A Rare Interest in Corpses — Ann Granger

A classic mystery from “an accomplished veteran . . . [ who] knows her history and relates it with charm in this peek at Victorian morals and foibles” (Kirkus Reviews).
 
It is 1864 when Lizzie Martin takes up the post of lady's companion to a wealthy widow who is also a slum landlord. Lizzie is intrigued to learn that her predecessor as companion had disappeared, supposedly having run off with an unknown man. But when the girl's body is found in the rubble of one of the recently demolished slums around the prestigious new railway station at St Pancras, Lizzie begins to wonder exactly what has been going on. With the help of her childhood friend, Inspector Benjamin Ross, Lizzie begins to investigate, risking her life to unearth the truth about the death of a girl whose fate seems interlinked with her own.
 
“Historical mystery fans will appreciate the great attention Granger pays to period detail as she evokes a suitably gritty nineteenth-century London.” -- Booklist