Customer Reviews

Death In Hyde Park

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

 

 

This tenth book in the Kate and Charles Sheridan series deals with the problem of terrorists (or anarchists as they were called then) in England. Apparently in 1902, during the reign of Edward VII, there was fear of this type of violent action. England has just retreated from the Boer War, and they find that their "Jolly Old" is full of foreigners, and surely some of those foreigners must be dangerous! This book is not a mystery story at all. The only death is an accident when a bomb actually blows up the person who was carrying it. It appeared that the bomb was meant for the King and Queen on his Coronation Day. Charles is asked by his King to find out if there is a real anarchist threat, or whether or not this was an isolated incident. The characters are pretty good, and Kate and Charles are delightful as always. Also the writing team of Bill and Susan Albert (pseudonymously knows as Robin Paige) have done their homework. They do a good job of providing enough historical detail, and actual historical people (in this case the American author Jack London), to make the story interesting. This wasn't a bad effort in my mind.

Really excellent. Historical aspects seem authentic, and are consistent with what I have learned from other sources. The Wittigs are among my favorite writers. Good yarn!

This is the tenth entry in this series of well-written and carefully researched cozy period mysteries. Replete with period detail and the social mores evocative of a bygone era, this is a series of historical mysteries that is well worth reading. The main characters are engaging, and with each passing book, the reader becomes more fully immersed into 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.

This series features Lady Kathryn and her husband, Charles Sheridan, who is also the fifth Baron of Somersworth. They are the Nick and Nora Charles of the early twentieth century. When a bomb is set off on King Edward's coronation day in 1902, blowing up the bomber in the process, Charles is commissioned by King Edward to inquire into the activities of local anarchists to determine the extent to which their activities should be taken seriously and whether or not they are a threat to the crown. Charles, aided by his intelligent and feisty wife, Kathryn, investigates, and what they discover makes them test their liberal proclivities.

In addition, American author, Jack London, also weighs in, as he is inextricably woven into the plot. This series of 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 Jack London, illuminating as to why he was included into the storyline. 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.

This is the 10th book in the Victorian-Edwardian mystery series. Kate and Charles are going to attend the coronation of King Edward when an anarchist blows himself up in Hyde Park. The king asks Charles to aid in the investigation. The plot revolves around Russian anarchists, an underground newspaper edited by a woman, Charlotte Conway, who escapes from arrest. She asks for help from her friend, an actress whom we met previously as a girl who knew one of the Jack the Ripper victims. The historical character that plays a key role in the story is Jack London, who is researching a book on the slums of London. Unfortunately, although the historical details were interesting, I did not enjoy this mystery nearly as much as prior books in the series. It feels like Kate and Charles play a peripheral role in the story and it lacked an emotional connection for me.

The husband-and-wife team that is Robin Paige has been producing a solid mystery series. They are set in the end of Victoria's reign and the beginning of Edward's, so they are both Victorian and Edwardian. The husband-and-wife detectives face interesting problems and interesting historic personages. While there are a few twists, the mysteries are moderately challenging to the reader - you will get there before the Sheridans, but perhaps not by much.

A new adventure of Charles and Kate Sheridan, reluctant peer/amateur sleuth and his American-born wife, this time focusing more on the age of social upheaval in England that they find themselves involved in, and of the anarchists, Russian and otherwise, who lived in the East End. More courtroom drama that normal in this cozy series, but entertaining if nothing else the quick-witted barrister's work. As the story opens, a young radical is killed by his own bomb; arrested in the subsequent raid on a socialist newspaper is a union organizer who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Charles is asked to help clear the young man. As always, Paige mixes real history in with her story, as a young Jack London, in England to write an expose of the slums, encounters the feisty female editor of the raided newspaper. Along the way you painlessly learn something of the years of British social upheaval.

Book was received in excellent condition. The husband and wife team who write under the name of Robin Paige bring Victorian/Edwardian England to life in their series of books which mix fact and fiction. At the end of the each book the real characters are explained in more depth. A most interesting concept which adds to the history of the period covered by each book.

This is an engaging series in which the history of the period and real personalities from the period are woven into complex, satisfying plots. The books are very readable and I am sorry I am now on the next to last. This one is about the bombing attempt against King Edward and Queen Alexander.

I really like Robin Paige's Victorian mysteries. This book is always electrifying and you just can't put the book down!

Fans of this series will already be very familiar with Queen Victoria's son, who is being coroneted Edward VII as this book begins. The new king has appeared in several of these books and has become very aware of Lord Charles and Lady Kathryn Sheridan's sleuthing abilities. On Coronation Day there is an explosion in Hyde Park and shortly thereafter the king asks Charles to determine the depth of the plot and the extent of the danger to the royal family in the future.

This is by no means a traditional murder mystery for there is no real murder. The explosion was caused when a bumbling young anarchist trips and falls on his own bomb, blowing himself up and injuring no one else. This book is really more of a fictional version of a true crime novel with a strong political message. Depending upon one's political leanings, the political message may or may not be welcome but it is a very strong thread that runs from cover to cover. The authors even go so far as to tag an inspector who is willing to break any law and violate any civil liberty with the name of Ashcraft.

Soon after the bombing an anarchist newspaper where the young bomber worked is raided and three men on the premises are arrested. One of the men is not an anarchist at all but is just there to take the paper's lovely editor Charlotte Conway to lunch. This young man is a Labor leader and has worked with Charles before so that his protestations of innocence fall on fertile ground. When bottles containing nitric acid are found in the living quarters of all three men Charles uses his vast knowledge of the new science of fingerprinting to find out just how those bottles got there. All three men of course say that they have never seen those bottles. The investigation then moves into a courtroom setting and the defense lawyer Charles has hired uses Charles' fingerprint evidence to great advantage. This courtroom drama is easily the most enjoyable part of the book.

As is normally the case with the books of this series, a real historical figure plays a major role in the story and in this case it is novelist Jack London. I really don't know that much about Mr. London's life but I dare say that his fans will not like the portrait of him that is painted in this book. Fans of this series may be a little put off by the fact that Kate does very little snooping in this story and mostly just presides over a tangle of sexual misconduct while comforting the victim left behind.

I found this book to be slow reading at times, although at other times it was a page-turner. What mystery there was seemed shallow and some of the characters came across as very one-dimensional. On the other hand, I just can't say enough good things about the court scenes, which saved this book from being very ordinary. While I tend to agree with the author's concern about our civil liberties in light of the current terrorist threat, I think that they may have gotten too caught up in their message, with the story suffering as a consequence. This is not my least favorite of the series, but its close.