Death in the Dark Walk (John Rawlings Mysteries) [Paperback]

Deryn Lake (Author)

Book Description

Series: John Rawlings Mysteries | Publication Date: June 1999

When Rawlings trips over the body of a young girl in Vaux Hall Pleasure Gardens, he becomes prime suspect. Managing to clear his own name, Rawlings is asked to investigate the crime, and following a trail of lustful liaisons and illicit intrigue, he discovers dark secrets in the girl's past.

Product Details

• Paperback: 295 pages
• Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340607025
• ISBN-13: 978-0340607022
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,986,616 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A delightful, historical mystery, January 9, 2008

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death in the Dark Walk (Hardcover)

First Sentence: It being such a delicate night, all stars and moon and silk soft breeze, John Rawlings, well satisfied with the day's events and having kissed his father goodnight, stepped forth from number two Nassau Street, so named in honour of the marriage of the Princess Royal to the Prince of Orange-Nassau, and hailed a chair to take him to the river.

John Rawlings, the adopted son of a nobleman and a newly independent apothecary, is celebrating the completion of his indenture in Vaux Hall Pleasure Garden, when he hears a woman cry out and is the first to her body. With his acute memory and powers of observation, Sir John Fielding, the Blind Beak of Bow Street, asks Rawlings to be an official investigator in finding the killer.

I loved the Bruce Alexander novels and Deryn Lake's book is somewhat reminiscent of those. I have read a couple other books in the series and liked them well enough to find the rest so I could read the series from the beginning. Rawling is a likeable young man with a very close relationship to his adopted father. The back story of their relationship is lovely without being cloying. Lake clearly knows her geography and period very well and shares that knowledge with us as part of an interesting story. While one of the story threads was fairly obvious, I didn't mind as the subtle humor of the character made the thread work. I'm glad to have finally read the first book and I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death in the Dark Walk, February 13, 2008

By 

teacher and learner "reader and eater" (Chicago,IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the Dark Walk (John Rawlings Mystery) (Paperback)

I was recommended this title by a colleague during a summer study program at Cambridge. This series of novels has been unavailable in the USA and only recently brought back on to the market. They will be greatly appreciated. The author has succeeded in drawing a very realistic portrait of London after the Restoration. The characters are very clearly drawn and the plot is realistic although I had figured out "who done it" before the final chapter. If you are a fan of Edward Marston, C J Samson, or P C Doherty you will enjoy these novels.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable, January 22, 2011

By 

DevoGirl - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in the Dark Walk (John Rawlings Mystery) (Paperback)

Very similar in many ways to the Blind Justice series, also featuring a young assistant helping Sir John Fielding solve murders. In this case, Fielding is very much a secondary character, only appearing in a few scenes. On the other hand, the quality of the writing is much better than in the other series. The historical details are vivid and lively, clearly well researched. The main characters seem a bit naive and prudish for living in such bawdy times. It bothers me when historical novels conflate the morality of the 19th and 18th centuries, which were quite different. But overall, it's an enjoyable read.