Not content with playing with the detective James McLevy, Ashton turns his attention to Jean Brash, Mistress of the Just Land, a high class brothel. After the New Year's Day celebrations a body is found in the Just Land, one of their clients. Well aware that this could lead back to them they decide to investigate, while McLevy is investigating first one and then more similar deaths.

It's complex and interesting and the reasoning is pretty good. ( )

What do you do when you find the corpse of a judge in your brothel?

Fortunately, Jean Brash, madam of Edinburgh's finest House of Negotiable Affection, knows the answer.

This is a spin-off from Ashton's Inspector McLevy series, featuring Jean Brash (who appears as a secondary character in the main series) as the protagonist. This is the first David Ashton novel I've read, although I've had the McLevy series on my radar for a while, and I'm pleased I found this one.

What I Liked
I liked Jean: she's a businesswoman who has climbed up from the bottom of the ladder. She did it by being tougher than anybody else, and by having an ability to spot and opportunity and the guts to take it. But through all of that, she keeps a sense of perspective and a sense of responsibility for her people. I hope Ashton will write more books concentrating on Jean.

Ashton also seemed to get the atmosphere of Victorian Edinburgh - to me, it felt dark, cold, and wet, with a realistic muckiness. Some historical novels come across too clean and sanitised: this was not one of those books.

Ashton also writes good walk-on characters - interestingly, particularly women. There are several women in this book with their own lives, and their own troubles and goals. I particularly liked one scene between a father and daughter late in the book; you'll know why when you get to it. It's unusual to see an author give relatively minor characters some personal growth. And in such a satisfying way, too.

What I Liked Less
I found Ashton's rather whimsical writing style was a bit of a barrier to really connecting with the characters. It was amusing at times, and gave the books a unique feel - but, still, I was interested enough in the characters themselves that it was more of a distraction. But not enough of a distraction for me to read another Ashton book, so not that much of a problem.

Conclusion
A solid four-star read, and I'm hoping that further Jean Brash mysteries will follow. ( )

David Ashton has written books and radio plays based on the(real) Inspector McLevy, a policeman in what in Victorian times was the wild docklands of Leith, then near, now part of Edinburgh. Key to the plot is McLevy's suspiciously close(at least suspicious to his superiors: as readers we know his heart is pure and incorruptible!!) relationship with the local 'bawdyhoose' keeper, Jean Brash (he just likes her coffee).

I like the writing, the setting, and whilst this isn't misery lit, there's no sense that Ashton romances the poverty of most people's living in the docks at this time.
This was at least a hundred pages too long for me though. The lengthy italicised flashbacks were not my cup of tea either.

I'll stick to listening to Siobhan Redmond and Brian Cox play the characters on the radio. ( )