Dark Waters (Cragg & Fidelis Mysteries)
It’s 1741, and George II is on the throne, Walpole has a shaky hold on being prime minister, and the tiny town of Preston, England, is in the midst of an exciting election for Parliament. There are public speeches, pub brawls, and mob action. In the midst of it all, the owner of a popular pub (because it’s located next to a ferry crossing) is found drowned in the river. Shortly thereafter, a wealthy farmer visiting town collapses and dies. Both cases are tended to by the town coroner, Titus Cragg, whose wife was the niece of the drowned publican. Cragg is technically confined to his official role, but, prodded by his great friend, the young, brilliant, pre–Sherlock Holmesian Dr. Luke Fidelis, Cragg tries his hand at sleuthing. While this is a riveting mystery, and Cragg and Fidelis are fun to follow, the great strength of the series (beginning with A Dark Anatomy, 2012) is Blake’s adept hand at animating history. And his use of one of Aesop’s fables as a motif is wonderfully apt. --Connie Fletcher