Nothing in Pears's five archly amusing art mysteries (Giotto's Hand, p. 839; The Last Judgement, 1996, etc.) hints at the range or depth or boldness of this multifaceted scrutiny of a murder case in Restoration Oxford. Opinionated, influential Dr. Robert Grove is poisoned with arsenic in his New College lodgings. A missing signet ring leads his colleagues to his former servant (and rumored strumpet) Sarah Blundy, who, swiftly brought to trial, confesses and is promptly hanged—and dissected by enthusiastic physician Richard Lower. But the crime, evidently so simple in its events, is presented through the distorting lenses of four narrators whose obsessions place it in dramatically different contexts. Visiting Venetian Marco da Cola, a dandy trained in medicine, who has been treating Sarah's ailing mother Anne, grieves for the ruin of mother and daughter and the wreck of his own friendship with Lower. Sarah's former lover Jack Prestcott, an undergraduate jailed for attacking his guardian, is consumed with proving that his exiled father was hounded to his death innocent of the charge of treason the returning monarch Charles II's supporters had lodged against him. Dr. John Wallis, mathematician and divine, sees no inconsistency between his endless petty intrigues on behalf of Charles's scheming minister Henry Bennet and his vituperative condemnation of Sarah. In the brilliantly illuminated world in which medical experiments, religious and political debates between Roundheads and Royalists, and the founding of the Royal Society bring debates about the nature of science, history, religion, and authority into a focus whose sharpness has a special urgency for our own time, each of these narrators has his own slashingly conflicting claims to make. But it's not until the final narrator, burrowing historian Anthony Wood, weighs in to judge among the sharply competing visions of the earlier narrators that Pears produces his most memorable surprises, or unveils his deepest mysteries. Rashomon meets The Name of the Rose in a triumphant triple-decker that knocks every speck of dust from the historical mystery. (First printing of 80,000; $150,000 ad/promo; Book-of-the-Month main selection)
Pub Date: March 9, 1998
ISBN: 1-57322-082-5
Page Count: 704
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 1997
A rollicking tale of desire, murder, and mayhem complete with Victorian atmosphere and two bickering leads.
An eccentric pair of late-Victorian detectives delve into a case involving the royal family.
Through many a wild escapade (A Dangerous Collaboration, 2019, etc.), Veronica Speedwell and Stoker Templeton-Vane have danced around their passionate feelings for each other. Just when the highly independent Veronica is about to commit to a full physical relationship—"The truth, dear reader, is that I was as ready for him as any filly ready for the stud"—a new case hurls them into perhaps their most dangerous adventure yet. Lady Wellingtonia Beauclerk, a power in royal circles, calls them to a meeting with the Princess of Wales and Inspector Archibond of Scotland Yard. The meeting is fraught, for Veronica is the unacknowledged daughter of the Prince of Wales, who deserted Veronica and her Catholic mother to marry Alexandra of Denmark. Since the Yard is overwhelmed with the hunt for Jack the Ripper, who’s terrorizing London, Archibond asks the sleuthing duo to recover a diamond star that the princess's eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, aka Eddy, has given to Madame Aurore, the owner of a private sex club. At first the sleuths decline, but when Lady Wellie suffers a severe angina attack, some snooping reveals her fear that Prince Eddy is suspected of being the Ripper. With the help of Stoker’s brother, they attend a masked ball at the club whose members indulge in all sorts of sexual depravity. After an exciting and informative evening, they run into Eddy, a dim but likable lad, who’s with them when their attempt to open Aurore’s safe ends with their discovery of her body under her bed. All three are kidnapped by Veronica’s Uncle de Clare, an Irishman who wants to place Veronica on the throne and free Ireland. Now they must escape, return Eddy unharmed to the bosom of his family, and discover who murdered Aurore.
A rollicking tale of desire, murder, and mayhem complete with Victorian atmosphere and two bickering leads.Pub Date: March 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-451-49074-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
A bit over-the-top but still a lot of fun.
A vicious killer follows a writer’s murderous manuscript to the letter in Danish author Engberg’s U.S. debut.
It’s only been about a year since University of Copenhagen professor Esther de Laurenti retired, and she’s been writing a novel, something she’s always dreamed of. When Esther’s tenant, 21-year-old Julie Stender, is murdered, Esther is shocked. Heading up the investigation is Copenhagen detectives Jeppe Kørner and his partner of eight years, Anette Werner, and it’s proving to be a doozy. The murder was particularly heinous: The killer stabbed Julie and carved strange designs into her face and, frustratingly, seems to have been very careful not to leave any physical evidence at the scene. Of course, as investigators start digging into Julie’s life, they discover some suitably shady secrets in her past, and it’s suggested that one of her boyfriends might have felt scorned enough to resort to murder. Perhaps it was her new boyfriend, who is supposedly a much older, sophisticated man. Too bad nobody knows who he is. When Esther reveals that the details of the murder closely mirror her work in progress, it opens a whole new avenue of investigation, and when Esther attempts to draw the killer out, it puts her firmly in the crosshairs. Engberg’s background as a former dancer and choreographer gives a boost to her considerable flair for the dramatic (keep an eye out for a theatrically staged murder at the Royal Danish Theater) and highlights a strong focus on Copenhagen’s creative community; even Jeppe wanted to be a musician before he became a cop. His fairly recent divorce almost ruined him, and Anette’s upbeat and pragmatic style is no small annoyance to her moody partner, which is played for light comic effect (as is Jeppe’s reawakening libido), leavening the heavier subject matter. Overly familiar plot elements keep this from being a standout, and some twists require a significant suspension of disbelief, but Engberg’s fast-paced narrative is bolstered by an interesting and quirky cast as well as an intriguing setting.
A bit over-the-top but still a lot of fun.Pub Date: Jan. 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982127-57-2
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scout Press/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
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