The Mystery of the Hawke Sapphires (Charles Dickens Investigations Book 7) by J. C. Briggs

‘Where are you? Dy’d in the blood of recent murder …’

London, 1851.

Sir Gerald Hawke (an odious man) is on his deathbed when he asks a distant cousin, the Reverend Meredith Case, to find Sapphire. She is his long-lost ward, and the heir to the Hawke sapphires. Reverend Case resolves to find her. He starts by asking Sir Gerald’s long-term housekeeper, but she claims that Sapphire disappeared ‘before her time’.

Felix Gresham (a young man with literary ambitions) is found murdered on the steps of a bookshop. Charles Dickens is an acquaintance of the Gresham family, and becomes involved in this investigation with Superintendent Sam Jones.

Dickens also becomes involved in the search for Sapphire (how he loves a mystery) and begins to wonder if there could be a connection between the missing woman and the murdered man.

This is a marvellous novel, full of Dickensian twists. There are two involved mysteries to solve, terrific characters (meet the Screeches – Ebenzer and Bella, Miss Jane Gauntlett, and (of course) the resourceful young man known as Scrap).

If you enjoy mysteries set in the Victorian era, then I recommend this series. They do not need to be read in order because each case is self-contained, but you’ll miss some terrific character development.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes. 

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The Mystery of the Hawke Sapphires (Charles Dickens Investigations Book 7) by J. C. Briggs

‘Where are you? Dy’d in the blood of recent murder …’

London, 1851.

Sir Gerald Hawke (an odious man) is on his deathbed when he asks a distant cousin, the Reverend Meredith Case, to find Sapphire. She is his long-lost ward, and the heir to the Hawke sapphires. Reverend Case resolves to find her. He starts by asking Sir Gerald’s long-term housekeeper, but she claims that Sapphire disappeared ‘before her time’.

Felix Gresham (a young man with literary ambitions) is found murdered on the steps of a bookshop. Charles Dickens is an acquaintance of the Gresham family, and becomes involved in this investigation with Superintendent Sam Jones.

Dickens also becomes involved in the search for Sapphire (how he loves a mystery) and begins to wonder if there could be a connection between the missing woman and the murdered man.

This is a marvellous novel, full of Dickensian twists. There are two involved mysteries to solve, terrific characters (meet the Screeches – Ebenzer and Bella, Miss Jane Gauntlett, and (of course) the resourceful young man known as Scrap).

If you enjoy mysteries set in the Victorian era, then I recommend this series. They do not need to be read in order because each case is self-contained, but you’ll miss some terrific character development.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Sapere Books for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes. 

Jennifer Cameron-Smith