Princess Fuzzypants here: It took me a bit longer to get up to speed with this story than others who had read the previous two books involving Hooke and Hunt. We find them, and others including The King and Christopher Wren, observing an experiment at The Royal Society. Harry recognizes that the corpse on the table is not a suicide from Bedlam but the daughter of his neighbour. This sets off an investigation as to how the bodies were switched and what evil plot lay behind the murder of an innocent young woman.

Harry finds himself in a deep quagmire of intrigues and duplicity. He is framed as the killer and must go on the run before he can clear his name. The book offers a rich tapestry of late 16th Century characters. It is a highly fictionalized version of them but the underlying stories are real. There was great consternation that James would be Charles II heir. The fear of Catholicism was growing and as future events would decide, it was something that was not going away. In the story Charles illegitimate son is desperate to find papers that can attest to the marriage of his mother and Charles, which would give him legitimacy. Charles is just as desperate that the papers not be made public. The papers have been something of a “hot potato” and have caused the death of one woman and the kidnapping of another.

It is all quite fascinating and believable. Harry does solve the mysteries and crimes, although not as Charles had envisioned he would. In the process he is forced to re-evaluate his life. He has gone from nothing to great wealth which he learns has not been to his advantage. We leave him determined to start afresh and anew. A very satisfying end to an entertaining book. Five purrs and two paws up.

Harry Hunt’s fortunes have definitely changed since the events chronicled in The Poison Machine, the outstanding prior novel in this series. Gifted a significant sum of money by his noble benefactors, he’s since devoted himself to decorating his newly acquired Bloomsbury Square home in anticipation of proposing marriage to Grace Hooke, the niece of his mentor, the renowned scientist Robert Hooke.

As such, it’s been a while since he’s gathered at Gresham College with the rest of the Royal Society of London for the Improving of Natural Knowledge. Their royal patron King Charles II has joined them for the dissection of a corpse from the Bethlehem Hospital, a home for the mentally unwell more commonly and derogatorily known as Bedlam. No less than noted architect and polymath Sir Christopher Wren will be conducting the experiment on the cadaver’s brain and nervous system.

So perhaps no one is more shocked than Harry himself when he cries out for Christopher to stop the proceedings. The dead woman before them is no pauper whose body has been donated to science. The corpse belongs to Harry’s beautiful young neighbor, Diana Cantley, daughter of the powerful Sir Benedict Cantley. Harry himself had seen her walking out of her townhome only a handful of days prior. How could she have possibly come to this pass?

Having previously tasked Harry with other sensitive and confounding assignments, King Charles assigns him to assist with the investigation led by the stern Sir Joseph Reresby. Harry and Joseph soon learn that Diana vanished the very day Harry last saw her. Someone subsequently sent Diana’s father a ransom note, which Benedict willingly paid. As Harry and Joseph investigate, they learn that Diana is not the only high-born woman who’s recently gone missing. But when the evidence all starts to point back to Harry himself, what will he be forced to do in order to clear his name?

While I found the previous book in the series to be somewhat more compelling in its adventurous narrative, there’s no denying that Harry continues to be a protagonist worth rooting for, as he applies both a scientific mind and a wellspring of compassion to his dealings with others. Even as he’s dragooned into meting out the King’s justice, he refuses to treat matters of life and death as mere entertainments, as many of his contemporaries do:

QUOTE
Harry had watched the executions. Usually, he preferred to avoid them. He never enjoyed the spectacle, nor what viewing such violence did to people inside a crowd. It divorced them from their true natures–or, equally distastefully, perhaps it revealed them. He felt no need for an execution’s supposed lesson; whether or not to commit a crime he would decide for himself. Justice, anyway, seemed so arbitrary that a hanging or a burning or a disembowelling provided little instruction of use.
END QUOTE

Meticulously researched, this novel still caught me off guard with the reminder that it’s almost entirely based on real people, including Harry Hunt himself. Given how relatively little is known of the historical figure, Harry provides a blank but inspirational canvas for Robert J Lloyd’s adaptation of very real events. With the political upheaval surrounding the question of the king’s heir as backdrop, Harry becomes our viewpoint into a turbulent time bursting with both intrigue and invention.

Which makes, perhaps, the development of Harry’s feelings for Grace all the more bittersweet, given what history records of them. Grace is unimpressed by Harry’s newfound wealth and the ways he chooses to show it off. Harry, in turn, comes to a realization that he’s long been trying to avoid:

QUOTE
But he could not fend off the thought any longer: Harry’s feelings for Grace were changing. This change came with a sense of panic, and a need to hold on to them; these feelings had steered the course of his life for so long. Grace’s professed love for him had begun to feel like an obligation. Instead of a joyful, headlong rush into marriage and companionship and happiness ever after, he had buried himself in his house’s refurbishment. Not to make the house ready for her, but to put off asking her to marry him.
END QUOTE

Honestly, I don’t know how Mr Lloyd intends to deal with Grace, but I’m hoping that it’s with the same humanity and empathy that Harry has displayed throughout the series so far. That sense of compassion very much sets the Hunt & Hooke mysteries above their peers, though I genuinely can’t think of any other Restoration-set historical novels that are this detailed and compelling either. It’ll be really fascinating to read the next book in this series and be transported back in time, into the thick of actual events that feel fresh for seeming entirely imagined despite having a solid basis in historical fact.

