"London Blue" by Emma Jameson

Tony Hetheridge, retired Scotland Yard detective and aka Lord Anthony Hetheridge, is recovering from knee replacement surgery and watching over his infant son. His wife, Kate, is back at her job as a detective inspector, after her pregnancy leave. Both Hethridges will soon be awash in new crimes. 

Kate and her team are called to the home of a seemingly well-to-do woman, whose body has been discovered by the cleaning lady. The death appears to be of natural causes; the dead woman was in her 70s, there no sign of violence on the body, and the house itself shows no signs of a break-in or theft. But something doesn’t sit right with Kate, and the autopsy will show that it is murder.

 

Tony is visited by a friend who asks him to investigate a strange series of coincidences involving a three-woman singing group. One was kidnapped and murdered; another was attacked by what appeared to be a mugger; and one is convinced she’s being stalked. Plus their manager had been killed in an explosion on their tour bus. Tony takes on the case, even though he’s confined to home during his recovery and physical therapy.

 

The two cases will, inevitably, come together; it turns out that the connecting link is, of all things, a young woman’s finishing school. It may be the last of its kind, but it seems to be full of politics, intrigue, and now possibly even murder.

 

Emma Jameson

London Blue is the eighth installment of the Lord and Lady Hetheridge crime series by British author Emma Jameson, and it’s a welcome addition. It’s been three years since the last novel, Untrue Blue, giving rise to speculation that Jameson might have ended the series. That, fortunately, has turned out not to be the case, and she’s said in a mystery newsletter that she’s working on Hetheridge No. 9. It’s a solid series, with one of the key features being how Jameson plays off the upper-class Tony against the working class (London East End) Kate. And she includes a worrisome side story about Kate’s colleague and Tony’s former subordinate Paul Bhar, who has a new baby girl who might have developmental disabilities.

 

In addition to the Hetheridge series, Jameson has a second series of novels featuring the amateur detective Dr. Benjamin Bones. The series begins in Cornwall during World War II, and it has a companion series called “The Magic of Cornwall.” 

 

London Blue is a class Hetheridge story – cases that merge, suspects and witnesses who all seem to avoid telling the truth or omitting key details, and the ongoing clash of classes. And Jameson adds exactly the right amount of humor to relieve the tension.

 

Related:

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson.

 

Blue Murder by Emma Jameson.

 

Something Blue by Emma Jameson.

 

Black & Blue by Emma Jameson.

 

Blue Blooded by Emma Jameson.

 

Blue Christmas by Emma Jameson.

 

Untrue Blue by Emma Jameson. 

 

Some Monday Readings

 

“Whoever looks upon them as an irregular mob…” – Phill Greenwalt at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.

 

Felixstowe Martello Towers, Bawdsey Radar and Sutton Hoo – A London Inheritance.

 

A mission of guilt: On the West’s latest self-flagellation – The New Criterion.

Things Worth Remembering: One Easter Night in Europe - Rod Dreher at The Free Press.

The Patriot Martyrs of April 19, 1775 - Mark Maloy at Emerging Revolutionary War Era.

"Untrue Blue" by Emma Jameson

The Hetheridges – husband and wife – are back. 

Detective Inspector Kate Hetheridge is on doctor-ordered bedrest during her final four weeks of pregnancy. Her husband Tony, also known as Lord Anthony Hetheridge, continues to work as a private investigator and police consultant. Far too competent for his own good, Tony “retired” from Scotland Yard, retired as in forced out. Kate’s colleague – and Tony’s former subordinate – Paul Bhar is the father of a brand-new baby girl, so he’s not been visiting too much and trying to find time to get some sleep.

 

The Hetheridges and Paul are drawn into another murder investigation – the strangulation of a young member of Kate’s and Paul’s police team, killed in her flat. Kate can only participate via computer and phone, but Paul and other police officers are fully investigating. The victim’s boyfriend, also a police officer, is implicated. But as they begin to look at the cases she was investigating, they discover threads to the solution that might reach into very high levels of Scotland Yard.

 

Emma Jameson

Untrue Blue is the seventh mystery novel in the Lord and Lady Hetheridge series, and it’s every bit as good as its predecessors. The marriage of Mayfair (Tony) and London’s East End (Kate) is a fun sub-theme of the story. Tony, in his early 60s, had been a long-time bachelor, with one -out-of-wedlock child, and he can trace his lineage back several hundred years. Kate brings with her an older disabled brother, a nephew for whom she’s the guardian, a sister who’s usually in addiction recovery somewhere, and a mother no one has seen for some time. It’s a mix Jameson uses to keep the home front constantly bubbling. 

 

And now the baby is due. It’s a great mystery and a fun story.

