Snobbery With Violence
Edwardian Murder Mystery Series – Book I
By M C Beaton / Marion Chesney
Lady Rose Summer might be the daughter of an Earl, but her involvement
with the Suffragettes has made her unpopular during her London Season.
It is not surprising therefore that her parents jump at the chance
of a house party at nearby Telby Castle held by the Marquess and
Marchioness of Hedley. But Lady Rose hasn’t been there very
long before one of the guests is murdered. Perhaps it is time for
a little sleuthing to allay the boredom, in the more lively company
of her unconventional maid Daisy and private detective Captain Harry
Cathcart.
As can easily be expected from this author, here is a novel that
is hard to put down, easy to read and replete with incidents. There
are plenty of asides about the decadence of the aristocracy that
will have most readers nodding their heads in agreement, and the
rather empty, pointless lives they lead. Captain Harry makes a good
detective, and it is easy to sympathize with Rose, keen to be a
modern woman but prevented to do so by the rules of society. To
its detriment the actual house party murder is a long time coming,
and much time is spent introducing the main characters (mainly Harry
and Rose) and detailing the various things they get up to beforehand.
This leaves less time for the actual crime to be solved, and many
of the people at the house party are mere ciphers, including the
murder victims which makes it less of a classic puzzle whodunit
than is presumably intended. I was left with the feeling that this
is a series that needs to find its own uniqueness, and that now
we know the protagonists better future novels will be 100% the case
they are working on.
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The
Book |
Robinson (Constable and Robinson) |
August 2010 |
Paperback |
184901289X / 9781849012898 |
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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