The Wages of Sin

February 9, 2015
In Cutler’s enjoyable sixth Fran Harman mystery (after 2014’s Double Fault), newly retired Fran, a former detective chief superintendent, and her new husband, Mark Turner, also retired from the force, volunteer to assist the West Mercia police in a 20-year-old cold case involving a mortally ill baby left alone in a car parked on a lonely stretch of road by Wyre Forest. The infant’s mother and an older brother haven’t been seen since and are presumed dead. The local police, challenged by budget issues and riven by internal rivalries, resent the intrusion of two civilians. But working together, they uncover discrepancies, ill-informed assumptions made by the original investigators, and outright deceptions from witnesses in the old case. The procedural business moves slowly at times, with a great deal of emphasis on the miserable weather and unforgiving geography. The interactions between blissful newlyweds Fran and Mark will please the romantically inclined. The surprising conclusion definitely satisfies.

April 1, 2015

In their sixth case (after 2014's Double Fault), recently retired cop Fran Hartman and her new husband and fellow former cop, Mark Turner, volunteer their assistance to the local Kent police force to solve a 20-year-old cold case: a critically ill baby was abandoned in a car near Wyre Forest, his mother and older brother never to be seen again.

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March 15, 2015
A cold case turns into trouble for recently married and retired police officials Fran Harman and Mark Turner. Contracted to look into the 20-year-old disappearance of Natalie Foreman, wife of a prominent footballer, and her four-year-old son, the pair soon find that someone doesn't want them digging up the past. The police official who hired them is abruptly retired, their team of assistants shrinks, the cottage they rent is flooded when a culvert is deliberately blocked, the owner of the B & B they move to is assaulted, and their belongings are ransacked. Even the elements seem to be against them, as historic rains batter the area. When the police appear to be part of the activity, the question becomes whom can Harman and Turner trust. This sixth entry in the Fran Harman series (after Double Fault, 2014) is another solid British police procedural notable for the unspoken understanding and banter between the two principals as they play to each other's strengths. It's a pleasure to see vibrant retirees in starring roles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

December 2, 2019
Set in Victorian England, this captivating series launch from Cutler (the Lina Townend mysteries) introduces Matthew Rowsley, the capable new manager of the vast holdings of Lord Croft, and Mrs. Harriet Faulkner, housekeeper of the Croft family mansion in Shropshire. The author at first offers fleeting glimpses of flighty Lord Croft and his tetchy mother before slipping into the mysterious doings on the estate. Maggie Billings, a pretty young housemaid, goes missing around the same time that Lord Croft and Luke Hargreaves, his manservant, leave for a holiday. Shortly thereafter, his lordship’s carriage is found smashed to pieces and partially hidden in some woodland. Has his lordship been murdered? Has Luke? And where is the housemaid? Rowsley, Mrs. Faulkner, and other members of the staff pool their information in an effort to discover the truth. Interspersed among Rowsley’s first-person narration are extracts from Mrs. Faulkner’s diary that add resonance to the main story, as well as providing a deeper understanding of the relationship between the two protagonists. Readers will look forward to seeing more of this enterprising duo.

December 1, 2019
Cutler (Guilty as Sin, 2015, etc.) presents two unlikely period sleuths with an unusually freighted missing person case. Matthew Rowsley is the new land agent for Lord Croft, whose youth and careless attitude do not bode well for his neglected estate. Rowsley's feeling his way with the suspicious tenants and the upper house staff: Mr. Bowman, the butler; Mrs. Faulkner, the housekeeper; and Mrs. Arden, the cook. Victorian morality is priggish and censorious, and Rowsley, whose parents are an archdeacon and a relatively liberated woman for the times, is appalled at the way the lower classes are treated by their self-appointed betters. When Maggie, one of the younger housemaids, goes missing, the staff is worried, although most of them assume she's gotten pregnant and run off. Maggie's mother, who's squeezed her large family into the gatehouse, disclaims any knowledge of her whereabouts, and since Lord Croft has left suddenly on an extended trip with friends and his mother is also away, Rowsley takes it upon himself to organize a search. As the hunt for the missing maid continues, Rowsley develops an especially close relationship with Mrs. Faulkner, who seems to have secrets of her own. He's especially unhappy with Theophilus Pounceman, a sanctimonious minister who blames women for leading men into temptation. Rowsley's prowess on the cricket pitch and his concern for the estate workers earn him some new friendships, and most of them, even the boyfriend Maggie deserted, work to find her. Soon after Rowsley finds a clue to Maggie's whereabouts, Lord Croft's new carriage is found smashed and the horses gone, along with Croft and his valet, bringing the police to the estate. Her ladyship, who's returned home, claims to know nothing, leaving Rowsley and his friends two mysteries to solve. A promising series debut with engaging characters, social commentary, and a Victorian twist on the ever popular upstairs-downstairs storyline.

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