If you’ve been a peruser of my blog for a while, you’ll know I love the Wrexford and Sloane Mystery series by Andrea Penrose. With the eighth book coming out in September, I thought it would be a great time to collect my thoughts and note my favourite aspects of the series.

For context, the Wrexford and Sloane Mystery series is a Historical Fiction Murder Mystery series set in Regency-era London. Our main characters are Charlotte Sloane, a widowed artist who has taken up her late husband’s pen name to make a living, and The Earl of Wrexford, an enigmatic scientist with a brilliant mind and a bit too much pride. These two are polar opposites and after a scandalous work of satirical artist A.J. Quill’s depicting Lord Wrexford as the subject for a clandestine encounter gets published, it’s only a matter of time before they meet. Though they may not see eye to eye, they can certainly agree on one point – evil is stirring in the shadows of London and, if left unchecked, there will be dire consequences for all. So they team up, using Charlotte’s connections in the streets and Wrexford’s razor-sharp wit to get to the bottom of it.

That’s the premise of Murder on Black Swan Lane, a fantastic novel you should pick up as soon as possible. Fans of crime fiction, historical fiction, and mystery will be well-fed after this read. The series focuses on technology and science at the heart of each book. It gives the series a great foundation and overarching link while allowing for variations of topics and a wide array of characters to come and go. It’s important to note that the Regency era is nestled in the heart of the Industrial Revolution, so many of the great minds of the time were working toward global expansion, patenting machines and mechanical acts of genius and making a name for themselves.

For a series on the younger side, given its publishing debut in 2017, it feels very mature and well-rounded for its age. It could easily give C.S. Harris’ Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery series a run for its money, same goes for Anna Lee Huber’s Kiera Darby Mystery series and Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell Mystery series. I know I have said in my Historical Fiction Murder Mystery Series Recommendations post that I try to remain impartial when recommending these series to everyone. I can’t deny that the Wrexford and Sloane Mystery series is a bit like a favourite child.

The trajectory the series takes feels so authentic and believable, not only in terms of the romantic threads but the political and social norms and themes of the time. The characters feel real, they have their strengths and weaknesses and they aren’t shy of showcasing their flaws either. The motley crew we have by book four will tug at your heartstrings and by book seven you will be begging at the turn of every page that they are safe and sound. Seriously, how can you not feel protective over Raven and Hawk? And wee little Peregrine thrown into the mix?

The tone and narrative style Andrea Penrose uses is so immersive and compelling. You can feel the eerie chill down your spine when they walk the streets at night. You can understand the significance of their scientific feats and the pressing tension when they are running out of time. The description of spaces, characters, movement and action paint the scenes so perfectly that you feel that you are right there with them. I love this series so much for that reason – the writing is impeccable and I can’t help but awe at it, wishing I could write in such a polished and mesmerising way.

I am waiting with bated breath for the release of Murder at King’s Crossing in September 2024 and you can trust that my review of the riveting novel will be out as soon as I’ve finished it. I’ve already got my library request in for it and I might give the series another reread before then to refresh my mind on the complexities and subtleties of the story world before this new book arrives.