Victorian yet gritty, a debut that will intrigue fans of police procedurals and historical fiction alike.
A police inspector tracks a Duke’s killer in 1865 Scotland.
Nineteenth-century Edinburgh is a dark industrial city whose shadows Inspector Allerdyce knows all too well. Still mourning his first wife despite his remarriage, Allerdyce has thrown himself into the work of bringing justice to the slums. But when William Bothwell-Scott, Duke of Dornoch, goes missing, the Chief Constable insists that Allerdyce focus all his attention on the peers of the realm. The Duke had a penchant for the low life. With the aid of the Duke’s shady valet, Allerdyce and Sergeant McGillivray comb the bawdyhouses and betting parlors of Edinburgh only to find the Duke shot dead, dumped in a well on his own estate. The Duke might have been blackmailed, but his brutal management of his tenant farmers and mineworkers also made him plenty of enemies—including Allerdyce’s assistant, McGillivray, whose family was forcibly deported from their ancestral home on Dornoch lands. Corrupt higher-ups in the police force would like nothing better than to pin the murder on labor agitators. When the Duke’s brother and heir is found dead too, McGillivray is set to take the fall. Allerdyce must find the real killer in time to save his friend and bring the truth to light, no matter how damning to the aristocracy.
Victorian yet gritty, a debut that will intrigue fans of police procedurals and historical fiction alike.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-312-62169-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.
Too much free time leads a New Hampshire bookseller into yet another case of murder.
Now that Tricia Miles has Pixie Poe and Mr. Everett practically running her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, she finds herself at loose ends. Her wealthy sister, Angelica, who in the guise of Nigela Ricita has invested heavily in making Stoneham a bookish tourist attraction, is entering the amateur competition for the Great Booktown Bake-Off. So Tricia, who’s recently taken up baking as a hobby, decides to join her and spends a lot of time looking for the perfect cupcake recipe. A visit to another bookstore leaves Tricia witnessing a nasty argument between owner Joyce Widman and next-door neighbor Vera Olson over the trimming of tree branches that hang over Joyce’s yard—also overheard by new town police officer Cindy Pearson. After Tricia accepts Joyce’s offer of some produce from her garden, they find Vera skewered by a pitchfork, and when Police Chief Grant Baker arrives, Joyce is his obvious suspect. Ever since Tricia moved to Stoneham, the homicide rate has skyrocketed (Poisoned Pages, 2018, etc.), and her history with Baker is fraught. She’s also become suspicious about the activities at Pets-A-Plenty, the animal shelter where Vera was a dedicated volunteer. Tricia’s offered her expertise to the board, but president Toby Kingston has been less than welcoming. With nothing but baking on her calendar, Tricia has plenty of time to investigate both the murder and her vague suspicions about the shelter. Plenty of small-town friendships and rivalries emerge in her quest for the truth.
An anodyne visit with Tricia and her friends and enemies hung on a thin mystery.Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0272-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2019
This ran in the S.E.P. and resulted in more demands for the story in book form than ever recorded. Well, here it is and it is a honey. Imagine ten people, not knowing each other, not knowing why they were invited on a certain island house-party, not knowing their hosts. Then imagine them dead, one by one, until none remained alive, nor any clue to the murderer. Grand suspense, a unique trick, expertly handled.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 1939
ISBN: 0062073478
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dodd, Mead
Review Posted Online: Sept. 20, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1939
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
