Death
at Blenheim Palace
Edwardian Mystery Series
by Robin Paige
Set
in romantic Oxford, England, Death at Blenheim Palace takes
readers on a meandering tour of Edwardian Oxford and the life of a
Duke and Duchess. The history and the setting of the novel are dreamy
and vastly intriguing. Figures from history are given life in this
book as they interact with purely fictitious characters as they work
together to solve a murder mystery and stop a powerful crime ring
from stealing valuable jewels.
For
anyone who's been to Oxford or Blenheim Palace itself, this book
is a must. For others who enjoy a fascinating jaunt through history
wrapped into their pleasure reading, I would highly recommend this
book. The characters are interesting and the setting can't be beat.
The only criticism I had of the book is that the authors (a husband
and wife team who use the pen name Robin Paige) tend to beat the
reader over the head with a few details. Several pages were devoted
to different characters pondering the exact same thing at almost
the same length and detail. The comparisons drawn between the current
players in the novel and other characters from their history was
heavy handed. I felt that it condescended to the reader because
it seemed as though the authors didn't think their readers could
link the obvious comparisons without being told again and again
and a few more times for good measure.
However, I could overlook this one flaw because the plot and setting were so vivid and engaging. The cast of characters draw the reader into their extraordinary world and the footnotes pointing readers to further information about the real life people the characters represent were fascinating. A list of references at the end of the book gives readers the opportunity to find out more about the exquisite history surrounding the people and places in this book. Overall, this book is well worth reading and is enjoyable historically as well as a being a fun romp with characters who brilliantly work through a mystery.
|
The
Book |
Berkley Prime Crime Books |
2005 |
Hardcover |
0-425-20035-3 |
Mystery |
More
at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: |
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