A Matter of Grave Concern

Novak (the Whiskey Creek series) expertly weaves powerful characters into a complex plot set in a skillfully crafted 1830s London underworld. Nobleman Max Wilder is so determined to locate his estranged half-sister Madeline that he infiltrates a gang of body-snatching “resurrection men,” who rob London’s graves in order to supply its medical schools with fresh cadavers. Madeline’s last known association was with the gang’s leader, Big Jack Hurtsill, but no one’s seen her for months. When young Miss Abigail Hale puts herself in harm’s way as the self-appointed procurer of bodies for the Aldersgate School of Medicine, she runs afoul of Max, who tries to teach her a lesson by fleecing her of the school’s entire cash reserves. The always reliable Novak smartly combines romance and crime in this entertaining page-turner. (Oct.)