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Simon Pearce Mysteries #2
A Case of Curses
Victorian London is a dangerous place — for a gay man, even more so. And for a gifted copper working his way up the greasy career ladder of Scotland Yard, it’s a perilous position indeed. Constable Pearce keeps his head down, his eyes open, and his private life private. But when a special case brings his private and professional lives together in a spectacular collision, Pearce must put the pieces of those lives back together, one by one. Two new tales of mystery and adventure.
118 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 7, 2019
15 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Jess Faraday
29 books112 followersJess Faraday is the author of the award-winning Ira Adler historical mysteries, the standalone steampunk adventure The Left Hand of Justice and a number of historical adventures in short story and novella form.
Her novella, The Strange Case of the Big Sur Benefactor, won a Rainbow Award for Lesbian Historical. Fool's Gold won a Rainbow Award for Best Gay Historical, and was a runner-up for Best Gay Novel. Turnbull House was a runner-up for Best Gay Historical, and The Affair of the Porcelain Dog was both a Lambda Awards finalist, and won Honorable Mention for Best Novel of the Year from Speak Its Name.
She has edited several award-winning short story collections for Elm Books, including Death and a Cup of Tea (one of Foreword Review's top Indie mysteries of 2015), Undeath and the Detective (Finalist for a Silver Falchion Award for Best Multi-Author Anthology), and Fae Love, which won an Aspen Gold Reader's Choice Award.
You can read more about Jess and her books at http://www.jessfaraday.com
Her novella, The Strange Case of the Big Sur Benefactor, won a Rainbow Award for Lesbian Historical. Fool's Gold won a Rainbow Award for Best Gay Historical, and was a runner-up for Best Gay Novel. Turnbull House was a runner-up for Best Gay Historical, and The Affair of the Porcelain Dog was both a Lambda Awards finalist, and won Honorable Mention for Best Novel of the Year from Speak Its Name.
She has edited several award-winning short story collections for Elm Books, including Death and a Cup of Tea (one of Foreword Review's top Indie mysteries of 2015), Undeath and the Detective (Finalist for a Silver Falchion Award for Best Multi-Author Anthology), and Fae Love, which won an Aspen Gold Reader's Choice Award.
You can read more about Jess and her books at http://www.jessfaraday.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 26, 2021
The two stories in this volume are better than the first, I think. They're not exactly spectacular as mysteries or anything, the appeal is really Simon navigating them as a gay man, and with a relationship now, for the first time in his life, even if it isn't quite formalized. The ending of this volume though... ugh. Can't stop there. Will continue with volume 3 directly.
December 26, 2021
The second book even better the the first one, I like that the author plays with the usual British detective topics (every detective needs a case with a big black dog or an Egyptian mummy). And the personal story develops as well, you'll get a cliffhanger at the end.
June 25, 2020
This series keeps getting better ... my interest and attention is definitely caught and I want to know what happens next to Simon Pearce. Our MC remains in Edinburgh for the two tales found in this installment. Good because Simon still gets to hang around Cal and develop his relational skills .
April 3, 2021
oh my god simon makes such bad choices i almost gave up on the series here!! I'm glad i stuck through it though! The rest more than make up for it! Honey, we've all been there, rock bottom making bad decision after bad decision in a self-destructive tailspin!
November 9, 2020
3.5 stars
July 4, 2020
Oh dear Simon what have you done?
A chance at a promotion and a lover and you are on the train back to London.
I am enjoying these little snapshots of some of Simons cases and his life as he teies to navigate through Victorian Britain.
A chance at a promotion and a lover and you are on the train back to London.
I am enjoying these little snapshots of some of Simons cases and his life as he teies to navigate through Victorian Britain.
