I came to this series from Murder on the Serpentine Bridge, which I received as an advance reader copy. My thought was “Where has this series been all my life?” I loved that story and was eager to go back to the beginning.

Set in Regency England, this is the first book in a series that paints that era much differently than many other novels of historical fiction. Oh yes, the overindulgent parties and balls that serve as a meat market of sorts where matches are made between families is still there. The two main characters, though somewhat a part of that world, disdain all that represents and merely do what they have to out of social obligation.

The Earl of Wrexford is a prime candidate for the marriage-minded mamas of Regency England. However, his interests are more scientific than worrying about parties, balls, and the like. A local pastor, the Reverend Holworthy, publicly accuses him of debauchery, and that must be dealt with. The two argue very publicly. Later, the Reverend is found murdered in his church, his face defaced by chemicals, and Wrex is the prime suspect.

Charlotte Sloane is a widow who gets by on the money she receives as a political cartoonist. Her nom-de-plume is A.J. Quill, so no one suspects that a woman is behind the popular comic in newspapers. She targets the gentry and gets much of her information from a pair of orphans she takes care of with what little money she has. When one of the cartoons lampoons the situation between Wrex and the Rev. Holworthy, Wrex believes the artist knows more about the murder than she should and tracks her down. Together, they go about solving the murder and clearing Wrex’s name.

Murder on Black Swan Lane takes the reader to the darker side of this period, with secret scientific experiments and secret clubs that dally in the occult. As the two follow the clues, Charlotte finds that it might also have something to do with her late husband’s death.

I was worried the beginning of the series would be weaker than where I had picked it up, but that wasn’t the case. Murder on Black Swan Lane is just as good as the first book I’d read. Learning the background of the characters I’d liked so much was a lot of fun. It’s not all revealed here, leaving plenty of fodder for other books in the series. The book is well-written and the murderer was not easily identifiable in the beginning. Much of the early part of the book is setting up the two protagonists and their respective situations, including the boys Charlotte is trying to take care of.

There’s no real romance here, which is also refreshing. Charlotte only agrees to help Wrex so he will keep her identity as the political cartoonist a secret, and because he’s paying her. She ends up liking him, but nothing more, at least not yet. Wrex hates the societal pressures he faces being an Earl and isn’t looking for romance either. He seems much happier dallying in his chemistry experiments. If I didn’t know what happened in the future it would be fun to wonder if something would eventually spark between them. I liked this slow approach, however. Here they are simply two people who want to solve a mystery, who just happen to be of the opposite sex.

I felt Murder on Black Swan Lane was a good start to the series, even if I already know some of what the future holds for them. The mystery was interesting and the details of a different side of this era in England felt authentic. I liked seeing the beginning of some of the characters I already knew, and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

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