Title: Come To Dust
Series: #3 Inspector Raft Mysteries
Author: J.S. Cook
Genre: Mystery/Crime/Historical
Length: Novel
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (November 15th, 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4.5 Hearts
Blurb: In the frigid winter of 1891, with the nation still reeling from the Barings bank crisis, Inspector Philemon Raft returns from an involuntary sabbatical, tasked with solving the kidnapping of highly placed peer Alice Dewberry. Thrust into a sordid underworld where the upper classes indulge in disreputable overseas investments designed to fatten their pocketbooks, Raft finds himself at loose ends without his companion, Constable Freddie Crook. Far from offering their help, the ton use every asset at their disposal to keep Raft from discovering the truth about hapless kidnap victim Alice Dewberry—who may not even exist.
Soon Raft discovers that his old nemesis, the workhouse master John Gallant, has returned to London. Gallant doesn’t say what he wants—but he knows enough to ruin Raft’s career and even his life. Raft tries to solve the case with his usual strange insight, but there are other, darker forces at work. This is a frightened London: the London of Whitechapel, of Jack the Ripper, the London of poverty, dirt and despair, where a right turn down the wrong alley could earn Raft a swift trip to the morgue.
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4346
Reviewer: GiGi
Review: A strong murder/kidnapping/mystery plot with the M/M romance added in. just the right amount for a story you can sink your teeth into. There are lots of hints, clues, and foreshadowing in the writing, which kept me in suspense and guessing throughout the whole story.
Things just did not seem to add up, and the shocker at the end explains the seemingly impossible. I did not realize that this book was part of a series, but is the third book of the Inspector Raft Mysteries by JoAnne Soper-Cook. Book one is Willing Flesh and book two is Rag & Bones. The earlier books set the background between Raft, Freddie, Gallant, and other shadowy men at play in this mystery.
This book reminds me of a dark, Victorian, Holmes/Scotland Yard type mystery. There is a bit of the paranormal, lots of different class distinctions and the seedy and underhanded acts that come with them all, and throughout I was glued to the pages. The characters are believable, memorable, and a very strong part of this book.