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And that was the problem: it seemed that there were two Harriets. There was the one her friends - a fellow teacher, her would-be lover, her seducer and the man who was her landlord but who was also her lover - knew. Some spoke of her as kindly, virtuous and pious, but that was before her body was found in the privy behind the chapel which she regularly attended in Bromley. She'd been poisoned - or had taken her own life, as some would prefer. After the inquest was opened another Harriet would emerge, one who was about six months pregnant and who had obviously not been living the chaste life expected of a young, unmarried woman in 1843.

I've always been impressed by the way that Haynes has us straight into the story in her police procedurals: ''The Murder of Harriet Monkton'' has more of a slow-burn start. Relax: take time to get to know the characters and appreciate the fact that they're exquisitely drawn as there's no shortage of people who might have wanted Harriet dead. There's Frances Williams, the schoolteacher. Harriet regarded her as a friend, but Frances' feelings were rather stronger: if that became public knowledge her position as a schoolteacher would be in danger. The Reverend George Verrall appeared pious and virtuous, but his particular method of inspiring the holy spirit to enter his body would not have been appreciated by his parishioners should the facts become known. Thomas Churcher, a shoemaker, was apparently spoken for, but he'd given his heart to Harriet - the one person who didn't think that he was slow witted. Richard Field had been Harriet's landlord, but he'd seduced her when he'd already given his heart to another woman. Who murdered Harriet, and who was the father of her unborn child?