The year is 1924, and Lieutenant Eric Peterkin, formerly of the Royal Fusiliers, is a new member of the Britannia―London’s most prestigious club. It's a family tradition, but an honor he's not sure he quite deserves. So, when a gentleman's wager ends with one man dead in the vault under the club, Eric is only too ready to tackle the mystery head on.
Eric’s quest to resolve the murder quickly becomes an investigation of a mysterious wartime disappearance. It draws him far from the marbled halls of the Brittania, to the shadowy remains of a dilapidated war hospital to the heroin dens of Limehouse. Eric faces a Matryoshka doll of murder, vice, and secrets pointing not only to the officers of his own club but the very investigator assigned by Scotland Yard.
Threatened with expulsion and dogged by the racist shadows of the Great War, Eric presses on nonetheless. But can he snare the killer before his own membership becomes a thing of yesterday?
Eric Peterkin is the latest Peterkin to be a member of the Britannia Club, a rather exclusive club for those involved in the forces. When a new member joins, and is unwisely dragged into a bet with another member (Wolfe), Peterkin agrees to be the referee, the bet is that Wolfe can break into the vault and then Benson's box within the vault and bring an item to show he has done so, with the bet laid Benson shows Peterkin what is in the box so he can clarify as to whether Wolfe has succeeded or not.
It all seems to be great fun until Benson doesn't arrive at the time to bet has to be completed by, and then Cully (one of the staff and known to all as Old Faithful) and Peterkin discover his very dead body in the vault. With the members of the Britannia closing ranks, the police officer in charge seen by Peterkin to have pocketed evidence and no one being prepared to stand up for Benson, Peterkin takes it upon himself to find out the truth, leading to danger and more death, and possibly either Peterkin being either blackballed from the club, or possibly killed!
A slow and steady read with the occasional frantic interlude, a very good imitation of the authors of the Golden Age of Crime - Huang can set his standard up among them for me!
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