Book description
In the spring of 1812, the Luddites are on the march, Lord Byron is
taking London drawing rooms by storm, and Penelope Wolfe has become a
lady's companion. When one of the footmen turns up dead with a knife to
the heart, Penelope and Bow Street Runner John Chase are entangled in a
web of family secrets and political conspiracy that stretches far beyond
luxurious St. James's Square. With the help of barrister Edward Buckler,
Chase follows the trail of a mysterious mad woman caught peeping in the
window at the corpse. Penelope struggles to fit into the fashionable
world, encountering people who hide resentment and deceit under smooth
smiles. Set against a backdrop of millennial fervor with thousands
awaiting the end of the world, BLOOD FOR BLOOD explores the simple truth
that every drop of blood spilled will be avenged. In this engrossing
sequel to Rizzolo's well-received Regency debut, The Rose in the Wheel
(2002), John Chase, a Bow Street Runner (a pre-Victorian constable), and
Penelope Wolfe, his accomplished assistant, investigate the fatal
stabbing of a footman. Found in the back garden of the luxurious London
home where Wolfe is serving as a lady's companion, the victim uses his
last breath to quote an apocalyptic passage from the biblical Book of
Joel. Rumors that the footman led a double life enmesh the pair in
political intrigue surrounding the rise of the Luddite movement and the
concomitant weakening of the Crown in the face of increasing class
conflict and economic hardship. This tense atmosphere is only
exacerbated by the cult surrounding pregnant Rebecca Barnwell, a
self-proclaimed prophetess, whose followers believe is bearing the
Messiah, and who has shown a mysterious interest in the servant's
murder. The different circles in which Chase and Wolfe move afford
Rizzolo an opportunity to depict the disparities in London society of
1812, and she makes the most of it. Engaging and three-dimensional lead
characters match her evocative place descriptions. The killer's
motivation may be a little underdeveloped, but that doesn't detract from
a thoroughly entertaining effort that deserves many sequels. S. K.
Rizzolo was born in Aspen, Colorado, but raised in Saudi Arabia and
Libya where her father was employed in the oil industry. Returning to
the United States for high school and college, Suzanne earned an M. A.
in English. Currently a high school teacher, she lives in Los Angeles
with her husband and daughter. The Rose in the Wheel, a mystery set in
Regency England, was her first novel.
