The Circle of Sappho

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

When a teacher and pupil are found dead at an exclusive girls' school in Bath, Jack Swann, the Regency Detective, becomes involved in one of the most intriguing cases of his career. Is it a tragic accident, a suicide pact, or murder? As Swann attempts to solve the mystery, his every move is observed by unseen forces with differing motives for him to succeed or fail. Meanwhile, Swann continues to investigate his sister's unscrupulous fiancé, combat the local crime boss, and persist in his search for the Scarred Man, who may hold the key to the unsolved murder of Swann's father. But time is running out . . .

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Publishers Weekly Review

Lassman and James's second Jack Swann whodunit (after 2013's The Regency Detective), set in Regency-era London, successfully juggles a number of compelling plot threads. Swann is still searching for the Scarred Man, who was responsible for the murder of Swann's father more than 20 years earlier. Even as Swann learns that his quarry may have recently been in Bath, he's asked by a friend, Lady Harriet Smithson, to look into the deaths of a teacher and a student at a girls' school. His conclusion that the case is a murder-suicide is questioned by Lady Harriet, who fears that there may be "more sinister forces," specifically connected to Napoleon Bonaparte's military ambitions, involved in the tragedy. Swann takes her concerns seriously, given her background as an unofficial member of the Alien Office, which has been created to monitor suspected French revolutionaries entering England. The tale is entertaining enough, though Swann is less layered, and thus less interesting, than C.S. Harris's Sebastian St. Cyr, who also sleuths in Regency England. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.