The Missing Baronet
Sarah Kedron is feisty and independent, a woman ahead of her time, a successful playwright who turns her talents to detective work. When Sir Charles Browning goes missing, his young wife, Celia, is distraught. Sarah sets about unravelling the mystery of his disappearance. Her adventures alongside the attractive James Brewster, barrister-in-waiting and editor of her father’s publication The Weekly Police News, bring them on carriage rides to grand houses and a village rectory, and in London the trail leads through elegant streets, the Vauxhall Gardens and seedy gambling clubs. All the while their growing attraction for each other is tested with a series of misunderstandings.
Set in Regency times against ongoing debates about the slave trade and the intrigue of a local parliamentary election, this is a well-crafted, lively read with an ending that is both dramatic and exciting. The characters throughout are realistic and emphatic, and there is a strong sense of era: imagine dandy Beau Brummell actually charging people to watch him dress!
Author Ken Methold writes for stage, screen and radio. This is his first novel and the first in a trilogy that will feature Sarah Kedron. Enjoyable as the story is, it would be better served with sharper editing and more professional formatting.
