"Murder at the Serpentine Bridge" by Andrea Penrose

Did I worry that, when the two main characters of the Wrexford and Sloane Historical Mystery series got married, the books might take a, shall we say, salacious turn?  I did.  But, they didn't!  Yes, there are a few on-page kisses, and a brief mention of enjoying the pleasures of the marital bed, but that's it.  Whew.  This series continues to be a delight!  My only sorrow regarding it is that my library doesn't have the next couple of books in the series!  Boo!  But, honestly, I have been considering buying copies of the series for myself.  I know I'm going to want to reread them!  And I don't want to trust the library not to get rid of them when they decide they aren't popular enough to keep on their shelves, as that has happened several times with mystery series I enjoy :-(

In Murder at the Serpentine Bridge, a brilliant inventor is murdered, his body dumped in the river.  He was working on a secret, dangerous project, and his plans for it are nowhere to be found.  The Earl of Wrexford and his wife, Lady Charlotte, become increasingly involved when they take the inventor's orphaned nephew under their care.  Their adopted sons, Hawk and Raven, befriend the lonely boy and nickname him Falcon.

Falcon inherited a title and property from his late father, but is not of age to manage his inheritance, and he has another uncle, his father's brother, who is supposed to be managing his estate.  But that uncle resents Falcon for a variety of reasons, not least because Falcon is a "quadroon," one quarter black and three quarters white.  His inventor uncle was Falcon's mother's brother, half black himself, but highly respected by most in England's scientific circles. 

The inventor's murder is not race-related, but greed-related, as unscrupulous bad guys want to sell off his plans for his dangerous invention to the highest bidder, no matter whether or not the highest bidder is an enemy of England's.  But the varying attitudes of Regency England toward black people do come into play.  As usual, Penrose includes actual historical events in her book, and there is a note at the back explaining which events are real, and which characters are inspired by or based on real people.  Because I love learning about history, I always appreciate that aspect of these books very much.

Particularly Good Bits: 

"None of us can sail a ship alone.  We need friends aboard to help us steady the keel and keep a firm hand on the tiller when the weather turns rough" (p. 173).

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for murder, children in grave danger, brief on-page kisses, and the aforementioned sentence in which Lady Charlotte thinks about having enjoyed her bedroom activities with her first husband, but not so much as with her second.  The line is as vague as my description of it.