A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang

Christopher Huang, writes a mystery set in a brooding post -War London of 1924. It is the aftermath of World War I- still for most of the Soldiers. Lt. Eric Peterkin is an Officer, who has returned to England, and all the things he loves about it. He associated his Club with all the other Peterkin's who came before him- as well as his Father. He follows a code of honor that dwells on and would be expected by his family. The last place he expected a Murder was at his Club, the Britannia- catering to Gentlemen who fought. Why should the bet from one Officer to a new Member lead to death?

A large cast of Characters, revolve around the Britannia Club, allowing Lt Eric Peterkin quite a bit of scope in solving the mystery.  Then- a body is found buried in the Woods around a former Hospital for wounded, military men. It is that of a female and she died violently. This touch added a gothic moment to the Book which I liked. But this is a case where murder will continue and we can only wonder why.

The half -Chinese Character and his Sister allow for an unusual twist in the 1920's. However, it is the moody quality of the book touching on the scars, internally and externally of the returning men that add depth. Peterkin, is very like his Father, and determinedly carries on through prejudice, lies, interference,and a complex social- system that rules England during that period. I found the story an interesting twist and the strength of it Holmesian. I will continue on with the series and the next adventure. 

Blurb:
he year is 1924. The streets of St. James ring with jazz as Britain races forward into an age of peace and prosperity. London's back alleys, however, are filled with broken soldiers and still shadowed by the lingering horrors of the Great War.

Only a few years removed from the trenches of Flanders himself, Lieutenant Eric Peterkin has just been granted membership in the most prestigious soldiers-only club in London: The Britannia. But when a gentleman's wager ends with a member stabbed to death, the victim's last words echo in the Lieutenant's head: that he would "soon right a great wrong from the past."

Eric is certain that one of his fellow members is the murderer: but who? Captain Mortimer Wolf, the soldier's soldier thrice escaped from German custody? Second Lieutenant Oliver Saxon, the brilliant codebreaker? Or Captain Edward Aldershott, the steely club president whose Savile Row suits hide a frightening collision of mustard gas scars?

Eric's investigation will draw him far from the marbled halls of the Britannia, to the shadowy remains of a dilapidated war hospital and the heroin dens of Limehouse. And as the facade of gentlemenhood cracks, 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.