I enjoy this series not because the mysteries are closely plotted – in fact, the culprits and motives are readily seen early on. What I enjoy is the depiction of late 18th century English life, the characterizations, and the ambiance. This installment, set in the Kent coastal town of Deal, focuses on the “owling trade” or smuggling, and impressed me with the author's ability to depict a very large “cast” with individuality. ( )

Smuggler's moon is the 8th Sir John Fielding mystery and the first that I have read. Sir John is a blind magistrate living in Bow Street, London,in the 1770's, location of the Bow Street Runners founded by Sir John's brother Henry, the previous magistrate. Sir John is asked to investigate a magistrate in Deal in Kent and complains about his complicity with the smugglers. His wife is away so he takes his wards, Jeremy (the narrator) and Clarissa with him. We meet the magistrate in Deal, his wife, the disagreeable Mr. Eccles, customs officer for Kent, Jim Bilbo and several other memorable characters. In addition to his charge, Sir John has to deal with murder and the audacity of the smugglers.

Starting with this book instead of the first was a mistake. There were times I was sure I missed something because I did not know the back story of the main characters. In spite of this, I enjoyed the story and the history behind it. ( )

Reads a bit like a Disney adventure of old. ( )

What an absolute fun read. Having a mystery featuring a real-life historical figure as the person solving the mystery was such a nice change. This is the first of series by Mr. Alexander that I have read and I look forward to reading more of his books. I do read many mysteries and must say that I read this in 3 days. I don't usually write a descriptive review of the books I read because you can read that on the jackets of the books or from looking at most of the reviews on Library Thing. I tend to tell people what I liked or didn't like about a book. This was a well written book with characters that I wanted to get to know better. If you are looking for something just a little different - consider this books. ( )

I received this book in a swap. Since I enjoyed reading it, I've now bought the first book in the series to catch up on all the characters. ( )