Courier of Death by Cara Devlin - Book Review

Series: Spencer & Reid Mysteries #3 

Publication Date: 14th June 2025 

Genre: Historical Mystery (Dark) 

4.5 Stars 

One Liner: This is going great! 

1884, London 

It has been months since Leonora Spencer discovered the truth of her family’s death. She’s still struggling to cope with it and keeps her distance from Detective Inspector Jasper Reid. However, when a bomb blast outside the police station kills a young constable and a prominent suffragist is accused of the crime, Leo has to step in. 

Jasper has done his best to accept that Leo wanted space. He used this time to focus on his job. But when she begins to interfere in the last case, he is torn between warning her and helping her. 

As Jasper and Leo hunt for clues, they attract the attention of the most dangerous crime syndicate in London and the East End gang. 

The story comes in Leo and Jasper’s third-person POVs. 

My Thoughts: 

After the cliffhanger in the previous book, I knew I had to read this as soon as possible. At the same time, reading this early would mean a long wait for the next one. Sigh! 

As the middle book of the series, this has some fairly important developments. Though there is enough detail provided, I wouldn’t recommend reading this as a standalone. Start with the first book. 

Compared to the previous two, this was a bit slower. However, it doesn’t drag at any point. With two cases and the tussle between the MCs, there’s enough to keep you flipping the pages. 

We get more details about the past, the FMC’s family, and stuff. I like how the delicate balance between their entwined pasts and the present is handled. We can see both their concerns. Neither is wrong, so we’ll be rooting for them. 

As always, the dark side of London, the gang wars, the suffragette movement and the vehement opposition to it, class differences, gender bias, etc., are seamlessly woven into the plot. 

The mysteries are well done with just enough twists for the suspense, but easy enough for readers to guess the culprits. 

The ending is my favorite. After, there’s a good development after waiting all this while. It still ends in a cliffhanger, and there is lots of danger swirling around, but there’s more hope this time. 

To summarize, Courier of Death is a suspenseful and intriguing mystery with danger, threats, gangs, and an intense past looming overhead. The next book will be out in Sep, and I can’t wait to read it! 

Thank you, Book Sirens and the author, for the eARC.