Lord Francis Powerscourt Series, No 10
David Dickinson
Soho Constable
2012 / ISBN-10: 1616950846
Historical Mystery / England-1910
Amazon
Reviewed
by LJ Roberts
First Sentence:
When there is no moon in January the dawn creeps in very slowly
like the second hand on a clock that is running slow.
Three men
appear to have been murder by their throats slit. What, then, is
the odd thistle-like mark on each chest? Each man had a connection
to The Silkworkers, an ancient livery company for the City of London.
In each case, the victim was paid a visit by the same person shortly
before their death. Lord Francis Powerscourt, an ex-intelligence
officer, veteran of the Boar War and having conducted investigation
on behalf of the Queen, Prime Minister and Foreign Office, is asked
to work with the police to find the killer.
There is no
question that Dickinson knows how to capture the reader from the
first paragraph. Even better is that he knows how to keep the reader
thoroughly intrigued to the very last word. That Dickinson knows
the period and has done his research is quickly and abundantly clear.
He establishes a very strong sense of time and place through both
descriptions and the level of details to ordinary elements of life
and historical events.
One thing particularly appealing is that Powerscourt is married
and has a family that we've seen grow and develop through the series.
This is no angst-ridden loner. He is surrounded by fascinating friends
from Johnny Fitzgerald, who served with time in the army, as did
his butler. Lady Lucy may not go tearing through the streets tracking
down killers, but she does help Powerscourt in the way a well-connected
wife can. There was even a lovely reference to characters from past
books. Rather than this being confusing to new readers, it adds
veracity to the lives of these characters now.
Dickinson
knows how to plot a story. Although he plays fair with the reader,
his plot twists keep both the reader and the protagonist off balance
with plenty of action and good suspense along the way.
"Death
at the Jesus Hospital" may not have been the most dynamic book
of the series, but it doesn't miss the mark by much. It was a very
good read with tones of our current political culture, and part
of an overall excellent series.
Death
& The Jubilee,
No 2
Death of an Old Master, No 3
Death
of a Chancellor, No 4
Death
Called To The Bar, No 5
Death
on the Nevskii Prospekt, No 6
Death
on the Holy Mountain, No 7
Death of a Pilgrim, No 8
Death
of a Wine Merchant,
No 9
Death in a Scarlet Coat, No 10 [review
1] [review
2]
Death at the Jesus Hospital, No 11 [review
1] [review
2]
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