The Hanover Square Affair

Rating:
Summary: Captain Lacey helps look for a kidnapped woman in London
Review: Captain Lacey is no longer in the military and is now living in London. One day he comes upon a mob throwing things at a home in Hanover Square. Since Hanover Square is one of the wealthier neighborhoods of London, a riot is one of the last things he would expect to find there. A young officer shoots Mr. Thornton, the leader of the mob. Captain Lacey comes to his rescue and helps Mr. and Mrs. Thornton get home.

Mr. Thornton's maid, Alice, tells Captain Lacey that Mr. Horne lives in the house in Hanover Square. She also tells him that Mr. Thornton believes Mr. Horne kidnapped his daughter, Jane, and her maid, Aimee, from their carriage. They are still missing.

Captain Lacey finds that Mr. Horne is associated with Mr. Denis -- not someone to get tangled up with. Mr. Grenville, Captain Lacey's friend, assists him in looking for Jane, but discourages him from interacting directly with Mr. Denis.

Then Mr. Horne is found dead in his study. Aimee is found bound and drugged in a wardrobe just feet away from where Mr. Horne was killed, but Jane is nowhere to be found.

As Captain Lacey and Mr. Grenville continue investigating to find Jane, they are told of another girl's disappearance. They end up putting themselves in great danger to locate Jane.

The only thing I had trouble with was the setting -- London in 1816. I rarely read books set back that far in time, but I actually enjoyed this book. Captain Lacey is a very likeable fellow. His past has caused him much pain and he is trying to survive in a very tough world.

I found the other characters, although some of them were less reputable, to be very well constructed. From her descriptions, I got a real sense of London in the 1800's.

I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Captain Lacey helps look for a kidnapped woman in London
Review: Captain Lacey is no longer in the military and is now living in London. One day he comes upon a mob throwing things at a home in Hanover Square. Since Hanover Square is one of the wealthier neighborhoods of London, a riot is one of the last things he would expect to find there. A young officer shoots Mr. Thornton, the leader of the mob. Captain Lacey comes to his rescue and helps Mr. and Mrs. Thornton get home.

Mr. Thornton's maid, Alice, tells Captain Lacey that Mr. Horne lives in the house in Hanover Square. She also tells him that Mr. Thornton believes Mr. Horne kidnapped his daughter, Jane, and her maid, Aimee, from their carriage. They are still missing.

Captain Lacey finds that Mr. Horne is associated with Mr. Denis -- not someone to get tangled up with. Mr. Grenville, Captain Lacey's friend, assists him in looking for Jane, but discourages him from interacting directly with Mr. Denis.

Then Mr. Horne is found dead in his study. Aimee is found bound and drugged in a wardrobe just feet away from where Mr. Horne was killed, but Jane is nowhere to be found.

As Captain Lacey and Mr. Grenville continue investigating to find Jane, they are told of another girl's disappearance. They end up putting themselves in great danger to locate Jane.

The only thing I had trouble with was the setting -- London in 1816. I rarely read books set back that far in time, but I actually enjoyed this book. Captain Lacey is a very likeable fellow. His past has caused him much pain and he is trying to survive in a very tough world.

I found the other characters, although some of them were less reputable, to be very well constructed. From her descriptions, I got a real sense of London in the 1800's.

I recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Historical Mystery
Review: In THE HANOVER SQUARE AFFAIR Ashley Gardner (who writes Romances as Jennifer Ashley) has created a wonderful hero with all the angst a romance reader loves, but with a mystery that is wonderfully complex and sure to please any mystery fan.

Captain Gabriel Lacey has enough quirks, hard luck and appeal to be a stalwart hero to hang a mystery series on. He is newly returned, somewhat in disgrace, from the Peninsular Wars along with his also cashiered commanding officer and the officer's wife. Gabriel actually fought a duel for the Lady's honor and earned the undying enmity of his Commander, who had been his mentor and best friend.

