Death of a Radical

Jenkins’s captivating second F.R. Jarrett mystery (after 2010’s The Duke’s Agent) establishes her as one of today’s leading writers of historical whodunits. In 1812, ex-military man Jarrett is a few months into his new job as estate manager for the duke of Penrith in Woolbridge. Colonel Ison, a local MP who’s up in arms over rumors that a coordinated effort is behind a string of recent industrial accidents, is looking to impose martial law on the region, a development that Jarrett and the duke view with dismay. Against this backdrop, Jarrett views the outwardly natural death of an inn guest as being less than straightforward. Jenkins takes her time introducing her characters and setting the stage, but she captures perfectly the tensions in a rural English community where many regard industrialization’s promise as a threat. At the end, she couples a satisfying reveal of the killer with a noirish twist. (Nov.)