Customer Reviews

The Glass House

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The third installment in the Captain Lacey Regecy-era mystery novels, "The Glass House" lived up to my every expectation. I had been really looking forward to reading "The Glass House" ever since I had finished "The Hanover Square Affair," and was pleased to note that this Captain Lacey installment proved to be as riveting and as absorbing as the previous two books.

When the body of a blonde woman in pulled from the river, Captain Lacey's old sergeant, Pomeroy, who now works as a Bow Street Runner, ask Lacey to view the body just in case the dead lady turns up someone Lacey knows: the actress Marianne Simmons. The dead lady turns out not to be Marianne, but Lacey is moved by her death nevertheless, especially when it turns out that she was murdered before being dumped into the river. Further investigation reveals that the dead woman was an ex-actress and current wife of a dried up stick of a lawyer, Mrs. Amelia Chapman, but who was known to her lover (Lord Barbury) and everyone else, as "Peaches." Further investigation also reveals that "Peaches" had a taste for danger and excitement, and that she was a regular attendant of the Glass House, a den of iniquity that catered to the whims and sordid tastes of the upper classes. On the very night of her murder, Lord Barbury was expecting Peaches at the Glass House, but she never showed up. As far as Lacey is concerned, Peaches' death could either be laid at the door of her cuckolded husband, Chapman, or her lover, Lord Barbury. But in order to find the evidence to capture a murderer, Lacey will have to infiltrate the Glass House, come face to with a level of sordidness he's not used to contemplating about, as well as face an old and dangerous enemy, James Denis. Now, Lacey has two tasks: finding Peaches' murderer; and closing down the Glass House and so getting even Denis. But could Lacey in his zeal to cause Denis some inconvenience be overlooking some aspects of Peaches' murder?

Swiftly paced and suspenseful, "The Glass House" was a compelling read from start to finish. Ashley Gardner does a wonderful job of evoking the atmosphere and feel of the age; the descriptions of London are vivid and captivating, and her character studies (esp that of her irresistible and melancholic hero) lifelike. The mystery subplot was nothing to be sneezed at either, being very intriguing and absorbing; and written in a very engaging manner so that one was completely hooked from the very beginning. All in all, I'd vote "The Glass House" as a brilliant read. I will admit to be slightly confused though: the plot synopsis at the back of the book describes Captain Gabriel Lacey as a cashiered officer. If so, how can he still be a half-pay officer, still feted by Society as a bit of a hero?

Gardner does an excellent job of portraying Regency England. His character is the essence of honor, yet is by no means perfect and I find myself wanting to know more about him. There are excellent secondary characters who provide a strong sense of the period. The plot held me from beginning to end. This is a series which has improved with each book, and I find myself anxious to read the next installment.

I am afraid that I am seeing a disappointing trend in the Captain Lacey Regency mystery novels written by Ashley Gardner. At least, the trend is showing up for me. I read the first book (The Hanover Square Affair) and gave it an enthusiastic five star rating. Book two is A Regimental Murder which I rated as four stars. Now this one I have gone to three stars. A lot of time has elapsed between my reading of book one and book three (almost two years) but I remember it very well and how excited I was to have found a modern author who could write such a compelling novel in a marvelous period setting.

The writing is still very good. The period setting and attention to detail is still very good. What I found lacking was the intensity of the mystery. The first victim was a woman found dead in the Thames. Captain Lacey was called to view the body because she resembled a young actress who lodged in the same building as Lacey. It was not Marianne Simmons, and for that Lacey was eternally grateful, but his interest was aroused and he began to make his own investigations as to who this young woman was and why she had been killed, for obviously she had been murdered. No matter how hard Ms Gardner tried, I just did not really feel sympathetic toward this victim. She was not really a good person, even though she was not supposed to be actually a bad person. Her character was like the entire book for me, neither totally good nor totally bad, just sort of mediocre. Boy, talk about damning with faint praise! And if Ms Gardner is going to keep us guessing as to who the murderer is, she might want to stop killing off all the suspects and leaving us with just a very few possibilities. Even readers who are not mystery fanatics won't have much trouble guessing the villain if you kill off so many of the other suspects.

