Murder on Black Swan Lane by Andrea Penrose

The Earl of Wrexford possesses a brilliant scientific mind, but boredom and pride lead him to reckless behavior. He does not suffer fools gladly. So when pompous, pious Reverend Josiah Holworthy publicly condemns him for debauchery, Wrexford unsheathes his rapier-sharp wit and strikes back. As their war of words escalates, Londons most popular satirical cartoonist, A.J. Quill, skewers them both. But then the clergyman is found slain in a churchhis face burned by chemicals, his throat slashed ear to earand Wrexford finds himself the chief suspect.An artist in her own right, Charlotte Sloane has secretly slipped into the persona of her late husband, using his nom de plume A.J. Quill. When Wrexford discovers her true identity, she fears it will be her undoing. But he has a proposaluse her sources to unveil the clergymans clandestine involvement in questionable scientific practices, and unmask the real murderer. Soon Lord Wrexford and the mysterious Mrs. Sloane plunge into a dangerous shadow world hidden among Londons intellectual enclaves to trap a cunning adversarybefore they fall victim to the next experiment in villainy . . .

While this book has the usual first book growing pains, it sets the stage for a beautiful ongoing partnership. This book offers a unique view of Regency London, and I can't wait to return.

This was an engrossing mystery novel that took place in Regency London. The historical fiction elements seemed well-researched, with the exception of some of the dialogue, which felt more modern. (I'm pretty sure “cut to the chase” is a term from the film industry.)

It was well-written and edited, though some of the words seemed redundant. (Charlotte is described as “pragmatic” too many times to count.) I also got tired of reading an interpretation of what was said between every line of dialogue, though the character development felt thorough because of it.

I enjoyed the mystery elements, though they weren't particularly hard to figure out, and I also enjoyed the action sequences.

The writing in the end verged on the romantic for me, and I felt the characters were unnecessarily stereotyped by their gender. (Charlotte was described as being ruled by her emotions and intuition, though that wasn't reflected in her words and actions. Likewise, Wrexford was described as cold and unfeeling, with a hot temper, which also wasn't reflected in his words and actions.) It would've been a more interesting writing choice to flip those stereotypes, maybe, but I liked the characters so it was fine.

Overall, I intend to keep going with the series and I look forward to more.