Tears for the Forsaken by Cara Devlin
~ Another excellent addition to a fascinating historical mystery series ~ Thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading what comes next ~
* Leonora “Leo” Spencer: difficult backstory, orphaned at nine, lost parents and two siblings, taken in by Uncle Claude and Aunt Flora Feldman, morgue assistant to Connor Quinn, photographic memory, bright, unconventional, puzzle solver, strong, not easily cowed, survivor, in a relationship with Jasper
* Jasper Reid: Detective Inspector, adopted by Chief Superintendent Gregory Reid when young, from the streets, an orphan, bright, educated, intelligent, intriguing, away from London on a case for a few months, officially courting Leo at the end of this book
* The reading of the will and what transpired afterward
* The Opium issue that cropped up and how it played into the story
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* That the story feels “of the era” and educates while entertaining
* Dita Brooks: Leo’s friend, lost her fiancé in a previous book, working undercover, Might be ready to move on with a potential suitor – Connor from the morgue
* Connor Quinn: Coroner, works with Leo, had a previous fiancé show up in the morgue, works to find out how she died, sees Dita and is immediately attracted to her
* That all of the mysteries were solved and murderers found by the end of the book
What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like,
* How twisted the Stroud, Cowper, Dalton family dynamics were
* Thinking about how difficult it would be to marry other than for love and even if for love to be expected to change to meet the expectations of the partner’s professional advancement
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely
Thank you to the author for the ARC – This is my honest review.
After Leo and Jasper are summoned to the reading of a last will and testament for a woman they do not know, they are stunned to receive not only a joint bequest, but also a bidding from the to find out if the woman’s young son fell to his death a dozen years ago…or if he was, as she always suspected, pushed.
Faced with hostility from the grieving family, Leo and Jasper launch an unusual investigation, placing the morgue assistant and the detective inspector on equal footing for the first time. It’s a thrilling change after their budding relationship had been on pause for months while Jasper handled a case in Liverpool. But when a new murder complicates things, and Leo takes on a separate private inquiry, they discover working together is more challenging than either of them anticipated.
As Leo and Jasper untangle a web of family secrets, they unearth a vile truth connecting two deaths, separated by a decade—a truth the killer will stop at nothing to bury, once and for all.
Tears for the Forsaken is the fifth book in Cara Devlin’s romantic historical mystery series set in Victorian London. The Spencer & Reid Mysteries are perfect for fans of Miss Scarlet & the Duke, and readers of Irina Shapiro, Andrea Penrose, and C.S. Harris.