April 5, 2020
Two outstanding stories that add depth and poignancy to the Pearce mysteries
In her Simon Pearce mysteries, Faraday takes us back to a time when, despite scientific and technological advances, people invested time, money and belief in the reality of ghosts, curses, and the arcane - or tried to take advantage of the punters who did. With a mind driven to the discovery of patterns and resolving discrepancies, Constable Simon Pearce of Scotland Yard, currently seconded to the Edinburgh police, can't help but pick apart the mysteries of life, as long as they don't involve his heart. In this second novella of four, the author brings us two more mysteries, one a case is seance and inheritance, and the other a museum romp of Egyptian artifacts and start-crossed lovers. Along the way, the feelings between Simon and medical student Callum Webster grow beyond sex to something more.
And as the two young men's affections for each other grow, they reveal an inner capacity for jealousy and possessiveness in Simon that startles him. For his part, Callum bristles when Simon tries to protect or shelter him, an ingrained behavior on Simon's part because that's what cops are supposed to do. Callum is a natural extrovert, a socializer who makes friends easily, while Simon lives in his head. Will they be able to make it as a couple in the moral bankruptcy of Victorian era values?
In the second mystery, Faraday uses an exhibition of the mummies of a fictional Egyptian Prince, Sethotep, and his "long time companion," Nefer-mery, as the reason for a well done, classic murder-at-the-museum plot. This echoes a real-life representation, from the Fifth Dynasty, of two male Egyptian royal servants, buried together at Saqqara, whose names were Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum... They are identified in their shared tomb as "royal confidants." Unique in what we know of Egyptian visual art, there has been considerable debate about whether they are history's earliest depicted same-sex couple. I imagine it all comes down to what one is inclined to believe, although for some skeptics (here and in other historical cases, e.g. Alexander and Hephaestion) standards of evidence are set so high one wonders whether a DNA semen trail would be sufficient. For what it's worth, in the case of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, the pair are represented using the same visual conventions as those used for married, heterosexual couples in Egyptian art.
Finally, a minor star in these stories, at least for me, is "Officer" Hamish, nes Hades, the huge Rottweiler-esque hound from the first novella, who gets to stretch his paws in this one. I'm definitely a fan.
In the end, there's a melancholy note to this second Pearce novella that shifts it from being a crime adventure to something more poignant. Perhaps sadness and regret create an empty emotional space in the place of too much feeling and too much routine, a space for glimpsing beauty and what one's values really are. Whether Pearce can grow from loss and doubt, or instead self-destruct, we'll see in the third novella.
In her Simon Pearce mysteries, Faraday takes us back to a time when, despite scientific and technological advances, people invested time, money and belief in the reality of ghosts, curses, and the arcane - or tried to take advantage of the punters who did. With a mind driven to the discovery of patterns and resolving discrepancies, Constable Simon Pearce of Scotland Yard, currently seconded to the Edinburgh police, can't help but pick apart the mysteries of life, as long as they don't involve his heart. In this second novella of four, the author brings us two more mysteries, one a case is seance and inheritance, and the other a museum romp of Egyptian artifacts and start-crossed lovers. Along the way, the feelings between Simon and medical student Callum Webster grow beyond sex to something more.
And as the two young men's affections for each other grow, they reveal an inner capacity for jealousy and possessiveness in Simon that startles him. For his part, Callum bristles when Simon tries to protect or shelter him, an ingrained behavior on Simon's part because that's what cops are supposed to do. Callum is a natural extrovert, a socializer who makes friends easily, while Simon lives in his head. Will they be able to make it as a couple in the moral bankruptcy of Victorian era values?
In the second mystery, Faraday uses an exhibition of the mummies of a fictional Egyptian Prince, Sethotep, and his "long time companion," Nefer-mery, as the reason for a well done, classic murder-at-the-museum plot. This echoes a real-life representation, from the Fifth Dynasty, of two male Egyptian royal servants, buried together at Saqqara, whose names were Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum... They are identified in their shared tomb as "royal confidants." Unique in what we know of Egyptian visual art, there has been considerable debate about whether they are history's earliest depicted same-sex couple. I imagine it all comes down to what one is inclined to believe, although for some skeptics (here and in other historical cases, e.g. Alexander and Hephaestion) standards of evidence are set so high one wonders whether a DNA semen trail would be sufficient. For what it's worth, in the case of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, the pair are represented using the same visual conventions as those used for married, heterosexual couples in Egyptian art.
