Book Review for The Lady in the Cellar

The Lady in the Cellar
By:  Sinclair McGay
Quarto Publishing Group -  White Lion Publishing
4 Stars

By 1879 in London there were 14,000 homes that were licensed to rent rooms to lodgers.  The house at 4 Easton Square was one of those homes.  From the outside it looked like a reputable boarding house.  Inside, however, it was teeming with secrets.  One of those secrets was revealed on May 8th, 1879 when the family’s errand boy went down to the cellar to make room for a coal drop.  There he discovered a foot bone, and eventually a whole body was discovered.  The bones were found to be those of a former boarder, Matilda Hacker.  Scotland Yard was called in to try and solve the mystery.

This true crime mystery book was very captivating.  We are led through the murder mystery facts that were uncovered during research, and to a certain extent the author’s interpretations of them.  It was interesting to read about the techniques that the Victorian Era Scotland Yard detectives used to solve crimes.

I found myself absorbed in the plot and connected to the main participants.  The two main “sides” seemed to provide convincing arguments that the other committed the crime.  This isn’t a happy tale, and it was sad to see how the different real life people suffered because of this murder.  I found myself constantly pondering who committed the crime.  A crime the author does a superior job of telling.  This story will keep you entranced all the way to the end.  I think anyone who enjoys true crime mysteries will enjoy this book.

Thanks to Net Galley & Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion Publishing for an ARC of this book.  #NetGalley #TheLadyInTheCellar