Dark Waters, Blake - B -

                                              This is another novel in the series about 18th century English coroner, Titus Cragg and his side-kick, Dr. Luke Fidelis. The fun is not just the crime solving- here a man drowned overnight in a salmon trap on the local river,-but, also the background story. Here the town of Preston is in the midst of a very serious event, a Parliamentary election. It's Whigs vs. Tory's at a time where there were no rules and, as I had forgotten, Catholics did not have the vote.  A second death, a possible poisoning, appears to be part of the electoral process. The victim was a 'tally', someone who led others to the polls. Elections then were about as civilized, thoughtful and honest as they are today. As it turns out, good old-fashioned greed was behind the murder, and Titus' considered analysis was behind the solution.