Format: Kindle, 214 pages
Release Date: January 21st 2021
Publisher: Green & Scarlett Publishing
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Historical / Mystery
A VICIOUS KILLER
Join East India Company Agent Andrew Green and
Bow Street Runner Scarlett Pembridge as they hunt down a brutal murderer
in 1840's London. The opening chapter of the Green & Scarlett
series arrives with MASKING THE TRUTH, a shocking tale of murder,
corruption and revenge.
A SPY AT HOME
The Opium War has
just broken out, and Agent Green is no longer required in China.
Reassigned to a post inside of London's burgeoning Metropolitan Police
force, Green finds that many of the injustices he helped to create have
now landed on his home city's doorstep.
When the Met's lead detective
throws Agent Green in at the deep end, his investigation into the
city's opium smugglers will put him at odds with the one and only
Scarlett Pembridge, Bow Street Runner and London's top bounty hunter.
A TANGLED WEB
Can
a conflicted Police Constable and a determined Bow Street Runner set
aside their differences to catch a killer and dismantle a shadowy drug
ring? How far will Agent Green be willing to go to prevent interference
in Company business? Can Scarlett resolve questions of humanity and
justice when she discovers the killer's shocking motive?
Masking the Truth is the first installment in author Max Parker's Green and Scarlett series. The story takes place in 1840's London. This story has two main characters: Scarlett Pembridge and Andrew Green. Scarlett is a Bow Street Runner and London's top bounty hunter. Scarlett doesn't go for formal women's fashion. She's just as comfortable with pants and a blouse as well as her trusty Colt Peterson handgun. She's also a bit of a rogue in how she brings back her bounties. Most of them come back worse for the wear.
Andrew works for the East India Company and spent a decade in China establishing opium trade between England and China before the Opium War made it impossible for him to remain there. Andrew, who is basically a spy, has been embedded into the London Metropolitan Police Service by the EIC where it is his mission to get to the bottom of the illegal opium finding its way into London's streets and shops. After spending so many years building up the opium trade, he now has to tear it down. Andrew soon realizes that his investigation and Scarlett's are connected.
Scarlett, meanwhile, is trying to catch a person called the Matchstick Killer. As the bodies pile up, Scarlett must put away her feelings and work with Andrew who thinks Scarlett is a rogue operator who needs to stay out of his way. All of the bodies so far have had similarities. They've all had match sticks insert in their bodies. Scarlett ends up having a sidekick who is tired of working in the factory, and wants to do what Scarlett does for a living.
Can a conflicted Police Constable and a determined Bow Street Runner set aside their differences to catch a killer and dismantle a shadowy drug ring? How far will Agent Green be willing to go to prevent interference in Company business? Can Scarlett resolve questions of humanity and justice when she discovers the killer's shocking motive? Part of this story is also told in the eyes of the actual killer. It is hard to not feel emotion for this killer after all this person has gone through. If you notice I am not naming a specific gender, that's because it would spoil who the actual killer is and why they were so angry at those they targeted.
**The Bow Street runners were actually created in 1749 by Henry Fielding and disbanded in 1839. They've been officially named as London's first police force. Their duties were incorporated into the the Metropolitan Police Service which included Scotland Yard. The only historical inaccuracy is the fact that they never had female runners. Of course, you should all know that the East India Company had its hands in everything and everywhere. Colt Peterson is an actual revolver created by Samuel Colt in the US February 25, 1836 to be exact. It was said to be used in England, France, and the US.*
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