Customer Reviews

Death at Dartmoor (A Victorian Mystery)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lord Charles Sheridan, his wife Kate, and Arthur Conan Doyle are visiting the Dartmoor moors when and invited to a seance. A mystic foretells that the host's wife will be betrayed. When the host is found dead after leaving a letter claiming that he was leaving with another woman, the mystic's bone fides appear perfect, especially when confirmed by Doyle. A recently escaped prisoner seems the most likely suspect, but Charles and Kate believe that there is more to the case than the obvious.

Author Robin Paige (the pen name for Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert) combines an exciting mystery with a possible explanation of Doyle's great Sherlock Holmes mystery THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES. Paige provides a convincing view of turn-of-the century England, a properly Dr. Watson version of Doyle, and expertly weaves the mystery events with hints at the HOUND. I especially enjoyed Paige's female characters. While Charles appeared too good to be true, Kate, Patsy, and Ellie are delightful.

Mystery readers are unlikely to be fooled by the mystery but the combination of historical mystery, historical characters placed in a fictional setting, and Paige's fine style make DEATH AT DARTMOOR a fully enjoyable read.

The husband and wife sleuthing team of Lord Charles and Lady Kathryn Sheridan have found their way to Dartmoor just in time for a fine adventure. Charles is going to the famous prison at Dartmoor to set up a fingerprinting operation and Kate is looking around the fog-shrouded moors in search of material for a new book. Also, Charles has a particular interest in one prisoner whom he believes has been falsely imprisoned and he thinks that he can prove this by the use of fingerprints.

Shortly after Charles visits the prison and also this particular prisoner, there is a prison break and one of the three escapees is none other than the prisoner that Charles thinks is innocent. To cloudy the waters even more, a local Lord is found murdered shortly after the escape and the locals immediately conclude that the escapee did it. The other two escapees are caught in short order by the way, but the one who hold's Charles' interest is nowhere to be found. After some sniffing around, Charles is able to say conclusively that the prisoner in question was not guilty of the crime for which he had been sent to Dartmoor. After proving this man's innocence of the first crime, Charles and Kate set out to find out who really murdered the local Lord, which of course they do.

As is normally the case with this series, actual historical characters are to be found in this book, the most notable of which is Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle, who is not yet a Sir. Doyle is in Dartmoor trying to get a feel for the moors as he prepares to write "The Hound of the Baskervilles." Doyle plays a rather large part in this story but I must say that I thought that the authors were a little bit hard on him. Could it be that the Albert's are a little jealous of the Grand Master of mystery novels?

The plot in this book is a little weaker than in previous entries in this series and the mystery is a little too easy to solve. I prefer that the mystery be too easy to solve however, rather than have clues withheld so that the reader can't solve the mystery at all. As usual, the authors do a wonderful job of transporting the reader to turn of the century England and they provide such intricate details of the food the characters are eating that reading these books always makes me hungry. This is not a series to take up if you are on a diet. This may not be the best book in this series but it is still a very fun and entertaining read.

The mystery in this book is very easy to figure out, but the storyline is still entertaining. The scene of the novel is also wonderful. Dartmoor is where Conan Doyle situated his famous Hound of the Baskerville story. This almost mythical spot in England is one I would love to visit one day. What I didn't enjoy about this book and why I gave it only 3 stars, is the short shrift the authors gave to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. There are a lot of people, including me, who hold this man's detective fiction in almost mythical esteem. The Alberts seemed to portray him as a blundering buffoon when it came to solving this "real" crime.
This story is set around the Dartmoor Prison that was in this country in the early 1900's. It focuses around a prison escape, and when a local lord is found dead, it is automatically assumed by everyone except Charles that the escaped prisoner murdered the man. Katherine and Charles dig deeper and find a number of skeletons in the family closet, and then, when these are brought to the light of day, the murder is solved.

I really enjoy this series because I like the two main characters. I find the characters to be intelligent but fun at the same time. I also like the way that Bill & Susan Albert (Robin Paige) weave real-life people into the plots. I realize that the people may not have acted the way that they are written, but it is fun to imagine that they would.
I did find this mystery a little too easy to solve and that usually makes me rate a book only 3 stars rather than 4, but I found the locale descriptions and the mystery itself to be well-written enough to deserve the 4th star.
In this episode, Charles & Kate are in Dartmoor - Charles to begin the process of fingerprinting prisoners at the local prison, Kate to get background information for a new book. While there, the local lord is killed and an escaped prisoner is initially blamed. Charles & Kate think that that is not the case and set out to find the real murderer(s). Their main help comes from another fictional character from a previous entry in this series, Patsy Marsden, and from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
An interesting read and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Having presented a review of the book, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," I was totally fasinated by the way the Alberts wove his life and beliefs into the Dartmoor mystery. A lot of fun to read and an entertaining way to learn more about the history and mores of the time.

Very good read. Gotta like Robin Paige's research and skilful recreation of a period in history. One of Paige's best efforts.

This is the eighth in a series of historical cozy mysteries that feature the husband and wife team of Lord Charles Sheridan and his wife, Kathryn. They are the Nick and Nora Charles of the turn of the twentieth century. They are also progressive in their ideas and liberal in their thinking, embracing with enthusiasm all the technological advances that the new century has to offer.

Charles, who has been an advocate of fingerprinting, has been requested to go to Dartmoor Prison to begin the implementation of a fingerprinting system at the prison. While at the prison, Charles arranges for a meeting with one of the most notorious prisoners there, a man whom Charles believes to be innocent of the crime to which he confessed. Meanwhile, Kathryn, who is an established author and has accompanied Charles, is looking to soak up atmosphere on the moors for her new novel.

Shortly after, a prison break takes pace and three convicts escape, including the prisoner whom Charles believes to be innocent. Soon, a dead body is discovered on the moor, and Charles and Kathryn are one more immersed in another mystery to solve. This time they are joined in their quest for truth and justice by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Well written and well-researched, the book is replete with detail evocative of a bygone era. The main characters are engaging and with each passing book, the reader becomes more interested in the details of their lives. As with all cozy mysteries, it is not so much the mystery that is of import but the characters that revolve around the mystery. While the mystery is intriguing, it is simply the framework around which the characters evolve.

It is also of interest that these books always seem to include a historical personage or event that is intertwined into the mystery at hand. The historical notes at the end of the book are most enjoyable, as they allow the reader to understand the reasoning and research that went into such inclusion. In this case, they provide a lot of information about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the writing of his book, "The Hounds of the Baskerville." The injection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle into the storyline was quite interesting, and, again, the historical notes are also illuminating as to why. For those who enjoy history, these notes are an added bonus to these books. Those who enjoy the historical cozy mystery genre will definitely love this series.

The book came in good time and was in the condition that the seller stated. I am very pleased with my order.

This is the eighth book in the Victorian Edwardian mystery series with Kate and Charles heading off to the famous Dartmoor prison. Charles is there to help set up a fingerprinting system at the prison. While there, he also wants to investigate an infamous murder in which he believes the accused did not commit the crime. The pair are joined by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who has come to the area to work on his novel about Sherlock Holmes which will become the Hound of the Baskervilles. While at Dartmoor, there is a prison break, including the man Charles believes to be innocent. A murder occurs on the moor and they now have 2 murder cases to pursue. Patsy, daughter of their neighbor, and now a world traveller/photographer plays a role in the story. This was a good, but not great mystery and I found the title characters to be a little flat in this book. Hopefully, the next in the series will improve, but I still really enjoy all of the historical and period detail that is placed in these stories.

The book arrived as was described. A good read--murder mystery set in the moors of England.