I liked this one better than average. ( )

London 1817 and Captain Lacey comes face to face with his estranged daughter. His wife and daughter having returned to England to discuss a divorce.
Lacey is asked to investigate the disappearance of several 'game'girls just before his own daughter disappears.
I continue to enjoy this series.
( )

Another great book from Ashley Gardner. In this one Captain Lacey unexpectedly comes across his wife and grown daughter in Berkley Square. It appears that James Denis has taken it upon himself to bring the small family to London in order to help Lacey facilitate divorce proceedings. Lacey is also asked to look into the matter of the disappearance of two "game girls". No sooner that the plot has begun, but Lacey's daughter Gabriella disappears as well.

Although the endless searching became a little tiresome, I enjoyed entering again the world of Captain Lacey. I was a bit worried mid-way through the book when he and Grenville have a bad argument; I was sure their friendship was at an end, which would have been a shame. Luckily it was patched up, and surprisingly Lacey and Colonel Brandon managed to begin some repair of their own friendship, which was nice. I was a little disappointed not to read more about Gabriella, since she disappeared quite early in the book.

I'm so glad this series is being published as ebooks, otherwise I might never have been able to read them. I very much look forward to the next installment. ( )

This fine Regency Series continues with the latest installment Lacey is investigating the disappearance of a street girl from Covent Garden when he inadvertently meets his long-missing daughter. In London with her mother and her stepfather, she and another street girl are the next to go missing. ( )

I believe that this may be the first book that has left me sitting on the edge of my seat agog with suspense by tying up subplots. Indeed, the awful thought crossed my mind - what if Gardener tied these up as an end to the series? No, I reassure myself, the tying up isn't entirely tidy, there is still a major subplot left open, and new subplots to come.

This is another superbly told and involving mystery. I have been extremely impressed with Ashley Gardner's writing. Her characters are complex and I am always happy to be with them again. One can sympathize with them in their cross-purposes, even as they pain one another. Lacey continues where the last book left off, seeking to dissolve his marriage with the long-estranged wife who deserted him, hoping to find his daughter, and courting his new love. In this volume, it appears that someone is preying on the "game girls", not something terribly important to officialdom, but worrying to those, like Lacey, who have a strong sense of justice. When his daughter disappears, most of the characters are forced into re-evaluating their relationships in the course of a frantic search.

The drawing together of several loosely inter-related subplots appears to be the precursor of allowing major changes in Lacey's life. I presume that Lacey will continue as a crusader for justice, but his personal circumstances are changing radically, and I think it is very brave of Gardner. It is extremely rare for the situation of a character in a series to alter as much as it seems Lacey's will, but the preceding volumes give me great faith that the series will continue to be excellent. This is what has me on tenterhooks - where does the story go now? How will Lacey deal with this new situations? At this point, I am so caught up with the characters, I wouldn't even care if there was a mystery in the next book, so long as I can continue to follow their lives.

An excellent addition to a superior series. ( )