With Shadow at the Morgue, Cara Devlin has created a strong opener to her new Spencer and Reid series. With a splendid start like this, the series is bound to go from great to outstanding.
Devlin sets both Leonora (aka Leo) Spencer and Jasper Reid apart from ordinary humans. Leo is intelligent, savvy and outspoken. And, as Jasper readily agrees, impulsive and stubborn. Jasper is portrayed as a bit straitlaced, but good at his job of Detective Inspector at Scotland Yard.
A cryptic case draws Spencer and Reid in when a body of a woman run over by an omnibus is brought into the morgue run by Leo’s Uncle Claude. Why does a man come into the morgue to steal the woman’s necklace? Why does a witness to the accident say that a man was chasing the woman prior to the accident? How is the woman connected to two criminals recently released from prison?
Scotland Yard assigns the case to Detective Inspector Reid, and, of course, Leo is intrigued and does her own behind the scenes snooping. She unearths important information that helps solve the case, much to the consternation of Reid.
Nicely Done
Devlin balances the mystery nicely with the burgeoning romance between the main characters. Reid and Spencer have a connection from their youth – they were raised by the same guardian for a short while. But Spencer is a bit standoffish with Reid, thinking he doesn’t like her, or is uninterested at the very least.
The story is told from the viewpoints of both Spencer and Reid. This works well, as the reader is immersed in the workings of both characters’ minds. With this debut in the Spencer and Reid series, Devlin creates a cozy historical mystery universe set in 1884. She includes historical facts that enliven the plot, such as the roles women can and cannot undertake during that period. For example, Spencer’s work at her uncle’s morgue is frowned upon or thought to be strange and “unwomanly.” I will be reading the rest of this series as well as Devlin’s other works.