The Hanover Square Affair, A Captain Lacey Regency Mystery – Book 1 by Ashley Gardner

Mystery

I have discovered a great new to me Regency mystery series.  The Hanover Square Affair is the first book in the series and is a .99 feature available for the Barnes and Noble Nook and Amazon Kindle.  This is a limited time offer so if you like mysteries buy it now.

Captain Lacey is a long time Army cavalry officer who is back in London on half-pay.  He has lost his purpose in life, has little money, a bad leg, and suffers from a deep melancholy.  He walks that boundary between the upper and lower classes in England.  He is a gentleman who has no money but does have acquaintances (he says he has no friends) in both classes.  When he intervenes in an altercation between a cavalry unit and a man who says that his daughter was kidnapped and taken to the home of a prominent man his life takes a turn in a new and dangerous direction.

The plot in The Hanover Square Affair is good; the pacing is great, the characters are interesting and the background is fascinating.  In addition to a good mystery The Hanover Square Affair introduces a large number of secondary characters.  While they are secondary in The Hanover Square Affair they look like they could be important in future books.   All in all this is a great start to a mystery series.  

Ashley Gardner is an established and accomplished author who knows how to tell just enough to keep you reading while still leaving you wanting to find out more.  According to her web site each month another of the Captain Lacey books will be released as an ebook.  All of the other books that have been released as ebooks are priced at 1.99.  I have already purchased the second book, A Regimental Murder.  It is a big plus that I do not have to wait for the next book.

Ashley Gardner is a pen name for Jennifer Ashley.  I found two copyright dates for The Hanover Square Affair, one for 2003 and the second for 2011.  There is no publisher listed for the ebook edition of The Hanover Square Affair.