Absence of mercy

Sometimes putting some distance, like the Atlantic Ocean, between yourself and a disapproving father is the best course of action. This is why Detective Inspector Jasper Lightner, son of the duke of Kersey, is more than happy to accept an invitation to train the New York Metropolitan Police in the new science of criminal investigation. Once Jasper arrives in New York City, however, he is immediately drawn into a gruesome murder case that may be connected to two other recent deaths investigated by local police detective Hieronymus Law. Goodwin, a pseudonym for novelist Minerva Spencer, proves she is equally adept at fashioning compelling historical mysteries as she is in crafting unforgettable historical romances with this spectacular series opener. An ingeniously clued and perfectly executed plot, a full cast of memorable characters, including the intriguingly flawed Lightner, and an expertly evoked setting, New York City circa 1857 in all its gritty and seedy splendor, add up to a must-read noir historical mystery.

London Det. Insp. Jasper Lightner, one of the heroes of Goodwin's promising debut and series launch, suffered a brain injury during the Crimean War that left memories of his life before fragmented. It's 1857, and Lightner's aristocratic father, who disapproves of his son's profession, gives him the option of either accepting a promotion that would remove Lightner from investigative work or traveling to New York City to help train officers in the city's new police force. Lightner leaps at the chance to work in New York, where policing is the subject of an intense political struggle, and he finds a whodunit: Alard Janssen, an advocate for scientific policing, was strangled before being stabbed. Janssen's killer removed a chunk of the victim's body, following a pattern in the murders of two other affluent men, whose cases were considered solved. Hieronymus Law, a disgraced police detective who was assigned to the previous murders, aids Lightner's probing. Goodwin does a fine job balancing plot and period detail, as well as exploring Lightner's cognitive challenges. Fans of gritty historicals will be eager for more. Agent: Pamela Hopkins, Hopkins Literary Assoc. (Nov.)

In pre--Civil War New York City, a British Detective Inspector teams up with a disgraced American detective to catch a cunning serial killer and save the American's career. April 1857. After a drunken carouse, foppish Felix Dunbarton is murdered on the street. Meanwhile, in London, DI Jasper Lightner is summoned unexpectedly from a bloody murder scene by the police commissioner. Jasper is surprised to see the Duke of Kersey, his cruel, overbearing father, at the meeting and even more surprised at home secretary Sir George Grey's offer to send Jasper to New York to help the police department there. The Duke's constant abuse has triggered a pronounced stutter in his son, who accepts the offer, mostly to escape, taking along Paisley, his manservant. He arrives just in time to examine the corpse of Alard Janssen, the man who arranged his employment. Janssen's successor, Capt. Owen Davies, openly ridicules Jasper and changes his assignment to investigating the murders of Janssen and two other men, Dunbarton and Wilbur Sealy, killed under similar circumstances in the seedy Five Points neighborhood. To assist him, Jasper perversely picks Hieronymus "Hy" Law, an ex-detective who worked the case before he was locked up in the Tomb for unspecified reasons. Law rebuffs the offer but has second thoughts after engineering an escape. When Jasper calls on Janssen's widow, Zuza, he's amazed to see one of the other victims' widows in attendance as well. The crosscurrents of local politics and an elegant bordello figure prominently in the investigation, which gains traction when Hy joins the team. Goodwin's series kickoff offers a colorful, panoramic view of old New York and introduces a provocative sleuthing team. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.