Book Review: Murder in Mayfair by DM Quincy (Atlas Catesby #1)
Murder in Mayfair is the first in a series of mystery books set in the early 1800s London. Our hero is Atlas, the son of a Barron who is suffering from [obviously undiagnosed, given the time] PTSD after the death of his sister and is a little lost with what he wants from life. (I must admit, by the end, I was also suffering; Atlas seemed to bring his sister and her death up with annoying regularity.)
The book starts with Atlas rushing to the aid of Lilliana, a woman whose husband sells her off, says she has had other men, and tries to keep her from seeing her children. The husband has many other charming aspects and enemies and, I don’t think it’s too much of a spoiler to say he is soon found dead. Also obviously Lilliana and Atlas become the main suspects.
Some of the parts of the book were a little modern; I doubt if the sensitive subjects featured would have been discussed so openly in that era. It wasn’t all jarring, however, and there were a lot of good factual inclusions, such as the Bow Street Runners. And, unlike a lot of mystery books I’ve read of late, Atlas does at least do a bit of investigating (as opposed to stumbling across or simply guessing the murderer).
DM Quincy writes historical romances under the name of Diane Quincy and her style tends to lean more towards the romantic than crime/thriller genre. Having said that, however, I didn’t really enjoy the romance between the two leads. It seemed a little bland. Happily there was a good bit of romantic chemistry between two of the supporting characters — Atlas’s sister and his best friend. These two, for me, really stole the show, romance-wise, and I found them infinitely more interesting than Atlas and Lilliana.
Actually, my feelings for Atlas and Lilliana could describe my feelings for the book overall — nice enough but a little bland.
3 out of 5
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