The Hanover Square Affair

By: Ashley Gardner, Jennifer Ashley

Narrated by: James Gillies

Length: 7 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

London, 1816

Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he struggles with his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.

Book 1 of the Captain Lacey Regency Mysteries. This is a full-length novel.

©2003, 2011 Jennifer Ashley (P)2014 Jennifer Ashley

Regency Reality

A surprisingly interesting Regency novel, giving a more real picture of life in the times of the Prince Regent. No frothy filmy muslins here. Kept my interest right through. I was expecting a poor imitation of a Georgette Heyer Regency book ( I am a fan of Heyer) but was pleasantly surprised by the gutsy narrative and narrator. Good performance too.

21 people found this helpful

Really enjoying this series-get the rest please!

What made the experience of listening to The Hanover Square Affair the most enjoyable?

I listen to audio books every chance I get. The narrator was great and the plot and characters kept me listening well into the night.

What did you like best about this story?

I loved finding an historical mystery series that has interesting characters, an intriguing story, and moderate romance. I devoured the first three audio books and hope audible releases the other six soon; plus there's a tenth book due out in 2015 . In the meantime, I've downloaded the nine that are available on Kindle.

What about James Gillies’s performance did you like?

He did a great job bringing the characters and the story to life for me. I hope he continues to narrate the rest of the audio books in this series.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Any book that keeps me listening well into the night to find out what's going to happen next is a real gem for me.

Any additional comments?

Because I liked this series so much, I've checked audible for similar books and am now happily listening to the Sebastian St. Cyr series by Ashley Gardner.

17 people found this helpful

Another damaged but honorable man solving crimes

This is the first in an ongoing series of Regency mysteries with very engaging characters and enough period detail to put you in the era. I've read all the books in the series in print, so I was eager to hear how the reader brought it all to life. James Gillies does a good job of rendering both Captain Lacy and the overall tenor of the story.

Captain Lacy is a compelling personality and each book in the series provides a particular mystery that he endeavors to solve while it also reveals a bit more about the man and his past. There is a complexity to the community in which he lives and investigates, the seeds of which can be found in this first book. There are various side characters from all walks of life with whom Lacy develops a relationship and they develop gradually over the course of the books, so that we meet and learn more about a full compliment of characters over time.

I highly recommend this series and hope Audible acquires the rest of the books as they become available.

21 people found this helpful

Sex Trafficking story may not be for everyone

I wasn't able to finish the book. The author and narrator were fine, but the story was just too dark and detailed for me. For those who like dark mysteries and aren't bothered by details of the subject matter, this is a fine book. For those who like the mystery part but may have trouble with the details of sex trafficking, you may wish to seek out a different story.

9 people found this helpful

The whole package

Accurate Lindon setting, well developed characters, flawed hero. His mystery is smart and captivating. I'm so glad to have found the Hanover Square Affair. The audible version is excellently presented.

9 people found this helpful

Great historical mystery

This is my first Ashley Gardner mystery. Really enjoyed how the author slowly peeled back the complicated layers of Captain Lacey. Look forward to continuing the series.

6 people found this helpful

Loved this book!

What did you love best about The Hanover Square Affair?

I loved the story and the characters. I loved the happy not so happy "real life " ending.
Well worth the credit if you love historical pieces.

6 people found this helpful

Good attention keeper<br /> <br />

Love the book. loved the narrator more.
Book is a keeper really enjoyed it.
Great story line Keeps your interest.

3 people found this helpful

I wanted to like this

What would have made The Hanover Square Affair better?

Better characters.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Ken Follett's EDGE OF ETERNITY. Already downloaded.

Which character – as performed by James Gillies – was your favorite?

Hard to say because I thought all the characters weak. As far as performance goes, it was all done well.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

I really wanted to like this book. I enjoy Jennifer Ashley's Mackenzie series and I assumed this would be of equal quality. But none of the characters were especially appealing and the story was very dark.

8 people found this helpful

Sorry I purchased this book

Not interested in books that contain explicit sex. Didn't like the protagonist, either. All in all, quite a negative experience. I'll not be purchasing any more books by this author.

18 people found this helpful

Excellent Narrator

Easy and enjoyable listen, not badly written but an excellent narrator who makes the most of the text in front of him. Each character is easy to spot from the tone, accents and dialects used by the narrator...

2 people found this helpful

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

This is the first of a series of Captain Lacey mysteries so we have the back story as well as the mysteries to be solved. The story is a little slow, but is well told and interesting enough to make me want to know what happens next and "who dunnit".

I think that despite my hesitation I will buy the next book as the characters have been established and I am interested enough to want to know how they will be developed in the next book.

2 people found this helpful

The Hanover square affair

I recommend this book.
The story is an easy listen
Keeps you curious enough to find out how the plot unfolds
A good first in this series of books.
I'll be listening to the next one very soon.

Captain Lacey mysteries

I thoroughly enjoyed this book the first I've listened to by Jennifer ashle y will be listening to more of them a really different and exciting way of writing a detective story would highly recommend it