The Mummy of Mayfair - bookrastinating.com

Published July 2, 2024 by Severn House.

ISBN:: 978-1-4483-1076-0

London, 1895. Although their last high-profile case was a huge success, private detectives Tim Badger and Benjamin Watson know they can’t afford to turn down any work, despite financial assistance from their mentor, Sherlock Holmes.

So when the eminent Doctor Enoch Sawyer of St Bart’s Hospital asks Badger if the duo will provide security for a mummy unwrapping party he is hosting, Badger doesn’t hesitate to take the job. After all, how hard can guarding the doctor’s bizarre Egyptian artifacts be? But with Doctor Sawyer running late for his own party, the ‘genuine’ ancient sarcophagus of Runihura Saa is unravelled to reveal the remains of . . . Doctor Sawyer! Suddenly, the pair are drawn into a case that’s stranger and twistier than they could ever have imagined.

1 edition

lastblossom reviewed The Mummy of Mayfair by Jeri Westerson (Irregular Detective Mysteries, #2)

A fun mystery that builds on all the promise of the first book, while also forging new ground for two budding detectives.

No rating

Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson are back. This time, they've been hired for a simple job - protect a few Egyptian artifacts from going missing during a fancy party. But when one of the hosts turns up dead, it's up to them to discover if the killer is the curse of the mummy, or something closer to home. I was incredibly neutral about the first book, but it showed enough promise that I wanted to give the second one a go. Well, here we are a year later, and sure enough, that promise is fulfilled. This one reads a lot better! My biggest hangup with the first book was that it seemed very little detective work was happening. Our charming heroes were simply lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to overhear all the big reveals. This time around, they are fully in it …

Timothy Badger and Benjamin Watson are back. This time, they've been hired for a simple job - protect a few Egyptian artifacts from going missing during a fancy party. But when one of the hosts turns up dead, it's up to them to discover if the killer is the curse of the mummy, or something closer to home. I was incredibly neutral about the first book, but it showed enough promise that I wanted to give the second one a go. Well, here we are a year later, and sure enough, that promise is fulfilled. This one reads a lot better! My biggest hangup with the first book was that it seemed very little detective work was happening. Our charming heroes were simply lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to overhear all the big reveals. This time around, they are fully in it - collecting clues, following leads, interviewing suspects, and unraveling the mystery by their own wits and deductions. They spend a lot of time discussing the "method," the manner in which Sherlock seems to magically conjure up solutions. It's always been a bit of sleight of hand in the canon: hidden clues, conclusions a reader couldn't possibly hope to obtain, and solutions featuring players hidden from view until the last minute. This book diverges from the Conan Doyle formula for the better, giving us all the same information our heroes get so we can solve along with the boys. The book also diverges from the canon by including a Very Victorian romance, replete with longing gazes, wistful sighs, and the constant reminder that these characters come from different classes. The historical setting is well-researched, with plenty of immersive details and flourishes. Overall it's a very strong historical mystery, and I look forward to the next one with great anticipation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own!