 

In addition to the Hetheridge series, Jameson has a second series of novels featuring the amateur detective Dr. Benjamin Bones. The series begins in Cornwall during World War II, and it has a companion series called “The Magic of Cornwall.” Jameson is currently working on another Dr. Bones mystery, and she says there will be more Lord and Lady Hetheridge novels.

 

Related:

Ice Blue by Emma Jameson.

 

Blue Murder by Emma Jameson.

 

Something Blue by Emma Jameson.

 

Black & Blue by Emma Jameson.

 

Blue Blooded by Emma Jameson.

 

Blue Christmas by Emma Jameson.

“Blue Blooded” by Emma Jameson

Lord and Lady Hetheridge have temporarily moved out of their home in London’s Mayfair. The house was heavily damaged when Kate Hetheridge’s autistic brother tried to light a Lego block with a lighter. No one was hurt, but Tony Hetheridge, Kate, Richie the 27-year-old brother and Kate’s nine-year-old nephew Henry are temporarily living in a rather posh condo at 101 Leadenhall, in Westminster not far from Victoria Station. 

Tony and Kate met on the job at Scotland Yard, when he was her boss. He’s also old enough to be her father.

He’s gotten his private investigator license, and is looking for a young man who’s disappeared, following the death of his twin sister from a fall from 101 Leadenhall when it was under construction. Kate, at the moment a detective sergeant in Scotland Yard, is investigating a car bombing (via hacked computer) that killed a fringe candidate for Parliament. Richie’s mourning the loss of his Batman Lego set. Henry’s developing his own detective skills by investigating the condominium building.

Emma Jameson

And then who should surface in Tony’s and Kate’s investigations but Sir Duncan Godington, sociopath, psychopath, and killer who’s gotten away with murder several times. He loves to play and toy with his victims. This time it looks like he’s playing for keeps, and Tony and Kate are the prime targets.

Blue Blooded by Emma Jameson is the fifth (and, so far, last) in the Lord and Lady Hetheridge series. It’s the best in the series yet, with action popping on almost every page and a wild climax at the end.

In addition to the Hetheridge series, Jameson has a second series of novels featuring the amateur detective Dr. Benjamin Bones. The series begins in Cornwall during World War II, and it has a companion series called “The Magic of Cornwall.” Jameson is currently working on the third Dr. Bones mystery, and she says there will be more Lord and Lady Hetheridge novels.

Related:

My review of Ice Blue by Emma Jameson.

My review of Blue Murder by Emma Jameson.

My review of Something Blue by Emma Jameson.

My review of Black & Blueby Emma Jameson.

"Black & Blue" by Emma Jameson

One thing you can say about the Lord and Lady Hetheridge mystery series by Emma Jameson is that they are never dull. Things happen. Lots of things. On almost every page. 

Black & Blue, the fourth in the series, starts with a murder of an art dealer, who lives right around the corner from the Hetheridges in London’s Mayfair. Lord Hetheridge is Chief Superitendent Anthony Hetheridge of Scotland Yard, aka the ninth Baron of Wellegrave. Lady Hetheridge is the former Kate Wakefield, a detective sergeant woeking with Hetheridge as part of the murder investigation squad. The third member of the team is Detective Sergeant Deepal Bhar, who has the unfortunate habit of always stepping into things when he shouldn’t.

The art dealer was a nasty bit of goods, irrespective of his Euston Square address. He liked poaching the married wives of well-known men who didn’t take kindly to his poaching. He liked dumping his new girlfriends almost as soon as he had them. He offended neighbors on both accounts, not to mention the awful modern art eyesore he’d turned his house into. And then there’s the drug smuggling business that the art dealing covered for. 

Emma Jameson

Right at the start of the investigation, Hetherbridge is booted from his position, or “allowed to retire.” He takes steps to set up his own private investigations business, although he’s wealthy enough not to have worry about income. Kate and Deepal find themselves reporting to a new boss – Vic Jackson, known for his alcoholism, sexual harassment, and racist comments. Except Jackson seems to have undergone a transformation.

Murder suspects abound, including the woman found in the wardrobe in the dead man’s house (supposedly looking for Narnia) and the Texas boyfriend of Bhar’s mother, who comes close to steal the show for the entire novel. She’s a great comic character. And the Hetheridges have family problems, specifically Kate’s family, her recently-released-from-the-mental-home sister and her former prostitute mother (Kate and Tony were born and reared in very different circumstances).

In addition to the Hetheridge series, Jameson has a second series of novels featuring the amateur detective Dr. Benjamin Bones. The series begins in Cornwall during World War II, and it has a companion series called “The Magic of Cornwall.” Jameson is currently working on the third Dr. Bones mystery.

So much happens in Black & Blue that you’ll feel rather breathless and checking back every few pages to make sure you caught everything that was happening. And you’ll also be highly entertained.

Related:

My review of Ice Blue by Emma Jameson.

My review of Blue Murder by Emma Jameson.

My review of Something Blueby Emma Jameson.