The Ladder Dancer

June 13, 2011
A chance encounter in the streets of Newcastle-upon-Tyne sets musician Charles Patterson in pursuit of the horseman who cost an infant its life in Southey's evocative fifth 18th-century historical (after 2010's Chords and Discords). The newlywed Charles juggles his amateur sleuthing with his responsibilities as a musicianâincluding concert ticket sales and teachingâwhile striving to reconcile his newfound status as a gentleman with his devotion to his trade. Disruptive new arrivals from London, notably Richard Nightingale, the eponymous "ladder dancer," and unpleasant, disreputable law student Cuthbert Ridley, cause a stir among Newcastle's musical patrons. Matters are further complicated when a 12-year-old street girl attaches herself to Charles, determined to become his apprentice. Paranormal elements such as departed spirits and a secret parallel world accessible only by Charles and a few others provide for some unusual detecting methods. Charles's engaging emotional struggles help compensate for the sometimes deliberate pace.

July 1, 2011

Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, 1736: a foggy night, a child's death and a case for a musician turned amateur sleuth.

Charles Patterson is having a hard time coming to terms with his new lifestyle. He loves his wealthy bride Esther (Sword and Song, 2010, etc.), but all their acquaintances assume that he married the lady for her money. Esther is having trouble persuading Charles, who had struggled to make a living, to spend money on clothes befitting his new status and to show an interest in handling her properties, which are now legally his. One night Charles sees a horseman run down a woman and child. After the child disappears into the water, he feels compelled to track down the mysterious rider, his only clue the initials CR on a saddlebag. While searching for clues to the casual murder, Charles meets Kate, a young girl of low origins. Desperate to improve herself by becoming a musician, she wants Charles to take her on as his apprentice. Charles finds her more useful in his avocation: She helps him discover who has stabbed Richard Nightingale, a ladder-dancer and singer whose arrival from London set the local ladies afire with his flirting. Charles is also trying to find proof that Cuthbert Ridley, a young man of doubtful character, is the murderer he seeks. Both Charles and Kate can step into the spirit world, an ability that comes in handy in solving the crimes.

Southey neatly folds the requisite historical information into a clever mystery full of interesting characters. The addition of all those spirits may or may not improve your enjoyment.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

August 1, 2011
Charles Patterson, early-eighteenth-century musician and amateur sleuth, returns. A ladder dancera performer who incorporates a ladder and acrobatics into a musical performancehas come to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Soon after, the dancer is attacked by an unknown assailant. Patterson wonders whether the incident could be related to the earlier murder of a woman and her baby, also by an unknown person. Readers of earlier Patterson novels will note the same keen attention to detail, sharply drawn characters, and seamless blending of historical fact and imaginative fiction as before. Patterson, who narrates the book in the first person, is a likable protagonist who, like Columbo, observes, listens, and puts together seemingly unconnected scraps of information to create a clear picture of the crime. (Although, it should be noted, the resemblance ends there. Patterson is definitely not rumpled, and the books are not reverse mysteries. Patterson, like the reader, at first has no idea who the culprit is.) Another solid entry in a consistently engaging series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)