Murder in Belgravia: A Mayfair 100 Mystery

Set in 1915, YA author Brittney’s enticing first adult novel and series launch finds London’s Metropolitan Police woefully shorthanded. When Lord Murcheson, a wounded army officer recently sent home from France, is stabbed to death, his wife, Lady Harriet, who was gravely injured during the fatal attack on her husband, confesses to the crime. Chief Insp. Peter Beech, the investigating officer, enlists the aid of childhood friend Caroline Allardyce, a doctor at the Women’s Hospital. Caroline, who thinks Lady Harriet’s own injuries are too severe for her confession to be genuine, believes she’s protecting someone. As Lady Harriet fights for her life at the Women’s Hospital, Beech forms a team to look into the murder. Besides Caroline, he recruits a female attorney, a retired detective sergeant, and a former guardsman invalided out of the army. Working in secret, these compassionate, well-drawn characters uncover a thriving illegal trade in addictive drugs, prostitution, and human trafficking at the highest levels of society. This is a must for Downton Abbey fans. (Mar.)