The Sudbury School Murders
While Captain Lacey is working undercover looking into a series of pranks at a school in Berkshire, the body of the head groom at the school is found floating in a nearby canal. One of the stable boys is arrested but Lacey happens to know the head groom had connections to the London underworld, so he decides to dig deeper.

This was at the same time the best of the series so far and the worst. The best with regard to an exciting story that left me quite anxious for one character and some interesting developments in the relationships between the characters. Unfortunately it was also one where the author had not been paying so much attention to making the characters' vocabulary period-appropriate.

A Body in Berkeley Square
When a body is found at a society ball, Lacey's former colonel confesses to the murder and says it was because of the victim's offensive behaviour to the colonel's mistress. Lacey is not convinced and decides to uncover the truth.

Some interesting twists and turns but again some linguistic slips.

A Covent Garden Mystery
Denis arranges for Lacey's wife and daughter to come to London together with the wife's new partner. Family drama ensues until Gabriella goes missing at a time when Lacey is investigating why game girls are going missing. Now the investigation gets personal.

Interesting to get more of Lacey's back story and the relationships between the characters are advanced but the mystery itself seems just an excuse to show that everybody loves Lacey. ( )

It was enjoyable to read the second Captain Lacey book right after the first. The plots are very different, but the main characters get fleshed out some more. Lacey himself is rather rash and hot-tempered, but it was still easy for me to feel for him.

P.S. Despite the covers, these aren't simply romance books and there isn't graphic sex. The character development, sleuthing, and historical setting are all more important elements than the romance. (That, however, may change as the series continues.)