Street of the Five Moons
A Vicky Bliss Mystery

by Elizabeth Peters

Elizabeth Peters fans can rejoice, because Constable Robinson is reprinting her whole Vicky Bliss series. Long out of print to anybody outside the States, it will introduce a whole new generation to these delightful capers. Hot from her adventures in Bavaria, Vicky is now working for the National Museum in Munich. When her boss Schmidt hands her the Charlemagne talisman, she is amazed to learn that it is a reproduction so perfect it would fool all but the most skilled art historian. Found on the body of a dead man together with a mysterious note it will lead her to Rome, and into another thrilling adventure.

They don’t write them like this anymore, and what a pity! Vicky gets to stay with a count in Tivoli, whose villa boasts a ghost with a skull for a face and a set of mechanical monsters in the gardens. She also gets to meet Sit John Smythe…but you can imagine the sort of thing if you have already read Borrower of the Night (also reviewed on this site). Vicky tells the tale in her own words, giving a humorous and modern viewpoint on the proceedings that acts as the perfect foil to the romance and adventure. It is a feminist viewpoint (meaning a sensible, contemporary one; Vicky is no man-hater) that makes her the antithesis of the count’s mistress and very much the main character. Although the picture she paints of Italy is charmingly of its time, the sentiments and fast, fun action are up to the minute.