The Jaggard Case by J C Briggs

I have been looking out for books in the series as I love the vintage feel of detection plus the meticulous follow up by both Inspector Jones and the unofficial role of detective played by Charles Dickens. 1851 London from both the Inspector's and Dickens point of view not the most salubrious place to be. The description of the places where the poor live and where crime abounds sounds like hell on earth. This part of the story is itself descriptive enough to be the base of a story. Then the characters in the story like Dickens, Jones, Stemp followed by Elizabeth, Catherine, Scrap, Posy who are present throughout the series makes the book very character driven. You then add the villains in the piece - Jaggard, Phib, the Millers, Craggy and his minions and you have a plot there itself. The crime of murder/s, forgery, robbery, human trafficking is the core for this book. very well written, absolutely engrossing, makes me want the next one immediately - makes me give this a five star review Sent by Sapere Books courtesy of Netgalley for an unbiased review.