‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players…’When an undercover assignment for the Bow Street magistrate sees prostitute Lizzie Hardwicke trade Ma Farley’s Bawdy House in Soho for life as a seamstress the theatre on Drury Lane, it becomes clear quite quickly – what goes on in the wings is much more intriguing than the theatrics being played out on stage… being played out on stage…
Soon Lizzie is once again thrown together with the handsome Inspector Will Davenport when a high profile investor is brutally hanged at centre stage and Lizzie discovers the body. With the suspect list rivalling any casting call, Lizzie will have to use every trick she’s hidden up her sleeves to unravel the tangled threads and bring the culprit into the spotlight.
Praise for The Corpse Played Dead
“Georgina Clarke has shown considerable focus in maintaining a steady momentum of the plot and the natural developments in solving the crimes. The throbbing atmosphere and landscape of historical London are superbly depicted and vividly brought to life…” Reader Review
“The Corpse Played Dead is an intriguing whodunit with lots of wit and even a bit of romance.” Reader Review
“This book is so atmospheric and the characters so real that it is easy to imagine you are back in that era. This is a fast paced story full of interesting characters” Reader Review
“This is well-written, well-researched and well done. Lizzie is such a wonderfully entertaining and complex character, and I hope she will have many more adventures ahead of her…I’ll be reading!” Reader Review
“An intricate, well plotted mystery in another age, and I highly recommend it.” Reader Review
“Entertaining, witty historical crime reads for people seeking well-plotted stories with creatively put together characters, some emotional moments, dangerous criminals and an investigating prostitute at the helm!” Reader Review
more
4.5/5
The second in a historical mystery series that I’m so happy I discovered! The first book introduces us to Lizzie Hardwicke, born a gentlewoman who winds up ruined and exiled from her home and makes her way in a brothel. This is her second adventure helping out Bow Street runner Davenport, and she finds herself undercover as a spy in the Theatre Royal at Drury Lane.
I love that we get to see more of Lizzie working on her own in this one. She’s gaining confidence in her abilities and her intelligence and observations are a pleasure to watch. Her relationship with Davenport is also deepening and becoming more complicated and provides an interesting dilemma for the future.
This is well-written, well-researched and well done. Lizzie is such a wonderfully entertaining and complex character, and I hope she will have many more adventures ahead of her…I’ll be reading!
Thanks to #Canelo and #NetGalley for providing the ARC. The opinions are strictly my own.
The Corpse Played Dead by Georgina Clarke is a Historical Murder Mystery set in 18th Century London. Lizzie is a very interesting character since her profession is a harlot turned detective in disguise as a seamstress. Each character is fascinating because they seem very different from the norm and yet real. The story is serious, but at times lighthearted and fun. Exciting fast paced suspense that tantalizes the reader to the end. I haven’t read the first book in this series Death and the Harlot, but have purchased it to read next. I look forward to reading more by a new favorite author and about a new enchanting character Lizzie Hardwicke.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. Loved it! 5 Stars
I read this over one weekend and Lizzie Hardwicke, my favourite harlot-spy-detective, is such great company! Georgina Clarke has created an evocative, thrilling and superbly entertaining mystery set in Garrick’s Drury Lane theatre, which is in itself a wonderfully original premise. I can’t wait to read more of the series…!
It’s mid-eighteenth century London and Lizzie Hardwicke, born into the quality and then disowned by her father is earning her living as a harlot in Ma Farley’s Bawdy House. She met detective Davenport in the first novel in the series featuring this unique heroine and he once again approaches her to ask her help in investigating the goings-on in the local theater on Drury Lane. As far as he knows, it’s a simple matter of unexplained “accidents” that seem to be aimed at making trouble for the theater’s manager, Mr. Garrick.
Not long after Lizzie gets established in the theater, the investigation intensifies with the murder of one of the theater’s wealthier patrons. Lizzie discovers the body and with her history of having been instrumental in solving an earlier murder for Davenport, he presses her to investigate the theater as much as possible. Through her investigation, the reader is introduced to many of the seamier parts of London. As part of her situation as second seamstress Lizzie has given up her usual fancy frocks and styled hair for a dirty gown and sleeping on the floor. She travels among the servants and other lowly inhabitants of the city. The depiction of the dirty and dangerous streets, particularly for a single poverty level woman on her own are written with a richness that allows the reader to feel the fear of walking the streets alone and experience the grime and hunger experienced by the lower classes.
The mystery itself is well crafted, with clues throughout that point directly at the solution, if the reader is astute enough to follow them. The test for Lizzie and Davenport becomes one of separating which facts relate to the murder and which ones to the other problems the theater is experiencing. Caught up throughout the investigation is a growing attraction between Lizzie and Davenport, even while they both acknowledge it is an attraction that is impossible for them to act upon unless Davenport lowers his view of Lizzie to seeing her as a harlot and nothing more.
While this is the second in the Lizzie Hardwicke series, it was easy to follow the relationship between Lizzie and Davenport that was established in the first book. The mystery is independent of the first book, and it isn’t necessary to have read the first in the series in order to become intrigued in the “who done it” portion of the book. Given the opportunity, it would still be best to start with the first book in the series in order to experience the evolution of Lizzie’s relationship with Davenport.
The book deals with the grittier aspects of London society, and as such has a coarser feel than many novels that are written about the time period but which focus on the aristocracy. Lizzie lives in an amoral strata of London, and that is reflected in her activities as well as her conversation with others. She has her own moral standards, which in many cases are more honorable than the private behavior of the aristocracy who have perfected the dual standard of appearing to be genteel and upstanding in public and whose private behavior is grasping and often immoral. The book offers a view of the difference between the wealthy and the poverty stricken of the age as well as the subjugation of women. My thanks to Canelo Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an Advanced Digital Reader copy in exchange for an unbiased review.
