The Fatal Coin: A Dan Foster Mystery - The Dan Foster Mysteries
Formats: Paperback
In the winter of 1794 Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist, Dan Foster, is assigned to guard a Royal Mail coach. The mission ends in tragedy when a young constable is shot dead by a highwayman calling himself Colonel Pepper. Dan is determined to bring the killer to justice, but the trail runs cold.
Then Dan is sent to Staffordshire to recover a recently-excavated hoard of Roman gold which has gone missing. Here he unexpectedly encounters Colonel Pepper again. The hunt is back on – and this time Dan will risk his life to bring down Pepper and his gang.
The Fatal Coin is a prequel to Bloodie Bones, the first Dan Foster Mystery, which was joint winner of the Historical Novel Society Indie Award 2016.
Reviews
Lucienne Boyce has once again managed to bring to life a period in history that is opened up to the reader with rich language and beautiful descriptions. Her knowledge of this time period is evident but is interwoven so beautifully into the story that the book flows along, never once feeling boring or overloading the reader with historical facts.
The protagonist is a likable, if rough-around-the-edges, detective who gives as much guff as he gets…The story takes place in 1794 England and the historical atmosphere of the book is another highlight of this work. The author has a gift for painting beautiful set pieces that jump to life in the readers’ imagination – and those who aren’t already well-versed on 18th century England will also learn a few interesting facts. The world in which Dan inhabits complements him perfectly, and it’s easy to imagine him emerging from the fog, ready to engage in fisticuffs with whomever opposes him.
I absolutely thoroughly enjoyed this superb tale…Lucienne Boyce has a talented gift as a writer, producing stories that hook you straight in and refuse to let you go until you’ve turned the last page, and even then, leave you pondering on the plot and characters – and eager for a next adventure!...Whether Fatal Coin is your first encounter with Dan Foster, or a venture into discovering more about him, this is a most excellent read, highly enjoyable and most highly recommended.
