Review: Shades of Deception, by Jacqueline Jacques

Walthamstow, 1902: Archie and his police sergeant pal Frank Tyrell investigate the disappearance of teenager Lilian and the discovery of a corpse in the River Lea – Eleanor ‘Nell’ Redfern.

Did her father’s ambitious plans to marry her to a rail magnate cause her to run away to her watery doom? And what about Lilian Steggles, a star swimmer with her eye on the 1908 Olympics – what prompted her to disappear from home and where is she now?

Archie uses his artistic skills to identify Nell and thence to track down her story and that of the other victims of a dastardly scheme to exploit young girls for the benefit of lascivious older men.

My Review

Thanks to Anne for organising this blog tour and to the publisher for sending me a copy of this novel. Thanks to the author for writing this novel.

The Rosie Synopsis

1903 Archie and his best friend Polly take his daughter, Clara and another friend’s children for a day out at the end of the summer holidays; swimming in the river Lea while Archie and Polly enjoy a pint in the sun. It’s all fun and games until the screaming starts.

The children find a skeleton of a woman. Polly, professional photographer is tasked with photograping the scene by DS Tyrell, a friend of Archie and Polly. Later, Archie is asked to reconstruct the face of the dead girl, Nellie.

Meanwhile, Clara’s friend Lillian is missing and then another local girl, Augustine, goes missing a few days later. The police, and Archie decide they have to do something about girls going missing.

TW: this book contains references to child sexual abuse, trafficking and suicide.

The Good

The story kept me interested. The main characters of Archie, Polly and Clara are interesting and complex. They are rounded and have their own character development throughout the book. The descriptions of the social conditions and changes happening in the early 20th century feel authentic.

There are two main plots – who murdered Nellie, and where is Gussie Meredeth? The sub-plots of the search for Lillian, and Archie and Polly’s developing relationship, wind around each other. They confuse the situation for the characters but for the reader it is quite clear that something very wrong is going on in Walthamstow and Tottenham but they are not connected, except in ‘theme’.

Child sexual abuse and trafficking connects both Lillian and Gussie, and in a different aspect, Nellie. In the cases of Lillian and Nellie it is trusted people who do or want to abuse them. Emotionally, there’s little difference for a girl to be married off to her father’s business partner as soon as legally possible, as a piece of property, or be kidnapped to order. Both cause trauma and both are against the will of the victim. Both require the culprit to consider children as property rather than humans.

The use of different perspectives and time lines gives depth and details to the story and lead both Archie and the reader to make the connection and work out who the murderer is. The other plot lines are drawn together in a thrilling style as the assumptions people have been working on are disproven and criminals caught in a market.

The Not-So-Good

The multiple plot lines feel slightly disconnected, especially the relationship between Archie and Polly.

The Verdict

Entertaining and gripping Edwardian crime in a changing London that brings up some difficult ideas.

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AUTHOR BIO

Jacqueline was born on Anglesey and brought up in Walthamstow, where many of her stories are set. She is a retired primary school teacher, now living in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. She has published three books with Piatkus – Someone to Watch Over Me, Wrong Way Up The Slide and A Lazy Eye. This is her fifth book for Honno, which combine her love of writing with her other interests: art and social history.

Also by Jacqueline Jacques in the Archie Price mystery series:

• The Colours of Corruption (ISBN: 9781906784539)

• The Illusion of Innocence (ISBN: 9781909983373)