John Rawlings Mysteries: Death At Apothecaries' Hall.

DEATH AT APOTHECARIES' HALL. (John Rawlings Mysteries.) Deryn Lake. 2000. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes. 9 cds. 10.5 hrs. Soundings Audiobooks. 1-84283-928-4. s69.95. Vinyl; plot notes. A

DEATH AT ST, JAMES'S PALACE. (John Rawlings Mysteries.) Deryn Lake. 2002. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes. 9 cds. 9 hrs. ISIS Audio. 184283-696-x. $69.95. Vinyl; plot notes. A

Books six and eight in this historical mystery series pit the apothecary John Rawlings against some surprising murderers. In Death at Apothecaries' Hall Rawlings finds one of his fellow herbalists ill after a banquet and treats the man, feeling he has saved his life. The following day Rawlings is stunned to learn that Liveryman Alleyn has died of poisoning. The cook at the Hall says her ingredients were not tainted. One suspect is the bereaved father of a son who died as a result of a misdiagnosis. Another is a fellow apothecary who visited Alleyn the night he died. Perhaps it's a doctor arrested for spying for France. Subplots concern John's mistress, an actress who wants a career more than marriage. Rawlings traverses London in 1758 in search of the truth.

In Death at St. James's Palace, set in 1761, Rawlings is invited to attend the knighting of the famous "Blind Beak" John Fielding, for whom Rawlings has worked. At the ceremony a nobleman named George Goward tumbles down the grand staircase to his death while almost everyone is craning to get a look at the German princess, Charlotte, newly married to King George III. Ironically, the blind magistrate is the only one who notices any clue, a whispered sentence. Georgian high society provides suspects, including several teens and children.

Narrator Barnes gives these two novels a full-voiced presentation, and his portrayal of women and children is exemplary. Characters are individualized. He puts his audience into the 18th century with a spirited reading. Janet Julian, English Teacher, Grafton, MA