Customer Reviews

DEATH OF COLONEL MANN, THE

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A great read! The characters are well developed, the setting is perfect, and Peale makes Boston come alive. The best part is, I had no idea who did it until the very end! I would highly recommend this book to people who love a good mystery. Can't wait for the next installment.

Living in an area where you cannot get many good books, I picked this one up as a last resort, thinking at least its something. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN !! I was up all night a few days in a row trying to finish this book between home and work. The plot was well developed and I didn't already know who did it half way thru, I literally had to read to the end to find out !! And the characters where real and beleivable and very likable. I am such a fan of this author I cannot WAIT until she writes more ! I highly highly recomend this book. its great historically and suspensfully. I usually read Steven Saylor (since I live in Italy, his books are amazing) and Kate Ross, but she only had a few books. From now on I am Beaconphile !!!

I loved this book - couldn't put it down. The description of 19th century foggy, fishy Boston is wonderful. The cast of characters and their secret troubles lead to a great mystery.

Generally I'm not a big fan of "historical" mysteries, but, because a friend gave me this book, and I felt conscience-bound to at least ATTEMPT to trudge through it.

From the very first page, I couldn't put it down.

Addington Ames and his sister Caroline are engaging characters--both are flawed, to be sure, but their flaws are consistent with their time and their respective places in it. The good Doctor MacKenzie is a solid sidekick, more of an American translation of Holmes's Dr. Watson than a ... of him, as some whiny readers have complained. The secondary characters are well drawn, too, rounded, complex, and believeable for the most part. The plot, while not the strength of the book, is interesting and engaging enough to keep readers a little bit off-balance, right up to the very end.

The best part of the book, in my opinion, is the setting and its rich historical detail. Another reader suggests that the historical setting here somehow "gets in the way" of the action of the book, but I couldn't disagree more. Ms. Peale has obviously done extensive research, and the Boston she presents is intriguing: a city that in 1892 was already ancient, a bit stagnant, simultaneously on the verge of change and ever unchanging, and unrelentingly unforgiving. Having spent some time in Boston, I particularly loved the descriptions of Beacon Hill and the Square, timeless places where it might still be 1892 today. I loved the way Ms. Peale worked in actual historical figures, like Dr. William James and the famous portrait painter, John Singer Sargent. All in all, THE DEATH OF COLONEL MANN took me away from 2001 and into another time and place--nobody could ask for more from a book.

I look forward to reading the second novel in this promising series, and I'll certainly be less ready to dimiss "historical" novels in the future. If you enjoy good writing and a good mystery, read THE DEATH OF COLONEL MANN.

I couldn't put the book down! It was a wonderful mystery, I didn't know who the murderer was until the last page. I'm going to give it to my mom for Mother's day--she loves mysteries.

This was the best written, most captivating story I've read in the longest time. The streets and society of Victorian Boston just came alive as the pages unfolded. I've since bought the book for several friends and family members, who have reacted similarly.

Addington and Caroline Ames are part of Victorian Boston's social elite even though they do not have the money to keep up their lifestyle. To supplement their income, they accept a boarder, Dr. John MacKenzie, who is recovering from a bullet wound. Although he pays rent, the Ames treat John as a member of the family.

Although newspaper publisher Colonel William D'Arcy Mann does not travel among Boston's Brahmin circles, he knows the upper echelon's most private indiscretions. William blackmails many of the upper class. His latest victim is a cousin to the Ames, who pleads with Addington to retrieve her stolen letters that contains information she cannot afford go public. Accompanied by Dr. MacKenzie, Addington visits Mann's hotel suite where they find the Colonel dead and the letters missing. Addington and MacKenzie begin sleuthing in order to protect their family from scandal.

Judging from the high quality of the story line and the sharply defined cast, although this is the first "Beacon Hill" mystery, this series will have a long run. The action-packed story line provides insight into Victorian Boston's upper class through the myriad of characters. Surprisingly, the novel is Cynthia Peale's first mystery, though she has written several novels as Nancy Zaroulis (see CALL THE DARKNESS LIGHT and THE LAST WALTZ). Reminding readers of Dianne Day's Fremont Jones tales, THE DEATH OF COLONEL MANN will appeal to fans of Americana historical mysteries.

Harriet Klausner

I love reading books set in places I know well, especially when the author makes those places so much part of the story. There were also lots of great characters, a feminist perspective, and a depressing view of how vital social respectability was to the upperclass women of that era, and how vulnerable that made them to blackmail and gossip. There were moments of excitement as the hard-to-care-about murder was solved. I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Victorian mysteries. There is certainly potential for the series to develop into a five-star one if the actual murder plot can be more involving.

I couldn't put the book down! It was a wonderful mystery, I didn't know who the culprit was until the last page. I'm going to give it to my mom for Mother's day--she loves mysteries.

I felt as though I was there, walking the streets of Beacon Hill with Addington Ames in search of clues... The detail provided by Peale made the book come alive. I can't wait for the second installment of the series!