Customer Reviews

Death of a Colonial (Sir John Fielding Mysteries)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Death of a Colonial by Bruce Alexander brings to life an interesting historical period. Sir John Fielding a blind magistrate in London helped to develop the Bow Street Runners, the first professional police organization in England . Sir John, the brother of Henry Fielding was a famed and gifted magistrate who compensated for his lack of sight by developing other skills. It is said that he never forgot a voice and could recognize a criminal by his voice alone.

Sixteen year old Jeremy Proctor assists Fielding in this pursuit of justice in Death of a Colonial. Fielding is commissioned to ascertain the validity of the claim of a fortune by Lawrence Paltrow the brother of an executed murderer, Arthur Paltrow. Arthur had been a wealthy man when he was executed and it was thought that there were no heirs to his estate. Together Jeremy and Fielding travel to Bath to meet the man's mother. It is at this point that the plot thickens. Jeremy and Fielding work together as a formidable team in discovering the conspirators.

Death of a colonial is rich in description of the feeling and times of England from Bath to London to Oxford. The reader is intrigued by Fieldings and Jeremy's journey through England and is ready to assist them in their search for criminals. The characters in the book are well developed and entertaining.

This is an entertaining book for those who love historical mysteries. Those who want fast paced action may wish to avoid this book

In 1771, London Magistrate Sir John Fielding's sentencing led to the execution of Arthur Paltrow. Since Arthur was the last claimant to the Laningham title, the monarchy claims ownership of the entire estate including the deceased,s personal fortune. However, there remains some controversy since Arthur's death occurred before the House of Lords officially recognized him as Lord Laningham. Adding to the question of ownership is the fact that a person has stepped forward to claim the entire estate by insisting he is Arthur's younger brother Lawrence, who vanished seven years ago.

Sir Patrick Spenser, solicitor to King George III, has assembled a committee to substantiate Lawrence's claim. John and his assistant Jeremy Proctor tries to prove that Arthur's mother lies when she insists Lawrence is her other son just returning from the colonies. However, neither John nor Jeremy expected their inquiry would soon have them investigating the murder of Arthur's mother.

DEATH OF A COLONIAL is an interesting entry in one of the better historical mystery series of the nineties. The entertaining story line centers on the legality of Lawrence's claim leading to murder (past and present), but the plot pales when compared to some of Bruce Alexander,s previous tales. John keeps his aristocratic charm and Jeremy, who narrates the events, retains his energy and enthusiasm. The tours of pre Regency Bath and Oxford provide an authentic feel to an enjoyable novel that sub-genre fans will gain pleasure from reading.

Harriet Klausner

I have read each of the Sir John Fielding mystery books. I enjoy them all. I don't worry too much about subplots, but enjoy a mystery. This book allowed me to know to much too soon, but overall it is a good book. If you didn't like his earlier ones you won't like this one. If you have liked them, then you will enjoy this one.

Another of the Sir John Fielding mysteries and just as good as the rest. Bruce Alexander takes you back to 18th century London, creating the feel of time and place. As I read, I can almost smell the streets where chamber pots were emptied out of windows and meat spoiled while hanging in butchers' stalls. The narrative pulls the reader along the course of an investigation of several home invasions which have, so far, resulted in two deaths. Sir John is unable to pursue the investigation so he has his ward, Jeremy, seek out clues and question witnesses in the great houses, the coffee shops and gin mills of Westminster,

This book is excellent. I have read others in the series and the characters are intriguing. I would advise anyone to read this series and this particular book doesn't disappoint.

Bruce Alexander does such a wonderful job with this series of books. I own every one now and always look forward to the next. Characters are so endearing, and like old friends now. Anyone who enjoys Anne Perry should read these.

One of Mr. Alexander's talents is bringing his historical period to life, and he does this extremely well in this book. The book is set in England in 1771, so we get a good glimpse of life in London at this time, but in this book we also get a glimpse of the vacation town of Bath and the university town of Oxford. The book is rich in detail of this period. It is also chock-full of English justice as it was in this time. There wasn't much mystery here because we know all along who the murderer is, but Sir John and his ward Jeremy must prove it. They are trying to solve an [...]case that seems eerily familiar with what is happening right now, and with the arrival of the villain from eight years ago into England. He is a rough individual from the American colonies. These books are totally entertaining, and I enjoy the look back at a much earlier time, especially since Mr. Alexander's prose is so evocative.

I get a huge kick out of Bruce Alexander's mysteries involving a blind judge and his young sidekick. I've read a lot of history from that time period, and though Alexander doesn't overload the books with a lot of rather...well putrid facts concerning life at that time, he gives enough information to make a picture in the mind of a world very different from ours.

If readers have ever spent time in England, as I have, most know that the trip to Bath is a quick one for us. Yet Alexander brings up how grueling those trips were via stagecoach (or any type of coach). I think we forget how much we take for granted in being able to hop in a car and go somewhere in relative comfort and safety.

Alexander's best work are the characters he draws. I would be hesitant to accept a blind man as getting to a level in legal circles to wind up as a judge, except that I have an author-friend who wrote Silence of the Spheres about deaf people who managed to become scientists. Knowing that deafness was less acceptable then blindness, makes it more likely that the possibility exists for someone with visual impairments would make it.

Alexander's Sir Fielding is just a hair like Sherlock Holmes, only his blindness makes him more sensitive to sound and tactile sensations. This attribute helps him in his sleuthing endeavors...I totally understand this as blind friends have those same abilities, just as my vision and attention to visual details is more acute because I am deaf. This has been proven true for both blind and deaf persons in recent MRI scans by neuroscientists...so the author is not taking liberties with his character. His plots are less well developed, and as one reviewer said, the plots tends not to be the fast-paced one usually seen in modern mysteries. Time moved slower then, and the mores were different. So if you know your history, you should not expect the same type of behavior, language, etc. from people of that century as shown by those of this century.

Fun book (well...for a mystery)...
Karen Sadler
University of Pittsburgh

I enjoyed Bruce Alexander Cook's sixth book in the Sir John Fielding series.Cook got his inspiration for it from a factual English court case.

Bruce Alexander's series of mysteries are set in 18th century England and have as protagonists blind magistrate John Fielding and his teenage assistant. "Death of a Colonial", like the five volumes before it, is a quick, fun read and no more. If you're heading to the beach, this is the right choice. If you want a complex mystery, subtly-shaded characters, or true historical detail, you'll have to look elsewhere.