There are three victims whose hearts have been torn from their chest, and Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, Charles Bainbridge, has been tasked to find the conspirator. Suspecting supernatural reasons, he calls in Sir Maurice Newbury and his assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes. Newbury has been recently retained by a new client, Edward, Prince of Wales, while Hobbes has been trying to figure out the strange forces that have been bothering her family lately. They come together and decide the murderer is a mercenary known as the Executioner. She's beautiful, covered in tattooes, and infamous, but her heart is damaged leaving her emotionless. Now she's collecting her victims' hearts as trophies. The question is who has hired her to do this and what does Edward really want with Newbury? Other problems arise as they barrel to the end of the exciting read.
I only became familiar with the Newbury & Hobbes world rather recently, but all it took was the first book to completely hook me. With its Sherlock Holmes-like detectives and gorgeously constructed steampunk worlds, the dark, horror leaning occult stories give me everything I could ever want. London is a mysterious force in this period piece, and the mystery deepens with every page. The Executioner is a chilling and visually stunning foe.
Though I will always love Newbury, Hobbes and Bainbridge for their wonderful relationship, witty banter, and ability to solve a crime with humor, humility and wit. They are an awesome and memorable trio. The plot, as always, is satisfying and well planned. These books are plain ol' fun. I can't get enough of George Mann's Newbury & Hobbes and I will be first in line to buy the next installment. I highly recommend this series to steampunk lovers and those with a bent for historical fantasy with a dark edge.
In Executioner's Heart--the fourth Newbury & Hobbes steampunk mystery from George Mann--the detectives are up against the most frightening villainess England has yet seen. It’s normal for Charles Bainbridge, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard, to be called to the scene of a crime, but this is the third murder in quick succession where the victim’s chest has been cracked open and their heart torn out. Bainbridge suspects there’s a symbolic reason for the stolen hearts, so he sends for supernatural specialist Sir Maurice Newbury and his determined assistant, Miss Veronica Hobbes. Unfortunately, neither of them are in much shape to take the case. Veronica has been hunting for some way to alleviate the mysterious forces that have been hounding her family of late, and Newbury has been retained by a private client: Edward, Prince of Wales, who's concerned that his mother, the Queen of England, is losing her grip on the nation. However, the two detectives pull together long enough to determine that the killings may be the work of a mercenary known as the Executioner. French, uncannily beautiful, her flesh covered in tattoos and inlaid with precious metals, the Executioner is famed throughout Europe, with legends going back for hundreds of years. Something is keeping her in a form of living stasis, but her heart is damaged, leaving her an emotionless shell, inexplicably driven to collect her victims’ hearts as trophies. Who is the Executioner targeting, and who hired her? Why has Veronica stopped trusting Bainbridge? What does the Prince of Wales really want? These are just some of the mysteries that Newbury and Hobbes will confront on the way to unearthing the secret of the Executioner’s Heart.
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