{"id":4200,"date":"2021-10-03T09:58:45","date_gmt":"2021-10-03T16:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/?p=4200"},"modified":"2021-10-03T15:13:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-03T22:13:51","slug":"andrew-penrose-murder-at-the-royal-botanic-gardens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/andrew-penrose-murder-at-the-royal-botanic-gardens\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrea Penrose: Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>This is the fifth installment in Andrea Penrose\u2019s Wrexford and Sloane series, set in London in the early 1800\u2019s.\u00a0 In each novel, Penrose folds in some sort of scientific discovery, and in this one, the discovery involves a cure for malaria, a huge problem at the time.\u00a0 Set in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Penrose also includes some real-life scientists (read her interesting author\u2019s note), while at the same time creating an exciting adventure and a bit of romance.<\/p>\n

When the series opened, Lady Charlotte Sloane was a widow who had slipped into her late husband\u2019s career as a satiric artist.\u00a0 She works anonymously, often causing a stir when her work is published in the paper. She assists her now fianc\u00e9e, Lord Wrexford in investigations. As the book opens, he is introducing her to society at a huge gathering at the Botanical Garden as his future bride.\u00a0 Unfortunately, a dead body is discovered during the course of the evening, and Wrexford, a now well known amateur sleuth, is called in for advice.<\/p>\n

Setting a book during this period really gives an author some freedom, as the police force at the time were just the Bow Street Runners, so Wrexford\u2019s expertise and connections would have been much appreciated.\u00a0 Everyone tells him they know he has a wedding coming up, and they understand if his help is only advice, but of course Wexford as well as Charlotte gets drawn into the investigation.<\/p>\n

Living with Charlotte are two young boys she has rescued from the streets, each showing some sort of talent (one is an artist).\u00a0 They still have their street connections and can blend in, which makes them useful in the investigative process.<\/p>\n

This story is a complicated mix of science, transport \u2013 shipping between the United States and Europe \u2013 and the social layers that both lubricate as well as inhibit the couple\u2019s investigation.\u00a0 Added to this mix is Charlotte\u2019s reunion with her brother.\u00a0 She has been somewhat estranged from her family and this is the first reconnection.\u00a0 The emotional aspect of this reunion adds some real punch to the novel.<\/p>\n

As Wrexford, Charlotte, the two boys and an assortment of allies and friends get to work to solve the murder of the dead scientist at the Botanical Garden, they are also impeded by more dead bodies a bit later in the proceedings.\u00a0 This was a nice mix of science, setting, adventure story, and romance.\u00a0 Wrexford and Charlotte are a great pair.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is the fifth installment in Andrea Penrose\u2019s Wrexford and Sloane series, set in London in the early 1800\u2019s.\u00a0 In each novel, Penrose folds in some sort of scientific discovery, and in this one, the discovery involves a cure for malaria, a huge problem at the time.\u00a0 Set in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Penrose also … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[683,680,10,162,684,681,682],"class_list":["post-4200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-1800s-london","tag-andrew-penrose","tag-historical","tag-kensington-books","tag-malaria","tag-murder-at-the-royal-botanic-gardens","tag-wrexford-and-sloane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4200"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4204,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4200\/revisions\/4204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/auntagathas.com\/aa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}