The Death of Colonel Mann (Beacon Hill Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Cynthia Peale (Author)

Book Description

Series: Beacon Hill Mysteries | Publication Date: January 9, 2001

Behind the curtained windows of Victorian Boston is a world of passion, scandal ... and murder.

In life, he was the most despised man in Boston, publisher of the town's scurrilous gossip sheet -- and buyer and seller of people's most scandalous indiscretions. Now Colonel William d'Arcy Mann lies on the floor of his fashionable hotel suite, the victim of a single gunshot wound to the heart.

Addington Ames came to recover a packet of love letters written by his young cousin, Val, that had fallen into the blackmailing colonel's possession. But when he discovers Mann's corpse instead, Ames suddenly finds himself at the center of a murder inquiry, his name splashed across the town newspapers.

With Val facing public disgrace -- on the eve of marriage to an impeccable member of Brahmin society -- Ames's only hope is to find the damning missives, which he believes vanished with the killer. With the help of his sister, Caroline, and their boarder, Dr. John MacKenzie, he moves through Boston's most prominent social circles in search of a well-concealed murderer whose final act of violence will leave no life -- highborn or low -- untouched...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Lovers of Victorian-style mystery are no doubt familiar with Anne Perry's two series of novels set in 1880s London. These set the standards of the period piece genre, wooing readers with their precisely calibrated mixture of grubby urban realism (read murder) and the tea and gossip of refined drawing rooms. With The Death of Colonel Mann, the first installment in her new Beacon Hill series, Cynthia Peale takes her own stab at that combination, but on the other side of the Atlantic.

When Colonel William D'Arcy Mann is found shot to death in his Boston hotel, few Brahmins mourn his passing. The Colonel had published far too many of Boston's highest caste's indiscretions in his gossip rag; those who had escaped such public ignominy had paid an equally high price, for Mann was not averse to a spot of genteel blackmail. The cast of suspects is large, and Peale's team of amateur sleuths is perfectly placed to ferret out the murderer. Addington Ames and his sister Caroline can trace their blue-blooded lineage back to the Ark, although their social standing teeters precariously when Addington is so gauche as to actually discover the Colonel's body. And unless Addington and Caroline can solve the crime, their beautiful young cousin Val's engagement (the ne plus ultra for a proper young Victorian woman) will be at risk---her future mama-in-law has a decided aversion to scandal.

Addington and Caroline are an amiable pair, as is their boarder, Dr. John MacKenzie, who plays Watson to Addington's Sherlock when he isn't wondering how to court his hostess. Peale falls short of Perry's narrative mastery, however: where Perry effortlessly blends historical detail, evocative descriptions of the London cityscape, and plot, Peale's setting seems awkwardly contrived; her Boston cobblestones do more to trip up the narrative than to smooth its passage. Despite these flaws, Victorian Boston may yet yield fans for Peale, currently at work on the second Beacon Hill mystery. --Kelly Flynn --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Peale (the pseudonym of mainstream novelist Nancy Zaroulis) brings to life Gilded Age Boston in her first foray into the burgeoning field of historical mysteries. When, in 1891, Brahmin Addington Ames finds blackmailer Colonel William D'Arcy Mann shot to death in his hotel room, many Boston socialites are relieved, since Mann printed their misdeeds in his scandalous newspaper if they failed to pay up. Ames is bent on recovering a packet of indiscreet letters written by his young cousin Val, else her plans to marry a rich and eligible scion of one of Boston's most eminent families would be thwarted. Addington; his feisty sister, Caroline; and their Watson-like lodger, Dr. MacKenzie, must work fast to find the letters, as well as to solve the crime. Peale is particularly good at portraying the circumscribed lives of affluent Boston women of the Victorian age, and integrates this very lack of freedom nicely into the plot's development. Characters act and think like people of their class and period, even if they tend to the dull side. Indeed, the author's depiction of the manners and social codes of proper 19th-century Bostonians redeems what is otherwise a pedestrian mystery. Despite a strong setting, the story is less than riveting. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Dell (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440235650
• ISBN-13: 978-0440235651
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,382,170 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 The Death of Colonel Mann: A Beacon Hill Mystery, April 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Death of Colonel Mann: A Beacon Hill Mystery (Beacon Hill Mysteries (Doubleday)) (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Up all night !!, May 31, 2001

By 

"thequiltedkitten" (FPO, AE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Death of Colonel Mann (Beacon Hill Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

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 !!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Death of Colonel Mann: A great read!, April 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Death of Colonel Mann: A Beacon Hill Mystery (Beacon Hill Mysteries (Doubleday)) (Hardcover)

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.