Finally, a minor star in these stories, at least for me, is "Officer" Hamish, nes Hades, the huge Rottweiler-esque hound from the first novella, who gets to stretch his paws in this one. I'm definitely a fan.
In the end, there's a melancholy note to this second Pearce novella that shifts it from being a crime adventure to something more poignant. Perhaps sadness and regret create an empty emotional space in the place of too much feeling and too much routine, a space for glimpsing beauty and what one's values really are. Whether Pearce can grow from loss and doubt, or instead self-destruct, we'll see in the third novella.
April 10, 2024
A short and enjoyable read
I am enjoying this series for insight into the early days of the London and Edinburgh police force. The historical context of two rapidly growing cities and insight into being homosexual or woman during this period is interesting. As for the crimes , they appear simple but touch on the verge heart of human nature. Our leading protagonist is clever as he is flawed. Better at investigating than navigating personal relationships but then society has made it hard for him to work on these skills.
Straightforward and thoughtful writing.
I am enjoying this series for insight into the early days of the London and Edinburgh police force. The historical context of two rapidly growing cities and insight into being homosexual or woman during this period is interesting. As for the crimes , they appear simple but touch on the verge heart of human nature. Our leading protagonist is clever as he is flawed. Better at investigating than navigating personal relationships but then society has made it hard for him to work on these skills.
Straightforward and thoughtful writing.
July 23, 2020
Simon's adventures un Edinburgh continue !
Loved this follow up in the interesting life of Simon Pearce, Constable of Scotland yard. He is still stuck in Edinburgh, solving mysteries and becoming more intimate with Callum, the medical student.
The two mysteries are good, both are different and gives a shoet workout to the brain. A really good series ...these short stories in their historical setting are just perfect.
Loved this follow up in the interesting life of Simon Pearce, Constable of Scotland yard. He is still stuck in Edinburgh, solving mysteries and becoming more intimate with Callum, the medical student.
The two mysteries are good, both are different and gives a shoet workout to the brain. A really good series ...these short stories in their historical setting are just perfect.
April 23, 2020
Excellent mystery
I like that we get a glimpse into the minds of each character. The world building is great. Love between same sex couples was so very difficult during this time period.
I like that we get a glimpse into the minds of each character. The world building is great. Love between same sex couples was so very difficult during this time period.
Read
October 28, 2021Changed to this edition, containing all four volumes:
Shadow of Justice
(Simon Pearce Mysteries #1-4)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
Shadow of Justice
(Simon Pearce Mysteries #1-4)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...
August 13, 2022
This was an easy read! I enjoy these cozy mysteries! I will definitely continue with the series!
That ending though - cliffhanger just a bit...I like Drummond and the hound, lol. :)
That ending though - cliffhanger just a bit...I like Drummond and the hound, lol. :)
November 24, 2019
Wonderful Again
This is the second installment of two short novellas and they are part of a series I gobbled up instantly. Simon Pearce is a perfectly drawn closeted Victorian who is an almost accidental constable but in truth a remarkably prescient and sensible detective.
Rather than go into the details of this one, I will simply recommend that you get each one of them in order and experience one of the most charming, cheeky and in the end, cherishing characters you are quite likely to have come across in the late 1800 Victorian era. Cheers!
This is the second installment of two short novellas and they are part of a series I gobbled up instantly. Simon Pearce is a perfectly drawn closeted Victorian who is an almost accidental constable but in truth a remarkably prescient and sensible detective.
Rather than go into the details of this one, I will simply recommend that you get each one of them in order and experience one of the most charming, cheeky and in the end, cherishing characters you are quite likely to have come across in the late 1800 Victorian era. Cheers!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews