Murder in Regent's Park (2015) by Christina Koning: The Blind Detective series

👨‍🦯I can't believe that I haven't heard about this Blind Detective series until very lately, where have I been?? Anyway, a blind detective is an awesome idea for a cozy mystery, and Christina Koning did a marvelous job at drawing the character of Frederick Rowlands, our blind amateur sleuth. He was blinded after the war (the story is set in 1922), and lives in the countryside of Kent, trying his hands at farming. Not very successfully, it seems, when an old friend, Chief Inspector Douglas, offered him a temporary job as his assistance. A murder has been committed to a girl (a dancer) in London, and the killer left a playing card near the body. It was a braille playing card, and that's why Rowlands enters into the scene. The Chief Inspector wants him to blend in with men with the same predicament (blind, that is) to locate their (presumably blind) murderer.

👨‍🦯 And so, Rowlands is back into the whirlwind of London, and particularly to St Dunstan's Institute for the Blind, where Rowlands had been one of the inmates for years. Rowlands suggested that the Institute arranges a reunion party, and he and his wife Edith help with the preparation. I loved Edith Rowlands, here's an exemplary sensible, wise, and intelligent woman, who is so supportive of her husband. Meanwhile, more murders of young girls took place, and a new similarity was found: they were all lured by an advertisement to get a job as a painter's model. And so, there's another possibility that the murderer is an artist. But which one is true? Since a blind man could not have been a painter, right? But since Rowlands and the police had zero clue, they follow up both lines. 👨‍🦯 This new line of inquiry brought Rowlands' interest to the artistic world; one of these is his old flame - which spiced up the story a little! ;) Rowlands even agreed to sit as model to a painter, who's one of his suspects. I also liked this painter character; and from the start wished that he's not the murderer... And so, we are brought from the blind institute, to house parties of influential personages, to art gallery, and of course to the slum district of London where Rowlands interviewed some of the murdered girls' acquaintances. His blindness is almost no hindrance for Rowlands as he has been used to rely more and more on his other senses. Still, it doesn't guarantee him out of danger, as he is getting nearer to the truth. 👨‍🦯 All in all, this has become my new favorite murder-mystery series! I love the premise of a blind detective, it makes him more interesting to read. And I also love Fred and Edith Rowlands, though the Chief Inspector is quite an annoying person - he's rather a bully and a snob. The mystery itself is highly entertaining, a combination of whodunnit with a bit of thrilling action near the end. The art side added another charm to the story. But the factor which I admired most from Christina Koning is how she writes about the bygone era of 1930s so smoothly, I almost forgot that she wrote it in the 2010! It's a delightful read on every level. Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026 hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook