Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #578997 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-12
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
British author Granger's picturesque but disappointing Victorian historical alternates point-of-view between independent-minded Elizabeth Martin and young Scotland Yard inspector Benjamin Ross, long-separated childhood friends whose paths coincidentally cross at a murder case. Lizzie, the impoverished daughter of a doctor, finds herself without resources after her father's death in 1864, and moves to London to serve as companion for the wealthy Mrs. Parry. Ross is investigating the brutal murder of a young woman, who turns out to have been Lizzie's employer's previous companion. Outraged that Mrs. Parry and her cronies blame the victim for her fate, Martin does some amateur sleuthing on her own, but the resolution turns on her endangerment—not her powers of deduction. Granger, the author of the long-running Fran Vardy cozy series and the Mitchell and Markby series, delivers persuasive period detail but commonplace plot and characters. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Seasoned mystery-author Granger introduces an atmospheric new series set in Victorian London. When Lizzie Martin accepts a position as a paid companion, she moves from rural Derbyshire to London. As she adapts to her new environment, she also finds herself being inextricably drawn into a murder investigation. The corpse, it seems, belongs to the girl Lizzie replaced as companion. Joining forces with an old friend from back home, Lizzie puts her own life in danger to unmask a murderer. Historical-mystery fans will appreciate the great attention Granger pays to period detail as she evokes a suitably gritty nineteenth-century London. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

England - 1864
Lizzie Martin has just just arrived in London from Derbyshire to take up a new position as lady's companion. Almost immediately, she discovers that the murdered body she saw being carried from the site of the construction of the new St. Pancreas railway terminus, is that of her predecessor. While others accuse the woman of bringing her fate upon herself, Lizzie is soon persuaded that there's a deeper mystery. After finding disturbing facts in her new home, Lizzie becomes a secret source of information for Inspector Benjamin Ross, an intriguing man from her Derbyshire coalfields childhood. Part of the story is told from Ben's point of view.

The book's historical information is stronger than the plot, which needs a number of coincidences to reach a conclusion. Granger writes of a London in the process of being transformed above ground and below - via new under groundsewers and railways. The city's public places are noisy, dirty, and smoggy. On the streets, sellers of every item imaginable mingle with equally plentiful petty thieves. Deep class and gender expectations rigidly dictate one's life. Lizzie's outspokenness and intelligence are not admired by her employer and her incredibly insensitive and boorish friends. London's poor, who live in crowded squalor with the ever present danger of illnesses such as typhoid, diphtheria, and consumption, not surprisingly resist the authority of the police and refuse to come forth as witnesses. Granger also provides the reader with descriptions of the equally appalling lives of the pitmen and their children in the northern coal mines, and with facts about mining practices and laws.

First historical mystery for this prolific author of mystery series set in contemporary times.

interesting Victorian whodunit
In 1864with the death of her dad the doctor, country lass Elizabeth "Lizzie" Martin accepts a position in London as a companion to Mrs. Parry, the wife of her late godfather. Apparently her predecessor Madeline Hexham ran off with an unsuitable unscrupulous young man.

Scotland Yard inspector Benjamin Ross investigates the brutal murder of a young woman. He traces the victim's last employment to Mrs. Parry as a companion to the widow. During the inquiry, Mrs. Parry blames the girl for being stupid enough to get killed. On a happier note, he is elated to see his childhood friend from home Lizzie, but wished it was it was better circumstances for their reunion. Meanwhile Lizzie is appalled by Mrs. Parry's assertion that her predecessor deserved to die and begins an inquiry of her own.

Though no Mitchell and Markby, THE COMPANION is an interesting Victorian whodunit that brings to life the plight of a single female with no protection. The story line rotates viewpoint between that of Ben and Lizzie so that the audience sees the same event from differing perspectives. Although the ending is too abrupt and simple, historical mystery fans will appreciate the competition between the professional cop and the amateur sleuth.

Harriet Klausner

well written Historical Mystery......
Synopsis:

"In the corners of the room the shadows cast velvety veils. It would not be too difficult to imagine someone stood there and watched. I thought of Madeleine Hexham.... I glanced around me. It was likely that I'd been given my predecessor's room and that it was here she had planned her flight into the arms of her mysterious lover."

When Lizzie Martin arrives in London in 1864 to become a lady's companion, her first impressions are disturbing. She's barely out of the station when her cab encounters a wagon carrying the remains of a young woman recently dead.

At her new home, Lizzie learns that her predecessor, Madeleine Hexham, disappeared without a word of warning. Despite rumors of immoral behavior surrounding the girl's departure, Lizzie is soon persuaded that there's a deeper mystery here. Her suspicions are tragically confirmed when Inspector Benjamin Ross delivers shocking tidings.

Lizzie is determined to unravel the truth about the lost Miss Hexham. As, too, is Ben Ross: a man who cares about justice, whatever the class of victim. But they must tread carefully, as a cornered killer is the most dangerous of all...

My Review:
The Companion was a well written, accurate and intriguing historical mystery. Set in Victorian England, the story is told through Lizzie Martin, a country doctor's daughter, left penniless by his death, and Benjamin Ross, a young Scotland yard detective who is tied to Lizzie through a past association. Lizzie must now be a Lady's companion, after living her entire life of more affluent means, and has problems with not speaking her mind, much to Lady Parry's dismay.

Lizzie and Benjamin are both calm, thoughtful and resourceful characters. The mystery was a good one, and solved very much as a crime would have been solved in that time period.

The mystery surrounding the former companion points out the moral judgments and flaws of the times-that more condemnation is placed on the female victim than her coldhearted murderer, just because she was naive and trusting.

A good solid Victorian mystery-4 stars.