Captain Lacey Books In Order

Publication Order of Captain Lacey Mysteries Books

Captain Lacey is the main character in a series of historical mystery books written by an American author of mystery & thrillers, romance and historical novels, Ashley Gardner. In the series, Lacey is a retired cavalry officer in Regency-era London, England.

Ashley Gardner is the pseudonym used by award-winning and New York Times bestselling author, Jennifer Ashley. Gardner began the publication of Captain Lacey series in 2003 when The Hanover Square Affair the first book in the series was published. Over a dozen novels have been released, and the series is currently ongoing.

Hanover Square Affair

Hanover Square Affair is the debut novel in Captain Lacey series. The series takes place post-Waterloo where Napoleon meets his downfall. The story also introduces the readers to Lacey, a retired soldier- he was not present in the battle Waterloo, but he was in the peninsular battle on the Iberian island in Spain.

Lacey tends suffers from a severe depression and has had his struggles in life, both on the battlefield and out of the battlefield. He has been forsaken by virtually every acquaintance or good friend apart from Louisa Brandon.

Louisa Brandon is married to Lacey’s former friend and mentor. It is revealed that Lacey and Brandon had a falling out- that resulted in Brandon sending Lacey on a mission that should have killed. However, this mission led in Lacey getting lamed, permanently damaging his left knee.

In response, the military decided that rather than involving court-martial and other procedures, this scandal would cause much to Brandon, Lacey, and Louisa. Moreover, as a result, both Lacey and Brandon were forced by the military to sell their commissions. Brandon has his full income while his friend Lacey gets his half pay, but the enmity between the two is far from over. Louisa is determined to remain Lacey’s best friend forever, and she is the only person that can draw Lacey out of his severe depression.

While Louisa and Lacey maintain a causal relationship, Brandon suspects that the two have been having an affair- he cannot stop his jealousy and anger from continually getting in the way. In the meantime, Lacey is still very mad at Brandon for betraying him.

In this debut novel, Lacey makes a friend in Lucius Grenville, one of the town’s darlings. Grenville is rich; he is respected and has taken an interest in Lacey- he likes Lacey’s strong sense of humor and longs for some adventure with him. On the other hand, Lacey wants a purpose in life, and hence the two make a brilliant partnership in this novel.

Later Lacey stumbles upon a conflict; he comes across an angry mob claiming that the owner of a shattered townhome had stolen something precious from an old gray-haired man. Five cavalry guards are guarding the home, but they treat the senior man meanly, and one of them shoots the old man in the back. Lacey immediately realizes that he is familiar with some of these men- one he had saved but instead of being grateful to Lacey, the man still resents him.

Lacey rescues the old man together with his wife- and escorts them home, listens to their side of the story of how their daughter Jane and a maid Aimee were kidnapped. The old couple believes that the man they were after has the two girls. Lacey soon investigates, and his inquiry leads him to a man with vulgar tastes, a man capable of abusing the two girls.

Lacey self-appointed mission leads him to investigate what happened to both Aimee and Jane. His mission will see him into the dark tunnels of London underground where killing is next to a hobby and to survive; he will have to rely on the skills acquired during his military days.

The first book in the series is quite dark; it is narrated from the first-person perspective from the eyes of Captain Lacey. Thanks to the first person narration that the readers get to know that he is tragic and also get to know what happened to him in his life. The mystery in the novel is engaging and at the same time sad.

Lacey is a complex character with lots of problems, he is emotionally flat and has a backstory that begs to tell.

A Regimental Murder

Captain Lacey makes a comeback after his debut in The Hanover Square Affair- in a darker mystery that surrounds who murdered an English Officer during the Peninsular War with Napoleon.

One late night, Lacey meets a charming but tragic stricken woman who intends to commits suicide by throwing herself off the bridge. He follows the woman, and while trying to prevent the lady from committing suicide, he finds himself fighting a street thief approached the woman.

Scared, the woman refuses to tell her savior, Lacey her name or where her home is, and without any other alternative, he takes the woman to his house. He offers her his bed and is soon captured by her beauty and her sorrowful eyes.

Lacey has had enough of being accused by his former mentor Brandon that he has been having an affair with his wife-and to justify to Brandon that nothing intimate ever happened between him and Brandon’s wife, Lacey wants the strange woman in his home, but must first ensure that he has an approved path first.

The next morning, Brandon bumps into Lacey’s house, and his suspicions are soon confirmed. The woman is Lydia Westin, the wife of Colonel Westin. Westin had died few days before he would be arrested for the murder of an English officer named Spencer.

Lydia begs Lacey to assist her to clear her husband’s name, she is sure that her husband could not have killed Spencer, but she suspects other three officers who were present. She also believes that her husband’s death was not accidental and that he was murdered.

Willing to help the woman he has come to love, Lacey once again enlists the help of his friend Grenville, and this marks the start of an unending adventure for the two.

A Regimental Murder is a brilliant series installment. There is a lot of loss, pain, and deception in the story; it is the unforgiving kind that tears lives and people apart. If you like historical mystery novels, then Captain Lacey series by Ashley Gardner is a series worth your time reading.