Sabrina’s Teardrop : 3

The third volume of the Inspector Chard series takes Chard back to his native Shrewsbury and reveals the circumstances under which he left for south Wales so abruptly. Now Chard finds himself under arrest for the murder of his estranged wife and her lover. Imprisoned in the notorious Shrewsbury gaol, he must fight to clear his name of charges which will result in execution. The page-turning plot includes a missing woman, human trafficking, trade-offs, foul play, scheming and brutal Victorian gentlemen, civic corruption, and the Peaky Blinders.

Against a vividly drawn and atmospheric background of Victorian Shrewsbury – the town is almost a character in the novel – the tension is ratchetted up as Chard fights for his freedom with the help of his faithful Constable Idris Morgan, and May Roper. Together they must save Chard and search for the answer to the riddle of the fabulous sapphire which is Sabrina’s Teardrop, at the centre of events. Once again Leslie Scase takes the reader back to a time and place where, despite the pretensions of Victorian society, life is cheap and passions strong. His research brings Shrewsbury vividly to life, and historical events drive along the plot. Atmospheric, authentic, Chard and the reader are left guessing until the final pages