Lucy Campion is living in London after the Great Fire. No
longer needed as a lady's maid she becomes an apprentice to
a printmaker, and hopes her life can return to normal. But
when a man is found stabbed to death, Lucy must help the
constable find the killer, before the killer finds her.
Susanna Calkins has successfully written another exciting
and secret filled mystery. FROM THE CHARRED REMAINS
continues the story of Lucy, who is no longer a chambermaid,
but a printmaker's apprentice. She once again finds herself
trying to solve a murder, and stirring up trouble. Lucy is
compassionate, kind, and naturally curious, and this
curiosity will take readers through London after the Great
Fire. Lucy's need to bring justice to the victim will have
readers rooting for her to succeed. She is now a more mature
character than she was in A Murder at Rosamund's Gate, and
is figuring out who she really is.
A Murder at Rosamund's Gate introduced readers to the
Constable, Duncan, and in FROM THE CHARRED REMAINS Duncan's
character is developed, and provides a subtle love triangle
between him, Lucy, and Adam. Calkins is able to seamlessly
weave this romance into the story without making it the main
plot line, and keeping the mystery the main focus of the
story.
The puzzles, anagrams, and many secrets combine to make
intertwining plot twists that keep the pages turning. FROM
THE CHARRED REMAINS is an exciting, secret filled,
historical mystery that will keep readers guessing until the
very end.
It’s 1666 and the Great Fire has just decimated an already
plague-ridden London. Lady’s maid Lucy Campion, along with
pretty much everyone else left standing, is doing her part
to help the city clean up and recover. But their efforts
come to a standstill when a couple of local boys stumble
across a dead body that should have been burned up in the
fire but miraculously remained intact—the body of a man who
died not from the plague or the fire, but from the knife
plunged into his chest.
Searching for a purpose now that there’s no lady in the
magistrate’s household for her to wait on, Lucy has
apprenticed herself to a printmaker. But she can't help but
use her free time to help the local constable, and she
quickly finds herself embroiled in the murder investigation.
It will take all of her wits and charm, not to mention a
strong stomach and a will of steel, if Lucy hopes to make it
through alive herself, in From the Charred Remains by
Susanna Calkins.