I thank NetGalley and Melville House for an advance reader copy of “The Bedlam Cadaver.” All opinions and comments are my own.

A momentous event; King Charles II has come to view a dissection at Gresham College, led by no less an august personage than Sir Christopher Wren. It is the body of a young woman, a suicide from Bedlam Hospital. Harry Hunt and Robert Hooke are there, our protagonists from the two earlier books in the series. Harry has come up in the world due to his services to King and Country. The King arrives, the attendees are ready, the dissection begins (note that you, the reader will also attend this autopsy; be advised). There is only one problem; Harry Hunt knows this young woman. She is no unknown, anonymous body, but a young girl from a prosperous family. Someone is in big trouble.

Thus begins “The Bedlam Cadaver,” a complex tale of murder, false accusations, and enduring friendship that will task the reader’s detective abilities alongside the fictional characters, a diabolical tale of death, greed and revenge, and the search for proof of a man’s right to rule. For that is very much a part of this book, a story of the political underpinnings of the time, complete with dangerous men ranged for and against a Protestant monarch who has a Catholic brother as his heir and an illegitimate son that says he has proof to his claim as the rightful next King of England.

Harry will find himself in personal danger, and it’s a near thing to finagle his way out of trouble. But finagle he does, with the help of old friends, an understanding King, and a knack for revealing the secret of swapped bodies that began the tale. “The Bedlam Cadaver” will leave you in no double that Robert J. Lloyd enjoys combining entertaining fiction with historical fact.

And the papers that will prove the truth of the Duke of Monmouth’s claim that he’s the true heir? The Author’s Note at the end of the book touches upon the real historical events, people and places used throughout the book. It is always required reading, of interest to those who enjoy history with their mystery books. And it will give you more information about the mysterious “black box,” the repository of those oh so important parenthood “papers.” Mr. Lloyd has Harry knowing a bit more about that, too. But you’ll have to read the book to find out what that may be.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc of this upcoming book!
Oh how I yearn to be a history girl, but that era isn’t mine as of yet.

A murder mystery set in the 17th century that starts with the dissection of a lady from high society and rapidly turns into a series of misfortunes for our main character. This story interweaves the issues of the British throne and its aristocracy, the riots and wars happening over the crown with the horrific mistreatment of asylum patients and the disparity of riches. It has been a while since I read a book of its kind and I loved every minute of it.

I love historical fiction, and it's not often I find one in the 1600s... and what a treat it was! The Bedlam Cadaver finds Harry Hunt has risen in the world, but that hasn't lessened his ability to attract trouble. I found it easy to drop into this story without having read its predecessors, and had no trouble coming up to speed. I highly recommend this intriguing mystery set in the time of King Charles II.

Newly rewarded for saving the Queen Mr. Henry Hunt arrives to the dissection a suicide victim from Bedlam in style, looking to who everyone just how far Hunt's lowly assistant has come he arrives in style. Little does he know that none of that will matter because the body on the table is not a suicide victim but a murder victim and his neighbor, Diana the daughter of Sir Benedict. With the King himself in attendance Henry is enlisted to assist the Justice of the Peace John Reresby in finding the poor girls killer. Unfortunately Reresby believes he already has: Henry himself, the stakes have never been higher for Henry as he isn't just working to find a killer, he's working to keep himself away from the gallows.

I did not like Harry (Henry) Hunt even a little bit and that is taking into consideration that he is supposed to be obnoxious thanks to his new station in life. I still don't like him. I found him boring, ineffective, and lacking self awareness almost on a criminal level.

That being said the mystery was best part of this book. Politics and murder always make for a good story and this has quite a bit of both. Through Bethlehem Hospital in the mix and you've got a winner. However, I found that the story dragged quite often and it felt like the story was going nowhere fast at several points. Oddly enough the worst place this happens is in the first few chapters. There is just way too much time spent establishing Reresby as an asshole in the beginning. I swear it's three chapters of him just accusing everyone and their brother of murder.

Overall, this was just meh. If I had found a connection with Hunt or the story didn't drag as often as it did I probably would have happily given this four stars but with both of these elements present I find I can't.

Thanks to Melville Publishing and NetGalley for the eArc!

This was my first book by this author and I was not disappointed. You will find yourself emerged in the time period with all its rich descriptions. I love a story with a great balance of dialogue and narrative and this book nailed it. Interesting characters and an intriguing tale - won't be the last I read by this author. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This novel is a murder mystery and kidnapping case based on true events in 17th century England. I don't often read murder mysteries, but I dabble in historical fiction fairly frequently, and was quite pleased with myself for guessing the ending. However, I wouldn't necessarily say the mystery was entirely predictable, and the average reader will find some surprises along the way.

The prose was befitting of the time, and one can always appreciate when a writer does thorough research for historical accuracy (as per the author's note at the end.) A quick and easy read for those with interest in the genre or specific period.

Thanks to Netgalley, Melville House Publishing, and author, Robert J. Lloyd, for this eARC.

I think this book was good. I requested it because it sounded interesting, and it was. The cast of characters was interesting and all so different from one another