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Rating: 
Summary: Almost as good as the first in the series...
Review: ...but not quite. I really enjoyed the first in the series, The Thief-Taker and was looking forward to this second book. And I was not disappointed (much). Henry Morton, the likeable Bow Street Runner, is back and is this time attempting to solve the murder of a French count's mistress. There are many interesting characters to keep the novel moving along but there were also some confusing chapters - it was sometimes difficult to keep track of who was a royalist (interested in returning the French king to the throne) and who was a Bonapartist. That aside, it is an interesting book, with great attention to period detail and the main character is possibly more interesting and likeable in this entry than the first time around. Will be on the look out for the third in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Huge disappointment!
Review: Henry Morton, my favorite Bow Street Runner from "The Thief Taker", is back again. However, this time I was not intrigued by the mystery he is attempting to solve. The mistress of a count is found dead, having been tortured by thumbscrews. Napoleon has been captured and is being held on a ship in Plymouth Harbor after a lengthy war with England. People on small boats flock to catch a glimpse of him. As other murders occur, Henry is sent on a long chase to capture the murderer.
Maybe I am not enough of a history buff to keep the loyalists and royalists straight in my mind. Or maybe I just didn't care enough about the characters or the plot line. Either way, this book was a chore to finish. Perhaps that is why it didn't even merit a hard-cover publication.
Rating:
Summary: Huge disappointment!
Review: Henry Morton, my favorite Bow Street Runner from "The Thief Taker", is back again. However, this time I was not intrigued by the mystery he is attempting to solve. The mistress of a count is found dead, having been tortured by thumbscrews. Napoleon has been captured and is being held on a ship in Plymouth Harbor after a lengthy war with England. People on small boats flock to catch a glimpse of him. As other murders occur, Henry is sent on a long chase to capture the murderer.
Maybe I am not enough of a history buff to keep the loyalists and royalists straight in my mind. Or maybe I just didn't care enough about the characters or the plot line. Either way, this book was a chore to finish. Perhaps that is why it didn't even merit a hard-cover publication.
Rating:
Summary: Huge disappointment!
Review: Henry Morton, my favorite Bow Street Runner from "The Thief Taker", is back again. However, this time I was not intrigued by the mystery he is attempting to solve. The mistress of a count is found dead, having been tortured by thumbscrews. Napoleon has been captured and is being held on a ship in Plymouth Harbor after a lengthy war with England. People on small boats flock to catch a glimpse of him. As other murders occur, Henry is sent on a long chase to capture the murderer.
Maybe I am not enough of a history buff to keep the loyalists and royalists straight in my mind. Or maybe I just didn't care enough about the characters or the plot line. Either way, this book was a chore to finish. Perhaps that is why it didn't even merit a hard-cover publication.
Rating:
Summary: English Common Law and the Corsican.
Review: I have to admit that this my introduction to the story of Henry Morton, Bow Street Runner, but I quite enjoyed it. The period is one that is frequently used in genre fiction and I would have sworn that there was very little I did not know about the time, but the authors managed to surprise me. The center of the plot that creates the mystery is barely glimpsed at the beginning of the book, the short, stout dethroned emporer of the French. Around his head swirls plots and counter plots as the British debate exactly what to do with him. He is in legal limbo. If he should set foot on English soil he could claim the benefit of English law and the English also do not have any reason to execute him. While he caused the death of thousands, he has committed no capital crime. (Ironies of ironies, though, if he had stolen an item worth 40 pounds or more, he could have been executed as a felon.) The action is quite brisk and vivid. The reactions of the characters are humane yet they do not display too modern a sensibility. I sincerely hope that this series continues.
Rating:
Summary: English Common Law and the Corsican.
Review: I have to admit that this my introduction to the story of Henry Morton, Bow Street Runner, but I quite enjoyed it. The period is one that is frequently used in genre fiction and I would have sworn that there was very little I did not know about the time, but the authors managed to surprise me. The center of the plot that creates the mystery is barely glimpsed at the beginning of the book, the short, stout dethroned emporer of the French. Around his head swirls plots and counter plots as the British debate exactly what to do with him. He is in legal limbo. If he should set foot on English soil he could claim the benefit of English law and the English also do not have any reason to execute him. While he caused the death of thousands, he has committed no capital crime. (Ironies of ironies, though, if he had stolen an item worth 40 pounds or more, he could have been executed as a felon.) The action is quite brisk and vivid. The reactions of the characters are humane yet they do not display too modern a sensibility. I sincerely hope that this series continues.
Rating: 
Summary: an immensely riveting and enjoyable read
Review: Set in the summer of 1815, this second Henry Morton murder mystery focuses on the deadly goings-on amongst the French refugees in England whilst their own personal demon (on hero, depending on which faction you were talking to), Napoleon Bonaparte, was being held (by the British) on HMS Bellerophon just off the Plymouth Sound. The novel opens with the discovery of the body of a young woman that had (seemingly) been washed up on shore. The initial view is that she committed suicide. But when Skelton, the surgeon, examines the body, he discovers that the woman had been bound and tortured before her death. The death of this unknown woman is beginning to smell like murder to Henry Morton, one of Bow Street's most reputable Runners. And in trying to discover the identity of this unfortunate unknown, Morton discovers that she was French (Madame Angelique Desmarches) and that she was the mistress of a very important French aristocrat. Was Angelique murdered by Bonapartist agents eager to know what the Royalist were about to do with their fallen emperor? As the investigation begins to take some rather unexpected twists and the body count begins to mount, Morton cannot help but become perturbed about this pat theory and to wonder what, exactly, is going on... "The Emperor's Assassin" proved to be quite a read. Fast paced and with quite a few clever plot-twists, I spent a very happy afternoon being totally absorbed and engrossed with this book. Having enjoyed the previous Henry Morton murder mystery novel immensely, I was happy to discover that this second installment in the series lived up to my expectations. True, you almost being to expect and suspect what will happen next, but the authours did such a good job in telling their story and in letting things unfold smoothly, that you don't actually feel shortchanged just because you can guess what will happen next. (And some of the scenes were so vividly depicted that you could almost swear you'd been watching things unfold in front of the TV, instead of having imagined what it would have been like from a book). I thoroughly enjoyed "The Emperor's Assassin" -- but I do wish that the publishers would make up their minds if a book is going to come out in hardcover or mass market first: my mystery collection is beginning to look a little strange!
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