Award: Awesome Indies: APPROVED
Categories: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers and Suspense
Series: Dan Foster Mysteries
Author: Lucienne Boyce
Missing treasure. Murder. One ruthless criminal. And one Bow Street Runner determined to stop him. In the winter of 1794 Bow Street Runner and amateur pugilist Dan Foster is assigned to guard a Royal Mail coach. The mission ends in tragedy when a young constable is shot dead by a highwayman calling himself Colonel Pepper. Dan is determined to bring Pepper to justice, but the trail runs cold. Four months later Dan is sent to Staffordshire to recover a recently excavated hoard of Roman gold which has gone missing. Here he unexpectedly encounters Colonel Pepper again. The hunt is back on, and this time Dan will risk his life to bring down Pepper and his gang. 'The Fatal Coin' is a prequel to 'Bloodie Bones', the first Dan Foster Mystery, which was joint winner of the Historical Novel Society Indie Award 2016.
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Reviewed by Awesome Indies
06 December 2017
5 Stars
Going into The Fatal Coin by Lucienne Boyce, I had not read any of the other Dan Foster mysteries and was meeting the character for the first time. I’m happy to say that this appears to be a series where a reader can jump in at any point and quickly catch up to what’s going on. The protagonist is a likable, if rough-around-the-edges, detective who gives as much guff as he gets. Even without having the context which I’m sure the previous installment provided, Dan is the kind of character you will feel like you have met before, if not relate directly to yourself.
The story takes place in 1794 England and the historical atmosphere of the book is another highlight of this work. The author has a gift for painting beautiful set pieces that jump to life in the readers’ imagination – and those who aren’t already well-versed on 18th century England will also learn a few interesting facts. The world in which Dan inhabits complements him perfectly, and it’s easy to imagine him emerging from the fog, ready to engage in fisticuffs with whomever opposes him.
As this is a novella, the book is very digestible, but the author does not sacrifice detail or rush the plot. While the story overall is short and will likely leave you hungry for more, there are other Dan Foster mysteries to satiate you. The adventure we’re taken on reaches a satisfying conclusion while leaving clues for later works, and accomplishes the goal of making you interested in reading of Foster’s other experiences. I give The Fatal Coin 5 stars and recommend it for inclusion in Awesome Indies.