Gabriel is on his way to visit his ex-Commander's wife, Louisa Brandon, when he encounters a near-riot in front of a house in Hanover Square. 5 Cavalry men led by one of his former comrade-in-arms are attempting to disperse the mob, whose anger seems to be fully on one house in the square. One of the men shoots the leader of the mob in the back and they leave the man for dead. Gabe takes pity on him and takes him to his home and removes the bullet from him. Gabe ascertains that the old man was trying to get into number 22 to rescue his daughter who was kidnapped along with her maid. Gabe promises to look into the matter for them.

What follows is a terrific mystery with lots of turns and twists and a wonderful view of a life of genteel poverty in the Regency period. Gabe is fortunate to have made the friendship of Lucius Grenville, a peer who's patronage ensures that Gabe is invited to all of the best events of the Ton. Lucius is suffering from ennui and finds Gabe and his non-deferential manner a refreshing change from the members of the Ton. Besides Gabe saved him from a most embarrassing robbery and is never boring.

The plot is filled with lots of twists and turns and as Gabe hunts for the unfortunate girl, he encounters everyone from an outraged French Aunt, to a Regency era mob boss with a few members of the demi-monde thrown in for good measure. The tone of this book is melancholic, as Gabe constantly battles depression and his relations with the women in his life are definitely pathos producing. But, the story is so exciting and Gabe is so likable that a little melancholy definitely did not take away from the story. Besides, I think for people living on the edge in that era melancholy or even depression would have been a most understandable condition.

I read this in one sitting and immediately went on a glom to find the other two books in the series. Gabe and his cohorts are definitely people that I want to visit with again.


Rating:
Summary: A grat dbut by a mystery author with loads of talent
Review: Regency England in 1816 is not the best place for a lame soldier on half pay with no prospects and no hope of finding any. Captain Gabriel Lacey and his commanding officer were asked to leave the army to avoid a court martial and scandal but the animosity between the two men exist to this very day. Still his ex-commander's wife Louisa tries to mend the breach that she was inadvertently responsible for causing.

Lacey rejects her overture but on his way to visit her without her husband there, he runs into a mob intending to assault the home of Josiah Horne. This curious captain goes to visit Josiah who thinks he wants the direction of a powerful man in the underworld. When he returns to the home to get the name, he find the man dead and castrated and a young girl drugged in a hidden compartment in the closet. He learns that another girl was there as well and he intends to find her or die trying.

The protagonist of THE HANOVER SQUARE AFFAIR is one of the most honorable men to grace the pages of a mystery book. He will risk his own life to right a wrong and that is the reason the audience will come to care for him and hope one day in his future he will find happiness. Ashley Gardner's debut novel compares favorably with writers who have made the best seller list.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: A grat dbut by a mystery author with loads of talent
Review: Regency England in 1816 is not the best place for a lame soldier on half pay with no prospects and no hope of finding any. Captain Gabriel Lacey and his commanding officer were asked to leave the army to avoid a court martial and scandal but the animosity between the two men exist to this very day. Still his ex-commander's wife Louisa tries to mend the breach that she was inadvertently responsible for causing.

Lacey rejects her overture but on his way to visit her without her husband there, he runs into a mob intending to assault the home of Josiah Horne. This curious captain goes to visit Josiah who thinks he wants the direction of a powerful man in the underworld. When he returns to the home to get the name, he find the man dead and castrated and a young girl drugged in a hidden compartment in the closet. He learns that another girl was there as well and he intends to find her or die trying.

The protagonist of THE HANOVER SQUARE AFFAIR is one of the most honorable men to grace the pages of a mystery book. He will risk his own life to right a wrong and that is the reason the audience will come to care for him and hope one day in his future he will find happiness. Ashley Gardner's debut novel compares favorably with writers who have made the best seller list.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Stylish
Review: This is a delightful period mystery and loaded with charm. If your looking for a well-conceived little mystery that delivers a lively and amusing tale I highly recommend "The Hanover Square Affair".

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Stylish
Review: This is a delightful period mystery and loaded with charm. If your looking for a well-conceived little mystery that delivers a lively and amusing tale I highly recommend "The Hanover Square Affair".

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining and Stylish
Review: This is a delightful period mystery and loaded with charm. If your looking for a well-conceived little mystery that delivers a lively and amusing tale I highly recommend "The Hanover Square Affair".