All of the previous characters from the two other novels are back. Colonel and Mrs Brandon are very prominent and I am getting heartily sick of the couple and Captain Lacey quarrelling and wrangling. I know it all had to be repeated for first-time readers but I am still tired of it. Is Lacey supposed to be in love with her? If not, why are we hanging on to these two characters? I like the character of Grenville but just don't see where the author is trying to lead us in regards to his obsession with Marianne. Please, Ms Gardner, tell me that you explain that situation better in forthcoming books.

I think this is considered a stand alone novel. I'm not so sure of that. If I ever recommend this series to a friend I will make sure to tell them to read the books in order. I have all the others, I will read all the others and fervently hope that book four will put me back to my original enthusiastic liking for this series. If not, the rest may just go into my to-go box without being read.

This story has all of the requirements for a British historical mystery and did hold my attention to some extent. I think the conclusion was a bit trite. The writing was okay, but not great. It is a fast read, which is something I like now and then. I did get to know the characters. Good clear characterization is always an important ingrediant for me.

Injured during the Peninsular Campaign, Captain Gabriel Lacey returns to England where he solved two murder cases due to curiosity. A Bow Street runner, his former sergeant, calls upon Lacey to identify the body who he thinks is his neighbor Marianne; Lacey rushes to the Thames River where the corpse was found, but she is not his neighbor although she wears a ring given to her by an aristocrat. Lacey takes the ring to his friend Grenville who knows everyone important and learns from the man that the ring belongs to Lord Barbury.

Since Lord Barbury is a visitor at Grenville's home, he introduces the two men to one another. Barbury admits that he gave the ring to his lover Mrs. Chapman, wife of a barrister. Lacey's curiosity keeps him investigating Mrs. Chapman's death with the trail leading to the GLASS HOUSE, a vile bawdy place where anything is for sale. Apparently the victim had a room there where she met Barbury; they also had trysts at the home of another man. As Lacey continues to search for clues, two more homicides connected to his case occur and now even he could become the next victim.

When one thinks of honor, Captain Lacey comes to mind as he helps a child escape the horrors of the Glass House and stubbornly seeks to find a killer of a woman he never met. The villain is innocuous and unassuming so that the audience will never guess though afterward would nod in agreement that the culprit was obvious. That and the hero is why this is an exciting Regency mystery that also captures the ambience of the era.

Harriet Klausner

If you are reading this review you have likely found Ashley Gardner's first two Captain Lacy mysteries, 'The Hanover Square Affair' and 'A Regimental Murder'. I have read both of those and now this, the third in the series. I enjoyed the previous two books and I did like this one as well but I didn't think it was quite as good as the other two.

Captain Gabriel Lacy is semi-retired from the 35th Light Dragoons,
unsatisfied and restless without battles to fight he finds himself occupied investigating another murder in London. This time the victim bears a strong resemblance to an acquaintance of his and he is asked to identify the body. The woman is not his friend but he finds himself compelled to offer his assistance on her behalf.

I like the character Captain Lacy and I understand the need for repetition when writing in a series. But I found the strained relationship and interactions between the Captain and Colonel Brandon and his wife a little redundant. I thought the tension and frustration between the two men added to the previous two stories but in this one I felt the animosity was over done and seemed to detract from the story.

The period details are very satisfying and I enjoy the relationships between the characters. This mystery was not as compelling to me as the previous two. I mostly enjoyed revisiting the familiar characters and learning more about them.

I hope the next books in this series are more dynamic and satisfying and that Gardner reveals more about Lacy's past. I'm hoping that his move to the country will mean we see less of the Brandons.

This 3rd installment in the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries was even better than the first two-but I do suggest you read them in order. Because, for me, what made this a really good book was how much more we delved into the characters (especially the secondary characters)background, thoughts and lifestyle choices.

The Mystery was more than adequate-I only "guessed" who it might be a feww paragraphs before the hero reveals all.

I loved the deepening of Lacey's relationship with Grenville, his new errand boy/footman Bartholomew, the "modern" Lady Breckenridge, and where his friendship with the Brandons is headed.

Lacey was very heroic in this book, even more so than previous books, but also more rash-which he finds out does have it's consequences. The most exciting aspect of Glass House is at the end the character is going a new direction with his life and it will be interesting to see how this affects his sleuthing and relationships in future books.

I recommend this series heartily for any Historical or especially any Regency era fan.

5 stars.