In Death Makes No Distinction, Lucienne Boyce’s third full-length novel featuring Bow Street Runner Dan Foster, we enter the deeply divided world of Georgian London of the 1790s. It is a London of gleaming mansions, filled with all the opulence and elegance of those with unimaginable wealth, but it is also a London of great squalor and abject poverty. It is a London of princes, aristocrats and prosperous merchants, a London of high society and high fashion; and it is a London of thieves, con-men and whores desperately clinging to life by any means possible. The author skilfully uses her extensive knowledge of life during this period in history to bring this divided city to life for the reader.

Dan Foster moves between these two worlds in carrying out his duties as a Principal Officer operating out of the Bow Street Magistrates’ Office. While investigating the rape and brutal murder of a destitute young woman found in an outhouse of a public house in Holborn he is called into the office of the Chief Magistrate, Sir William Addington. He is ordered to drop the case he is working on as his assistance has been requested on what his superior considers to be a much more important case.

The case concerns the murder of a famous socialite and leader of fashion, Miss Louise Parmeter. A great beauty, she had abandoned her promising career as an actress with Richard Brinsley Sheridan after she became the inamorata of no less than George, Prince of Wales, at that time a very young man. She had remained in the public eye ever since and had conducted affairs with many of the aristocratic and wealthy of London.

Foster’s assistance has been requested by Principal Officer Townsend, a Bow Street Runner permanently assigned as bodyguard to the Royal Family. Foster is puzzled by this development and it is clear that neither of them has a high opinion of the other. Townsend’s motive in asking for Foster in particular only becomes clear much later. What it does indicate, however, is that the Prince of Wales has taken an interest in the case. Is this because the victim is known to have been writing a memoir of her notorious life?

Foster is a decent and honest man and it is his sense of decency that leads him to the belief that the poor victim is as deserving of justice as the rich. He therefore determines that he must work to solve both these cases and not allow the murder of the young destitute woman to be passed over as being of no account.

It is these two contrasting murders that lie at the heart of this novel, but Foster’s complicated family life, including his troubled relationship with his wife, is also seamlessly woven into the story. And lurking in the shadows is a haunting threatening figure watching and waiting to strike at Foster’s family. These narrative threads are worked and developed with great skill by the author and the result is a compelling and fast paced murder mystery.

This is the first Dan Foster mystery that I have read and it must be said that I enjoyed it immensely. I shall be looking for the earlier books to bring myself up to date with his adventures and very much hope that there will be more to come.

When I started reading this book, I had no idea that there were previous books featuring Dan Foster but now I'm certainly interested enough to go back and read them. I liked that this wasn't just an upper-crust ton Regency era mystery but had the grittier side of life during that time. There's two murders in this book, one Dan is ordered to help solve and one that he doesn't want to let go without solving. There are two side stories one involving Dan's son and another involves a suspect in one of the murders that adds to this. I hope there's more books in the future with these characters.

5 stars

A young woman was raped and beaten to death in a shed outside a public house. Dan Foster who is an officer at Bow Street responds to the call. But he barely starts his investigation when he is pulled off the case to work with John Townsend on the murder of a woman named Louise Parmeter. She was a former actress and former lover of Prince George. Dan is surprised for John has never liked him.

John acts like a bully, is too quick to judge and makes ill-advised snap decisions. Dan tries to talk some sense into him, but John brushes him off. Dan is determined to continue with his investigation into to unnamed woman's death as well.

Other duties have taken John's attention away, so Dan is left to work Ms. Parmeter's murder alone. Which suits him.

This is a very well written and plotted historical novel. Ms. Boyce has done an outstanding job in describing the citizenry and conditions of the London of that era. The poverty and hopelessness of the working person in contrast to the wealth and opulence of the upper classes. And Prince George – just wow... I felt like a real-life witness to the goings on as the scenes were described so very well. The historical research that Ms. Boyce delved in to was evident in her attention to detail. This was my first Lucienne Boyce novel, but it won't be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to look at her other books. I truly enjoyed this novel.

I want to thank NetGalley and Cameron Publicity & Marketing, Ltd. For forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

This is the third book in the Dan Foster mysteries and is set in Georgian England. Dan Foster is investigating the two unrelated murders of women..This book is well-paced and interesting but, not having read the previous 2 books, I feel a little at a disadvantage. I'd recommend going back and reading the first two.