(no subject)
Jul. 31st, 2010 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennariaDEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE, by Robin Paige.
Cover copy: In this stunning new novel by national bestselling author Robin Paige, we are taken back to the turn of the century, to a sumptuously evocative castle beset by centuries of murder...
Lord Charles Sheridan and his American wife, Kate, are on an archaeological dig, excavating sections of Hadrian's Wall, when they receive a mysterious telegram. King Edward has summoned them to Glamis Village, a quaint hamlet north of Edinburgh, without telling them why.
Upon their arrival, they discover that they will be staying at Glamis Castle. Nestled in the rugged Grampian Mountains, it is the most historic castle in all of Scotland, a place teeming with dark secrets and haunting shadows. For Kate, this is the perfect opportunity to gather much-needed inspiration for her next Gothic novel. But while she winds her way through the elaborate manor, gleaning the mysterious histories of those who have dwelt there, Lord Charles discovers the real reason behind their journey to Glamis.
It seems that Prince Eddy, who had been heir to the throne until his purported death in 1892, has actually been alive all these years. Deemed unfit for the throne, he has been living secretly at Glamis under an assumed name. Only now the prince has gone missing - on the very morning that the body of one of his servants was found, her throat slashed in a manner eerily reminiscent of the Ripper's. Now, Charles and his clever Kate must find Eddy and clear his name - while keeping his true identity a secret.
Gender of detectives: one male, one female
This is technically an exception to my 'female authors' rule, as it was written by a husband-and-wife team under a female pseudonym. It does feel like Charles is more of a detective, or at least more of a traditional detective, than his wife: he's the one given all the skinny on what's up with Prince Eddy, and who works logically, while she's left to make personal contacts and work off intuition. (Y helo thar traditional gender-based problem-solving division! Fancy seeing you here!)
Erm. Anyway. Despite the cover's emphasis, the Ripper isn't particularly part of this story, mostly because Charles and Kate tackled that case in a previous book. Prince Eddy is more than a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but he's not the Ripper. Hell, Kate is arguably more insane than he is, given they portray her writer instincts as if they were a completely separate personality.
(As a side note, why are fictional answers to historical mysteries always the most complicated ones, involving royalty if at all possible? Yeah, yeah, it's because it makes the best story. But still, I spent more time rolling my eyes at the Man In The Iron Mask parallels than I should.)
Overall, a little fond of showing off their research skill, but I'm beginning to think it's all but impossible to avoid that in historical mysteries. I'm at least willing to pick up further books in the series.
Cover copy: In this stunning new novel by national bestselling author Robin Paige, we are taken back to the turn of the century, to a sumptuously evocative castle beset by centuries of murder...
Lord Charles Sheridan and his American wife, Kate, are on an archaeological dig, excavating sections of Hadrian's Wall, when they receive a mysterious telegram. King Edward has summoned them to Glamis Village, a quaint hamlet north of Edinburgh, without telling them why.
Upon their arrival, they discover that they will be staying at Glamis Castle. Nestled in the rugged Grampian Mountains, it is the most historic castle in all of Scotland, a place teeming with dark secrets and haunting shadows. For Kate, this is the perfect opportunity to gather much-needed inspiration for her next Gothic novel. But while she winds her way through the elaborate manor, gleaning the mysterious histories of those who have dwelt there, Lord Charles discovers the real reason behind their journey to Glamis.
It seems that Prince Eddy, who had been heir to the throne until his purported death in 1892, has actually been alive all these years. Deemed unfit for the throne, he has been living secretly at Glamis under an assumed name. Only now the prince has gone missing - on the very morning that the body of one of his servants was found, her throat slashed in a manner eerily reminiscent of the Ripper's. Now, Charles and his clever Kate must find Eddy and clear his name - while keeping his true identity a secret.
Gender of detectives: one male, one female
This is technically an exception to my 'female authors' rule, as it was written by a husband-and-wife team under a female pseudonym. It does feel like Charles is more of a detective, or at least more of a traditional detective, than his wife: he's the one given all the skinny on what's up with Prince Eddy, and who works logically, while she's left to make personal contacts and work off intuition. (Y helo thar traditional gender-based problem-solving division! Fancy seeing you here!)
Erm. Anyway. Despite the cover's emphasis, the Ripper isn't particularly part of this story, mostly because Charles and Kate tackled that case in a previous book. Prince Eddy is more than a few sandwiches short of a picnic, but he's not the Ripper. Hell, Kate is arguably more insane than he is, given they portray her writer instincts as if they were a completely separate personality.
(As a side note, why are fictional answers to historical mysteries always the most complicated ones, involving royalty if at all possible? Yeah, yeah, it's because it makes the best story. But still, I spent more time rolling my eyes at the Man In The Iron Mask parallels than I should.)
Overall, a little fond of showing off their research skill, but I'm beginning to think it's all but impossible to avoid that in historical mysteries. I'm at least willing to pick up further books in the series.