A Broken Vessel (Julian Kestrel Mystery) [Hardcover]

Kate Ross (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 1994 | Series: Julian Kestrel Mystery

An anguished letter wrapped in a handkerchief puts dandyish detective Julian Kestrel and his valet's impish sister on a case of murder and rape that leads them through the highest and lowest places of 1820s London. 15,000 first printing. $10,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this atmospheric and gritty mystery set in 1820's London, dandy Julian Kestrel (first encountered in Cut to the Quick ) searches out the truth about a supposed suicide. Sally Stokes, a "game girl," or prostitute--and the sister of Julian's valet--likes to lift handkerchiefs from her clients. Among the three she collects in one night's work, she finds a letter from an obviously upper-class young woman despairing over her fate in an establishment for fallen women. Intrigued by the mystery, Julian and Sally set out to determine her identity. Sally insinuates herself into the Reclamation Society, where she learns that one of the inmates is a recent suicide, while Julian attempts to trace the owners of the handkerchiefs. The closets of these gentlemen, however, harbor assorted skeletons, and Julian and Sally's investigations draw them ever deeper into danger. Ross briskly explores the sordid underbelly of the Regency period with sharply etched characters, authentic slang and a smartly intricate plot sweetened by a fetching and unusual love story.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-Ross's second mystery about Julian Kestrel, the Regency dandy, teams him with Sally Stokes, a cockney prostitute who helps him solve a clever and devilish murder. One night, as is her custom, Sally steals a handkerchief from each of her three clients. In one, she finds a letter from a woman being held against her will and begging for help. A concerned and frightened Sally runs into her brother, a reformed pickpocket and Kestrel's valet. Soon she and Kestrel are matching wits to find the owner of the handkerchief and locate the desperate woman. Through dogged legwork they locate the three men, each from a different strata of society but each of whom has something serious to hide relating to a young heiress, the Reclamation Society, and the seamy underground life of London's Haymarket District. The clues come thick and fast in this action-packed mystery. Ross provides a good look at the beginnings of the London police force as well as the working of the English courts and the role of magistrates in this authentic view of early 19th-century social life.
Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School Library, Upper Marlboro, MD
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (May 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670849995
• ISBN-13: 978-0670849994
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #160,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Up with "The Devil in Music" as Kate Ross' best!, May 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Broken Vessel (Mass Market Paperback)

After reading the 2 previous reviews, I hesitated to buy this latest book by Kate Ross but, having enjoyed her other 3 so much, I did and just finished reading it. It's great! This Regency London mystery introduces Sally Stokes, an appealing "woman of the streets' with the intriguing and descriptive language of the streets. She's an inquisitive girl with a quick mind who constantly keeps Julian Kestrel, the usually unflappable and suave "gentry cove" her brother Dipper valets for, off balance. These 3 solve several intertwining mysteries satisfactorily. The ending keeps you hoping for more books from Kate Ross.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top-notch!, June 18, 2002

By 

kellytwo "kellytwo" (cleveland hts, ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Broken Vessel (Mass Market Paperback)

When Dr. MacGregor, a carry-over from Julian Kestrel's first adventure, CUT TO THE QUICK, asks the young London dandy, "Look here: are you going to fret yourself into a fever about this business, burn your fingers meddling in what's not your concern, and get yourself and everybody around you into a parcel of trouble?" what could the appropriate answer be, but 'Those were more or less my plans." The dryly-spoken words make one want to laugh out loud, regardless of one's surroundings or company.

These lines are found on page 79 of A BROKEN VESSEL, by which time Julian is well and truly caught, and not just by the mystery into which he has been thrust; the Cockney 'game gal' who opened the puzzle is the sister of Julian's valet, Dipper. Even though he hasn't seen his sister Sally in over two years, the relationship picks up with no hindrance. Not so that of Sally and Kestrel. Drawn to her in spite of himself, he withdraws, not wishing to upset Dipper. As he withdraws, Sally becomes ever more determined to discover whether her "Lightning', as she calls Kestrel, has any flesh and blood beneath his elegant exterior.

Sally always indulges herself in two seemingly harmless habits with any cove who engages her; she attaches a name, and she steals some small item, while the cove is otherwise occupied. During one memorable night, she consorts with "Bristles', "Blue-Eyes' and "Blinkers"; a handkerchief is the 'prize' she draws from each of them. Only later does she discover a letter that had been wrapped in one of the cloths. The problem is, which one? It is while she is recovering from the beating administered by Blinkers that she discovers both her brother and the letter. Dipper senses a need to involve his master, because the letter was obviously written by a rather distraught lady of rank, who is being kept against her will in an unnamed place. Who and where and why engage the attentions of this unlikely trio of detectives.

In an entirely logical progression of clues and identifications, Ms. Ross spins well her web, entangling us as certainly as Kestrel is entangled by Sally. Without modern criminology techniques available, Kestrel identifies the various players, including the anonymous lady, and the involved practices of the underworld which put her in a Reclamation Home for Fallen Women.

The pathway includes trips to the stews of London as well as a short jaunt to Wiltshire to return an eleven-year-old girl to her parents. The girl under the guise of being trained as a dressmaker's assistant, has instead been allowed to go to London as a potential child prostitute. Her path crosses that of Kestrel, who utilizes her coherent story to bring down one such purveyor of these goods.

During his absence from London, Sally becomes impatient, and decides to take things into her own hands, involving all three of the men from who she stole the handkerchiefs in a purported blackmail scheme. Kestrel and Dipper return, but not in time to save the life of a woman who has been haunting one of the three men, and who turns out to be the Scottish wife of Blue-Eyes. Bristles and 'Blinkers share another secret, one which neatly ties up all the loose ends in a satisfying trial before the magistrate, Sir Richard Birnie.

As before, the sights and sounds of 1824 London are brought to vivid life by the perfect usage of the language of the time. Kestrel, MacGregor, Dipper and Sally will surely be back. The next great mystery is "When, please?"

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sad to hear that she will write no more, December 27, 2010

By 

Shannon R. Combs - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Broken Vessel (Mass Market Paperback)

I've yet to be able to get my hands on "Cut to the Quick", so I cannot compare this one to it. But I will say that I've thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's fast paced, amusing and will definately turn you in circles trying to find out "who done it". I've read "The Devil In Music" and greatly enjoyed too.

I just found out today that Ms. Ross passed in 1998 after a long fight with cancer. I can only say that I hate that her creative voice will not be heard again. I was so looking forward to reading more of her work. My sincere belated condolences to her family. -S Combs