He wants Fairfax to accompany his new son-in-law, Hugh Mortlock, the fifth Baron Mortlock, on his nightly travels as he suspects Mortlock has been ignoring his new wife Charlotte.

Even though he is uncomfortable with this part of his new assignment, Fairfax agrees to spend some time with Mortlock to learn what might be occurring in the young marriage and what skeletons and secrets Mortlock may have in his past. When Fairfax enters the Mortlock household he is shocked to find Charlotte in her chamber entertaining gentleman callers. Even more surprising is later finding Mortlock dead in his bed, his throat slit in a clumsy attempt at a staged suicide. Once again, the terms of Fairfax’s employment change as he finds himself looking into Mortlock’s murder.

While A Distinction of Blood is rich in the atmosphere of Georgian England, it is almost so much that the plot of the story gets lost among all the dandies and fops that inhabit its pages. The first chapter describing Fairfax’s and Mortlock’s first night out is so long that things mentioned at the opening may be forgotten while getting caught up in the details of the setting. The details of the era are authentic, though not all are put in context and those unfamiliar with the period may find themselves wondering about the value of a guinea (monetary unit).

Charlotte, believed blameless by her father in whatever problems the marriage is having, comes across quickly as part of the problem, though Appleton is never willing to admit to it. Mortlock’s suicide is obviously a sham and while there are many who might want Mortlock dead, the most obvious suspects are overlooked.

Readers without a strong interest in this period will quickly tire of the details and may even become confused as they become immersed in the eighteenth century.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry