1759 and in Soho, London Lizzie Hardwicke at the age of 19 has been forced to work as a prostitute in the house of Mrs Sarah Farley. Until one evenng a former client is found dead and Lizzie becomes a suspect. To stop the suspicion, she hopes, she suggests she can help, as her resources would be wider and more likely to talk to her than to the Bow Street Runners.
I enjoyed this well-written mystery, and liked the characters on the whole. I hope that future books will have more of the participation of the Runners in the story. A very good solid start to what I hope is a new series.
A NetGalley Books. ( )

"Death and the Harlot" was a thoroughly enjoyable debut by Georgina Clarke. Set in London in 1795, Lizzie Hardwicke was an unconventional heroine. She was intelligent, kind, observant, practical, genteel (despite her profession) and an unlikely sleuth. Her back story was tragic and I liked her immediately.

The mystery was multi-layered with many twists and turns that kept me guessing all the way through. Moving from bawdy houses, dark alleyways, drinking taverns, gaming houses and the banks of the river Thames, the tension grew as Lizzie became more involved in solving the crime until her life was in danger. However, at times, I thought the plot was too complicated because Lizzie's world was fascinating enough without it. I enjoyed the descriptions of the sordid side of London with all the sights, sounds and smells, especially the mud. slime, rats and rotting food and human waste that pervaded this area. There was plenty of blood and guts, although not at the actual crime scenes, which may not suit the faint-hearted.

Following Lizzie's adventures was fun and I am looking forward to seeing what she gets up to in the next novel. I just hope the relationship between her and Constable William Davenport develops further in the future. They would make a great couple. ( )