Our
Lady of Pain
Edwardian Murder Mystery Series – Book IV
By M C Beaton / Marion Chesney
Lady
Rose Summer is horrified to see her “fiancé”
Captain Harry Cathcart squiring demi mondaine Dolores Duval around
Town. Her parents instantly demand that the engagement is broken
off, and Rose storms round to Dolores’ home to tell her what
she thinks of her. But somebody has got there first, and Dolores
is lying dead…trouble is, when the police arrive it is to
see Rose standing over the body with the murder weapon! It is up
to Harry to keep Rose out of the law courts – and the condemned
cell – and discover whodunit.
This is the last of the Edwardian quartet, and I find myself hoping
that a few more might possibly be in the offing. After a somewhat
shaky start this series is well into its stride, with a lively,
tortuous plot that has the detectives chasing all over the place
and various surprises. As with the other books Ms Beaton has done
her homework about the period and there is plenty of humor about
class distinctions, as well as the battle of the sexes. We find
out even more about some of the characters, although this is perhaps
the weakest part of this series as none of the characters are as
well fleshed out as even some of the minor ones in her better known
series. Rose is no Agatha or even Priscilla, and Harry remains elusive
to the end. This aside, there is plenty to enjoy in such a well-packed
thin volume of a book and the plot helps to make up for the lack
of three-dimensional people. Give the series a few more entries
and it would be interesting to see how it develops.
|
The
Book |
Robinson (Constable and Robinson) |
September 2010 |
Paperback |
184901292X / 9781849012928 |
Historical Mystery /Edwardian /London and environs |
More at Amazon US
|| UK |
Excerpt |
NOTE: US edition is different, and listed under Marion Chesney
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The
Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed
2010 |
NOTE:
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