A gripping historical murder mystery set in Georgian England.
The year is 1782, and Caroline (Caro) Corsham is set to meet her friend (Italian noblewoman) Lady Lucia in the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens in London. The meeting place (at night) is peculiar (for the respectable women), but Caro is faced with a rather delicate matter, and Lucia is her last hope. But when Caro reaches Vauxhall Gardens, she finds Lucia has been stabbed, and her last words to Caro are; He knows.
The police brush the case of the murder aside when it’s discovered that Lucia is no noblewoman after all, but the high-class prostitute Lucy Loveless. Outraged, Caro takes matters into her own hands and hires the thief-taker, Peregrin Child, to assist her with her own investigation and bring Lucy’s killer to justice. Only one (okay, way more than one) problem: there are many (powerful men) who have much to hide and will stop at (very) little to keep the circumstances of Lucy’s death concealed.
Daughters of Night is set in Georgian England, a historical period in which the sex trade is thriving and women (across all classes) have few to no rights. Even (upper class) Caro’s existence is entirely at the mercy of her husband and male relatives. For Caro, any social disgrace and scandal (such as would be an extramarital affair) comes with the risk of ostracism and losing custody of her young child. Investigating the murder (and thus stirring up trouble in those well-connected male circles, as well as the Georgian underworld), Caro is risking home, wealth, family, and her position in society.
Filled with incredible historical detail and a cast of complex, extremely well-developed characters, Daughters of Night is a novel that simply feels real, creating layer after layer of atmosphere for readers to sink into. As Caro’s investigation unfolds, there is no lack of potential suspects (from underworld bosses to those with royal ties). As clues and puzzle pieces are dropped onto the page, the mystery expands into something magnificent. And with always another twist in store, Daughters of Night will keep readers guessing right until the end.
Book: Daughters of Night
Published: Mantle
Pages: 448
Publication Date: January 28th, 2021
Stars: 4.5/5
Pan Macmillan kindly sent me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion, rating, or the content of my review.
meredithmara 
Well written review as always. Mystery and thrillers really have me hooked at the moment so will add this to my tbr.
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I’ve got to put this one on my tbr
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