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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's open season on pilgrims -- so Powerscourt investigates, February 11, 2009
This review is from: Death of a Pilgrim (Hardcover)
This latest mystery from David Dickinson centered on Lord Francis Powerscourt, private investigator, and his intelligent and charming wife, Lady Lucy, harkens back to the strongest, earlier novels in this series. Someone is bumping off members of a group of pilgrims slowly making their way across France and Spain to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela, retracing the route of their medieval forebears. Oddly, while the organizer and sponsor of their group -- New York robber baron Michael Delaney -- has made a lot of enemies over his life as a ruthless tycoon, he isn't the apparent target. Instead, the dead are distant relatives, who have joined the pilgrimage that Delaney has decided to undertake to give thanks for the miraculous recovery of his son from a mortal illness.
As with most of Dickinson's novels, it's the characters, setting and the writing that make the book most appealing. Collectively, they mask a somewhat skimpy plotline that also boasts one too many implausible twists. (The final revelations don't come from Powerscourt's deductive skills, for instance, but instead in the contents of a telegram from a character who never actually appears in person in the book. Moreover, Dickinson hasn't prepared the way adequately for the murderer's identity or motivation.) The sudden climax -- in the streets of Pamplona -- while, dramatic, also strains the reader's credulity a tad.
Still, the character of Powerscourt is artfully drawn, as is that of his close friend and fellow investigator, Johnny Fitzgerald. Together, they probe the alibis of the motley crew of pilgrims and the life of Michael Delaney in search of some connection that would explain the murders, even as the group draws closer, step by step, to the Spanish border. The writing and pacing echo that of the time -- the first decade of the 20th century, a time when horse-drawn carriages still vastly outnumbered automobiles on the roads and different social mores applied.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good historical mystery. Readers of Barbara Cleverly's Joe Sandilands stories may find it particularly appealing; although the characters are very different, the structure of the books is similar, with as much emphasis on character as plot. But I would also suggest starting this series at the beginning, with Goodnight, Sweet Prince.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
fun historical investigative thriller, April 16, 2009
This review is from: Death of a Pilgrim (Hardcover)
In 1905, wealthy American "Robber Baron" Michael Delaney demands his extended family go on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain; no one dares refuse. However, near mountainous Le Puy-en-Velay, France, his English relative John Delaney falls to his death.
Semi-retired private investigator Lord Francis Powerscourt leads the inquiry and rules it a homicide instead of an accident though Michael pressures him otherwise. Soon other family members are murdered leading to Powerscourt knowing someone seeks vengeance against the Delaney brood. However, though many people detest Michael, why kill the others who are just minor pawns remains elusive as does the identity of the culprit.
The latest Powerscourt historical investigative thriller (see DEATH ON THE HOLY MOUNTAIN) transports readers to the early twentieth century on the continent as fans have come to expect from this series. The story line is fast-paced from the moment John takes his dive off the mountainside and never slows down as the Delaney corpses pile up. Although the ending seems too simplistic for a family dramatization of And Then There Were None, historical whodunit readers will enjoy David Dickinson's latest mystery.
Harriet Klausner
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4.0 out of 5 stars
"Nick and Nora"...., July 29, 2011
David Dickinson, a British writer, has published a number of mysteries set in Victorian and Edwardian England, starring Sir Francis Powerscourt, an ex-militaryman, turned private investigator. "Death of a Pilgrim", centered mainly in southern France and northern Spain, presents a group of pilgrims who are walking to Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrims, an American-British-and-Irish group of men and one woman, were assembled by Michael Delaney, an American industrialist, who is making the pilgrimage to honor God for saving the live of his only child, a son called James. All the pilgrims in the group are affiliated in some way with Michael Delaney, mostly members of his extended family.
As the pilgrims assemble in southern France for their onward journey, members of the group begin to die, done in by quite hideous methods. A dead Delaney here, a dead Delaney there, and soon the French authorities have a mess on their hands. Michael Delaney calls in the service of Powerscourt and his wife Lady Lucy, who travel down to Le Puy from their house in London, to join the pilgrims and try to solve the on-going murders. He does succeed, eventually, with a little help from "sources" in both Ireland and the US and a nasty bull in Pampalona, Spain.
Dickinson writes a nice little mystery. The characters - the members of the pilgrim party - are the usual odd bunch of people who get together. Everyone has a "personality", a personal "flaw", or something to set him (and her) off from the usual bunch of people traveling together. The Powerscourts are interesting and smart and cobble together the answer to the murders in a very stylish manner. Think "Nick and Nora" set about thirty years earlier and without "Asta". "Death of a Pilgrim" is a good story, and the reader will learn a lot about pilgrimages, which is knowledge always handy in parlor games!
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