Murder at the Lunatics Ball by R.S. Leonard

Book Blurb
A Victorian asylum. A woman imprisoned. A deadly secret.

England, 1875. London journalist, Harris Mortimer, visits a Hampshire lunatic asylum to investigate society’s treatment of the insane, only to find himself in a fateful encounter with a beautiful woman claiming to be wrongly incarcerated.

Horrified by a series of murders, he soon becomes drawn into the strange world of the asylum and begins to wonder who is truly mad and who is sane.

Back in London, Harris meets Nancy Carter, a young woman striving to become a music hall star. Nancy’s shocking act, based on madness and murder, has uncanny parallels with Harris’s recent experiences in Hampshire.

Is it all just a coincidence? To what lengths will one person go to exact their revenge?

As the fates of Harris and Nancy intertwine, they are about to discover the terrible consequences of uncovering the truth.

My Review
The tile itself is enough to make you want to read this book and then add in the beautiful cover and the fascinating book blurb an it’s a no brainer. I was very lucky to be invited to be part of the blog tour by Anne Cater at Random Things Tours and I’m so gld I was as I might never have got to read this wonderful book.

The Lunatics’ Ball is a fascinating mix of murder, mystery, intrigue and the Victorian obsession with madness, and what constitutes as madness. Set in 1875 the first part of the book is set in a lunatic asylum, the perfect and claustrophobic setting for murder and intrigue. There are of course the patients with different diagnosis, as well as the staff so the murderer has to be in the asylum. Through the eyes of journalist Harris Mortimer, we see the best and the worst of life in the asylum, from having balls as entertainment to the dormatries and treatments that are questionable today to say the least.

Harris Mortimer is an intersting character, his mother died in an asylum when he was a child, so visiting one was difficult for him. The Medical Superintendent was the best friend of his late father which helps him with his article and makes him feel more comfortable and is a link back to his parents. I’m not going to say anything about the murders or the murderer as this is an intricle part of the first half of the book. His journey after his time writing about the asylum is just as interesting to follow, if not more so, and I was captivated in watching the consequences of that time.

The other central character is Titania Rosseti as she is known at the beginnning of the book, and Nan Carter from the second part. She makes a huge impression on Harris Mortimor as she insists she is not meant to be in the asylum, and he vows to help her. I loved the mystery around Nan, she is telling the truth about her not meant to be there but why would anyone want to be admitted an asylum? All we know is that it was something to do with her past. In the second part of the book we follow her as she becomes a singer in the music halls of London, and getting a lot of attention.

R.S. Leonard is a natural storyteller taking the reader on a journey with the characters. The setting of the asylum is brilliant, a place where anyone could be a murderer in truth. She has obviously done a lot of research into the Victorian interest in madness and what they feel constitutes madness. It is both socking and fascinating to see some of the thoughts of that period, of madness in women being associated with sexuality, and that maybe taking away the enjoyment if sex maybe an answer. One if the main feelings it that women are either ornamental of useful and when that stops there is no point in them. The secret of Nan is held onto until the very end of the book, although there are breadcrumbs to follow that give clues. The unease, suspision and mystery builds throughout the book and kept my attention throughout, and I have to say it was brilliantly done.

I am so glad that I joined the blog tour for Murder at the Lunatics’ Ball because it meant I could read this amazing book that otherwise I may not have come across. R.S. Leonard has captured the atmosphere of this period in Victorian England, the obsession of madness, the treatment of women and the hustle and bustle of London and of the music halls. This really is a gripping and captivating read that I highly recommend, I think it will be one of my favourite books of the year. I am now going to find R.S. Leonards previous book to add to my never ending TBR pile.