Jacqueline Jacques

This story opens up in 1897 in a rural area near London, in the middle of a crime taking place … one that will end the life of Jeremiah Fitzell, an elderly man, who was viewing his collection of hundreds of antiquated porn postcards. It was the photos that Freddy was seeking. After stabbing Jeremiah, he virtually ripped the box out of the dead man’s hands. Having eyed something suspicious, Constable Tomkins was waiting for the burglar to make his escape. But Freddy took care of him too, leaving him for dead. Tomkins doesn’t die though and was able to provide Archie with a rather detailed description of the man. Archie, a sketch artist for the police, was able to draw a very good likeness of the man now wanted for murder.

Then, the reader meets Freddy’s sister, Polly. They couldn’t be any more different. Her family had felt sorry for Freddy when he was only a child and adopted him. They were never able to bring out the good in Freddy, who even now continued to dominate and terrorize Polly. But, Polly is made of much stronger fiber. She can’t be kept down; she’ll continue to fight. Her father had taught them both about photography and it had become Polly’s line of work.

The flow and pacing of this novel were wonderfully done. I loved the hint of romance between Archie and Polly. I enjoyed that Polly continued to be such a strong character knowing how dangerous her brother could be. Early, Freddy is arrested but the story is far from over as he manages to escape during the derailment of his train ride to Chelmford for his trial. Both Archie and Polly are aboard the train. The author is new to me, but I’m quite sure this won’t be the last book I read by Jacqueline Jacques. Illusion of Innocence is a sequel to The Colours of Corruption, but stood on its own quite well. Rating: 4 out of 5.… (más)