Before I even start reviewing this book, I just want to comment on how utterly stunning the cover for it is. It was one of the rare cases where I looked at the cover and just had to read the book. And I must say, the book really does live up to that fantastic cover, because it’s an excellent and genuinely different read, with a sex worker heroine helping Bow Street investigators solve crimes in the Georgian era. While the date isn’t stated, two real historical figures who appear place it sometime around 1750-1760 or so, and the author does a stellar job of placing the reader in that time period with realistic portrayal of the gritty lives of the lower classes at the time.
Lizzie Hardwicke is only 19, but she’s a world-weary, experienced, high-class prostitute in London. An evening at the theatre promises some entertainment as well as exposure to potential new wealthy clients, but when the night ends in tragedy Lizzie is approached by Mr. Davenport, a Bow Street investigator she’s worked with before, to ask if she’d consider going undercover in the theatre. Even though the job would present both a loss of income and a status drop for her, Lizzie can’t resist the challenge.
There’s a colourful cast of characters, but the core group are kept fairly tight so there’s no sense of being too many for the book. I really didn’t see the twist coming any more than Lizzie did, but looking back the clues had been carefully planted right from the beginning. It was really cleverly done.
Don’t go into this expecting a romance because there’s really only the faintest hint of one; Lizzie is jaded, despite her youth, and her potential love interest is ‘respectable’ and all too aware of her profession. I’d be interested to see how this will progress in future books in the series, though. Five stars for an unputdownable read!
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.
The Corpse Played Dead by Georgina Clarke
Lizzie Hardwicke #2
Intriguing premise for a book set in 1759 London sees Lizzie Hardwicke helping what will one be the Bow Street Runners solve a case in Drury Lane Theater. Mischief has been occurring and the theater manager has asked for help so the Magistrate requests Lizzie’s undercover assistance posing as a seamstress to spy on the situation. Little does Lizzie realize that there will be more than mischief to deal with. There will be scoundrels, abuse, lying, cheating, sneaking, hints at Lizzie’s backstory and a whole lot more. Lizzie has knowingly made the decision to work on her back for a roof over her head, food in her belly and a safe place to stay while earning money for a different future. She is an educated woman from a higher society than most in the profession and smarter than most. She is a woman I could relate to and would like to know more about. I would also like to know more about Will Davenport…and have a feeling we will be seeing both in future books of this series.
What I liked:
* Lizzie: She is smart, knows what she wants, is curious, has been given a bad hand but seems to have made the best of it. I want to know more about her.
* Will: I know he has suffered personal loss, is intelligent, seeks the truth, seems to be rather black and white in his outlook on life and is an interesting person. I want to know more about him.
* The interactions between Lizzie and Will – they are interesting and real and make me wonder what type of friendship/relationship these two will develop as the series progresses
* The hints about Lizzie’s past
* The fact that prostitution is Lizzie’s source of income but it is not who Lizzie is – and it is not the main focus of the book since she leaves her “job” to solve mysteries.
* The time period, the characters, the writing that makes me feel I am there, the grit and grime and so much more
What I didn’t like:
* The way some people in this time period were invisible and taken advantage of
* The abuse that seemed so common and expected and the fact that there was no way to avoid it or make the abuser pay for what was done
* The bad guys that I was meant not to like…
I had not read book one in this series and wonder what I missed but can honestly say that not having read book one did not interfere with my thorough enjoyment of book two. I loved this book and look forward to reading more as soon as the books are ready!
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
The Corpse Played Dead is the second book in Georgina Clarke’s Lizzie Hardwicke series. I loved the first book, Death and the Harlot; could lightning strike twice? Let me answer it this way… When is the next book coming out?! I want it nowwwwwwwwwwwww! Don’t make me wait, else I’ll whine! Yes, that good.
Lizzie Hardwicke, a high-end prostitute in Georgian London, is once again approached by Inspector Will Davenport to help the Magistrate’s office solve another crime. The theater, run by a good friend of Magistrate Mr. Fielding, is seemingly being targeted by accidents and vandalism; he wants Lizzie to work as a second seamstress at the theater and basically spy for him. It sounds like an easy enough job, until a member of the peerage is viciously murdered at the theater. Lizzie and Will’s job just became a lot more difficult!
Though the mystery is quite compelling with red herrings making your mind go in all different directions, once again it is the wonderful characters which really drive the story. Lizzie is, to use a word often overused but quite accurate here, awesome. She is smart as a whip and isn’t easily shocked by events that unfold around her. However, certain circumstances arise that make us remember that she is still a young girl, only 19. I have a love/hate relationship with Will. He admires Lizzie’s courage and smarts, but then tells her he is a gentleman and couldn’t sit with “her kind” in church. That is accurate for the time period, but it makes you mad for the hurt it causes Lizzie. I do think my love for Will is winning out, though. The last chapter just had me in tears! Here, too, is an incredible cast of supporting characters who will keep you glued to the pages.
Seriously, when is the next book coming out?!
I received an ARC courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
This is the first book by Ms Clarke that I have read. It was different from the historical romances I usually read. It was a very well written murder mystery written in the first person. I found it a bit slow to start as the stage and characters were set but once the action started, I found it very hard to put down. The story was well written without a lot of fillers. It kept you guessing as to who the murderer was. Each character was well formulated and well situated in the story. The back ground was very easy to imagine. I loved Miss Hardwicke and Inspector Davenport’s relationship and look forward to seeing it develop more over the books that I am sure will follow. There was no romance or sex in this book and was not needed. This was an excellent read and would encourage anyone who likes historical reads to add this to their TBR list. I received this as ARC and was more than happy to do a review.