The child’s body is found, but because in both instances (slavers or serial killer) the children were lower class than Gwendolyn, both the intellectually smug Barker and a streetwise Llewelyn suspect this was made to look like something it wasn’t.  Further tragedy ensues as Mrs. DeVere kills herself and Major DeVere drinks himself into a stupor.  Barker and Llewelyn persevere for the sake of the dead girl.  Letters received from an anonymous source calling himself Mr. Miacca, a child-eating folk monster, almost dare the pair to find him as Scotland Yard makes themselves more of a nuisance than a help.

The details of the setting are very well-drawn, including minor details such as the Mr. Miacca tale, as are the political and socio-economic classes of the day.  Mrs. DeVere is volunteering at the office of the Charity Organization Society when Gwendolyn disappears and feels to a certain extent that because of their status her daughter is relatively safe.

Barker and Llewelyn are reminiscent of another pair of Victorian London detectives, their personalities complementing each other, slowly revealing bits and pieces of each other’s pasts.  The end of the book reveals a surprise and foreshadows the plot of the next book which is sure to reveal more and make the pair even more interesting.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry