I picked up this volume because I was intrigued by the idea of a mystery centered on a transgender man in Victorian England, when being gay or trans could land you in jail or an insane asylum. I wasn't sure I cared for the book after the first few chapters, but the author's prose drew me in:
The church was a white stone building hidden behind some trees in a half-hearted graveyard where the road divided. From a distance, it resembled a fairy-tale castle, the battlements on its pale tower rendering it even more other-worldly. Close up, it was in as much disrepair as the slums surrounding it, and the faith of the congregants, singing merrily inside, might have been all that was keeping it upright.
Reeve's depiction of an interesting array of not-at-all-stereotypical women kept me further engaged, along with a growing liking for Leo, the protagonist.
Other reviewers more knowledgeable about transgender challenges and experiences have said this book includes as much trans trauma as the author could pack into Leo's story. I'd agree that he suffered too many beatings/assaults for one slim volume. On the other hand, Victorian London at the income level of Leo and his compatriots was a brutal, violent place, and I read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, so I perhaps was less disturbed by the violence than by my introduction to the life of a trans man in a time when such lives were often forfeit.
Leo was born Charlotte, but escaped a life he felt he could not live, donning men's clothing and joining the denizens of London's lower classes. Estranged from his family, Leo's sister is the only person with whom he has reluctantly stayed in contact, and she would be happy to never see her "brother" again. Leo's job as a coroner's assistant at a London hospital comes to a sudden end when the body of a woman is brought in--Leo's lover, a prostitute named Maria.
Leo's pursuit of the murderer reveals Leo's relative still youthful naivete, and his struggle to find his place in a world that would scorn him if his private story were revealed. He believed Maria truly loved him, but soon learned she was whatever was required for each of her paying clients--she lied easily, role-played as necessary, and was a practiced thief and petty criminal. Leo's hunt is both personally degrading, and an eye-opening tour through the world of brothels, abortion dens and human trafficking.
The best thing to emerge from Leo's hunt for a killer is his greater understanding of how women are forced to rely on their own wits and fight for their place in the world, just as he must. His unexpected friendship with Rosie Flowers, the widow of another murder victim whose story is connected with Maria's death, is also a bonus, although as the book ends, that friendship is hanging by a thread.
I have the second volume of this series, and have to say I am actually looking forward to reading more about Leo, but hope the next volume will be less violent and more about detection.