DEATHWATCH

A worthy third adventure (Death of an Honorable Member) for shrewd, down-to-earth Sergeant Bragg and aristocratic young aide James Morton, of the London City Police, circa 1890. An undercover policeman investigating labor unrest has been gruesomely murdered. In the midst of efforts to get a handle on the crime, Bragg is feeling hamstrung by government security officials--and then he's arrested for attempted rape in an obvious frame-up. Morton, now in charge under his mentor's direction, has a second murder to contend with, but still he finds time to entertain Cambridge fellow-student Karl and fall in love with Karl's luscious cousin Helga, both visiting from Germany. Various red herrings confront our duo, but when Bragg, out on bail and following an obscure lead, gets an undercover job in a casting factory, the pieces start to fall into place and a complex plot develops, involving much more than labor troubles, ending in a frantic balloon chase and the rescue of feisty reporter Catherine Marsden. Rich and varied in plot, characters and ambiance, polished and literate in style, Harrison continues to delight the discerning reader.