Murder in Belgravia by Lynn Brittney

Murder in Belgravia by Lynn Brittney ISBN-13: 9781907324826 Paperback: 211 pages Publisher: Mirror Books Released: March 15, 2018

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from NetGalley:
Set against the backdrop of WW1, Mayfair 100 is the telephone number for a small specially-formed crimebusting team based in a house in Mayfair. London, 1915. Just 10 months into the First World War, the City is flooded with women taking over the work vacated by men in the Armed Services.

Chief Inspector Peter Beech, a young man invalided out of the war in one of the first battles, is faced with investigating the murder of an aristocrat and the man’s wife, a key witness and suspect, will only speak to a woman about the unpleasant details of the case. After persuading the Chief Commissioner to allow him to set up a clandestine team to deal with such situations, Beech puts together a small motley crew of well-educated women and professional policemen.

As Beech, Victoria, Caroline, Rigsby and Tollman investigate the murder, they delve into the seedier parts of WWI London, taking them from criminal gangs to brothels and underground drug rings supplying heroin to the upper classes. Will the Mayfair 100 team solve the murder? And if they do, will they be allowed to continue working as a team?


My Review:
Murder in Belgravia is a mystery set in 1915 in London. Chief Inspector Peter Beech is confronted with a suspect who refuses to see a male doctor for her life-threatening injuries or to talk to a male policeman about the murder of her husband. Happily, he's good friends with a woman doctor and with a high-born woman who trained as a lawyer. They help him with the suspect but doubt she killed her husband even though she confesses to it. But who is she protecting?

Beech gets permission to form a secret team to deal with this crime and future serious crimes involving women. The team includes these two women and two other men. They each have skills that the others don't, work well together, and share a desire to find justice for victims. The characters were likable, compassionate people. The author worked the changes that occurred due to WWI into the murder investigation.

The mystery was clue-based. The team asked questions and followed up leads until they finally uncovered the truth. They were smart and had good hunches, but it took some work as they had to track down some of the witnesses. There were no sex scenes. There was some bad language. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery kept me engaged, so I'd recommend this novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.