Callie Hutton’s The Sign of Death picks up exactly where A Study in Murder leaves off. If you haven’t read the first one, I definitely recommend it before picking up the second Victorian Book Club mystery. The characters in the humorous historical mystery are introduced and relationships established in the first book.
In Bath, England in January of 1891, William, Lord Wethington receives two horrifying pieces of news. He’s asked to assist the police in the identification of a drowning victim that they suspect is William’s man of business, James Harding. But, at first glance, the second piece of news is scarier. The Viscount’s mother is closing her London flat and coming to live with him. William knows his mother’s goal in life is to see him married. She wants grandchildren.
When two bumbling policemen who once suspected Lady Amy Lovell in the murder of her fiance, now train their eyes on William in the death of Harding, he turns to Amy for assistance. As members of a mystery book club, they’ve grown closer, and he helped her when she was a suspect. Lady Amy is even eager to accompany William to the morgue to identify the corpse. She calls it research for her career as mystery writer E.D. Burton.
Of course, the problems only grow worse for William. Harding was stealing from him, and forging his signature to business documents. His reputation could be ruined. His misadventures with Amy as they try to recover documents could also ruin him. And, they spend so much time together in their undercover investigation that his mother and her father suspect they are a couple, and a wedding may be in the future. Of course, that might happen if Lord Wethington isn’t one of those rare creatures, a peer of the realm hanged for murder.
While The Sign of Death is a fun romp, serious issues do come up, issues about the roles of women. Women’s clothing, their roles, and Amy’s books written under a pseudonym are all reflective of the time period. And, fortunately, for my original complaint about Amy and her dog, Persephone, the dog is slightly less obnoxious in this book. However, at least there is an excuse for her behavior in the current mystery.
Readers looking for an atmospheric humorous historical mystery might want to try Hutton’s The Sign of Death. But, you really should read A Study in Murder first.
Callie Hutton’s website is http://calliehutton.com/
The Sign of Death by Callie Hutton. Crooked Lane Books, 2021. ISBN 9781643855820 (hardcover), 336p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I read a .PDF for a journal.
