WHAT CANNOT BE SAID

A 14-year-old British murder is duplicated in chilling detail.

Back in 1801, the wife and daughter of Bow Street Magistrate Sir Henry Lovejoy were shot dead and posed in Richmond Park. Now Lady Laura McInnis and her daughter Emma are discovered in the same spot by two young men who heard shots fired. Sir Henry has worked before with Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, son of the Earl of Hendon and husband to Hero, whose own father, Lord Jarvis, is cousin and powerful adviser to the king. At the time of the first murders, a man was arrested and hanged. But this new outrage tells Lovejoy and Devlin that they’re dealing with either a miscarriage of justice or a copycat. Lady McInnis’ traumatized young niece and nephew, Arabella and Percy, had been playing nearby but say they saw nothing. Her widower, Sir Ivo McInnis, is a wealthy, evil-tempered man, a noted sportsman who’s far from the best husband or father. With some help from Hero, who was a friend of Lady McInnis, Devlin digs into her life in hope of finding a motive for what can hardly be a random killing. The dissolute Prince Regent is hated by the people, Napoleon has just been captured, and the economy is in shambles, the difference between the wealthy few and the rest of the country never more apparent. Powerful forces hoping to blame the murders on anyone but the aristocrats involved are arrayed against Devlin, who nevertheless pushes on to reveal the horrifying truth.

Far from the charming world of Regency romances, this thorny mystery is a powerful exposé of privilege and inequality.