged in solving the mysteries in Devon.

[Jennybeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable, somewhat predictable. I may well read more in the series, if for no other reason than nostalgia for Bruce Alexander mysteries, which have unfortunately ended with his death. I am delighted to discover that Sir John Fielding, the Blind Beak of Bow Street was a real person.

[Helena · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good "who done it" story with interesting characters and a good pace. I would read more in the series for sure.