Porthos’ servant Mousqueton has been arrested, caught red-handed after killing an armorer who was going to repair his master’s sword.  Or so the Musketeers are told, and if this is so why was Mousqueton found unconscious by the side of the body?  Aramis is convinced that this is part of a larger plot, and the foursome set about investigating the murder before their hapless servant is executed.  But something else happens that makes all this seem of less importance, at least to Athos...

This is a truly delightful series of books for a number of reasons.  Ms D’Almeida has elaborated on what Dumas already started, but has kept the style of writing as much as possible.  The plots are tortuous and compelling, filled with red herrings and insights into the characters and the times in which they lived.  One flaw in all this has to be the writer’s repetition of certain facts about each character, and by book five we already know Porthos has trouble with words, Athos is unbearably noble and Aramis cunning and flirtatious.  Therefore we do not need to be told this over and over—it gets tedious and is unnecessary.  Fortunately this is the only flaw in what is otherwise another excellent story in a series that shows no sign of running out of steam.