Promoting Crime Fiction : ‘The Old Rogue of Limehouse’ by Ann Granger

Published by Headline,
6 July 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-4722-9014-4 (HB)

It is 1871 and the London Season is in full swing. These are the months in which wealthy and well-born young ladies are introduced to fashionable society, which causes problems for Scotland Yard because it results in the theft of valuable jewellery that the young ladies wear.

Inspector Ben Ross has been instructed to pay a visit to Jacob Jacobus, an elderly resident of the rough area of Limehouse. Jacobus is an old rogue who is suspected of sometimes handling stolen goods, although he has never been caught. Occasionally, he will discreetly pass on snippets of information to the police, when the matter does not involve any of the professional thieves with whom he deals. Jacobus appears happy to welcome Ben to his tall, thin, four-roomed house, which is crammed with treasures, all of which Ben is welcome to examine, but Jacobus claims to have no information about any stolen jewellery. When leaving Jacobus’ house, Ben is surprised to encounter Daisy Smith, a woman he had met a few years ago when she was working as a prostitute. Now Daisy works at the public house next door to Jacobus’ house, both of the buildings are owned by Jacobus, as well as other property in the area. The landlord of the pub has a key to Jacobus’ house and lends it to any visitors that the old man wants to be admitted. Because Jacobus finds it hard to get around and very rarely goes outside, Daisy is paid to bring him his food and look after him.

When Ben returns to Scotland Yard, he finds that Superintendent Dunn is waiting for him impatiently. Mrs Charlotte Ruxby has come in person to report the theft of a magnificent emerald necklace that has been stolen from the dressing table of her young niece, Isabella Gray, at their Hampstead home. Ben thinks it was extraordinarily careless to have left such a valuable piece of jewellery lying around, which arouses his suspicions. Nevertheless, his initial assumption is that it is the work of a ‘ladder gang’, thieves who come from London to country houses just outside the city and use ladders to enter the bedrooms while all the residents are downstairs at dinner.

Mrs Ruxby is a domineering, demanding woman, and she is part of an extremely influential family. Ben assures her that he will go to her Hampstead house to examine the scene of the theft the next day. However, that evening, while Ben and his wife, Elizabeth, are eating their evening meal, Daisy Smith arrives in a distraught state to tell Ben that Jacobus has been murdered. Ben goes straight to Limehouse and confirms that Daisy’s story is true, Jacobus died still sitting in his chair, his throat was cut, and the room has been ransacked.

Ben is expected to head the two investigations, and soon discovers that both of them involve dysfunctional families. In the case of the stolen necklace, it seems that Mrs Ruxby and her companion, Miss Chalke, are both concealing something, while Isabella Grey is an eager advocate for her cousin, Harry Ruxby, the profligate son of the implacable head of the family firm, Jeremy Ruxby, who has refused to pay any more of his son’s debts. Although a hard-headed businessman, Jeremy Ruxby firmly believes in the family legend that the good luck and prosperity of the family depends on their possession of the necklace. The investigation into the murder of Jacob Jacobus takes an unexpected twist with the arrival of Jacobus’ estranged daughter, her husband and solicitor, who are very angry when they are denied immediate access to his house.

Ben’s wife, Elizabeth finds herself involved in both cases. At Ben’s request she visits Jacobus’ daughter at her hotel to keep her company while her husband formally identifies her father’s body. Elizabeth is also approached by Isabella Grey, who wishes to persuade her to convince Ben that Harry Ruxby is innocent, and later, Miss Chalke calls upon Elizabeth at home, but does not confide in her, although Elizabeth is sure she wishes to. While Elizabeth plays no active part in the investigations, her insights help Ben as he struggles to determine the truth.

There is no proof that the two cases are linked, especially as Ben is sure that Jacobus would not handle a necklace that was so dangerously distinctive. However, Ben has an instinct that there is a connection between the two cases and, as he works to solve them, tragedy strikes again.

The Old Rogue of Limehouse is the ninth book in the series featuring Ben and Elizabeth Ross. It is an intriguing book in an outstanding series and Elizabeth and Ben are engaging protagonists who have not forgotten that they worked hard to survive poverty and bereavement in order to reach their present comfortable situation, and who are always willing to help others. The plot is complex, and the period detail is excellent. The Old Rogue of Limehouse is a beautifully crafted page turner, which I recommend.
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Reviewer: Carol Westron

Ann Granger was born in Portsmouth where she was a pupil at the then Northern Grammar School for Girls and went from there to London University where she achieved a BA in Modern Languages (French with German). After a period spent first teaching English in France and then working in the Visa Section of British Embassies around the world. She met her husband, who was also working for the British Embassy, in Prague, and together they received postings to places as far apart as Munich and Lusaka. She is the author of the Mitchell and Markby Mysteries, the Fran Varady series and more recently the Lizzie Martin mystery series. She lives in Bicester, near Oxford.

https://www.anngranger.net/

Carol Westron is a successful author and a Creative Writing teacher. Her crime novels are set both in contemporary and Victorian times. Her first book The Terminal Velocity of Cats was published in 2013. Since then, she has since written 6 further mysteries. Carol recently gave an interview to Mystery People. To read the interview click on the link below.