Death at Dartmoor (A Victorian Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robin Paige (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 4, 2003 | Series: A Victorian Mystery

“A sentence to Dartmoor Prison is a sentence to a living hell…” Lord Charles Sheridan and his American wife, Kate, have heard some truly awful things about Britain’s most notorious prison. But Dartmoor and its mist-shrouded environs hold special appeal for both Sheridans. Kate hopes to find inspiration for her new Gothic novel, while Charles plans to implement a fingerprinting program at the prison—and arrange a meeting with one of its most infamous inmates, Samuel Spencer. He’s convinced that Spencer—a Scotsman who admitted to killing his wife—is, in fact, innocent. What’s more, he believes he has the evidence to prove it. But Spencer continues to maintain his own guilt—and, as if to confirm it, he soon stages a daring prison escape. Lord Charles and his acquaintance Arthur Conan Doyle are most perplexed by this odd turn of events. And when a body turns up on the moor, it’s up to the two men—and the clever Kate—to discover if the missing convict is connected to this murderous new case…

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A fantasia on themes from The Hound of the Baskervilles whose focus on the Sheridans shows an altogether more lighthearted side of the moors than Doyle ever revealed.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Robin Paige’s detectives do for turn-of-the-century technology and detection what Elizabeth Peters’ Peabody and Emerson have done for Victorian Egyptology.”—Gothic Journal

“Paige has crafted another convincingly detailed Victorian mystery, sure to please fans and new readers alike.”—Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Robin Paige is the pseudonym of husband-and-wife team Susan Wittig Albert and Bill Albert. Susan Wittig Albert is the author of the China Bayles mysteries Thyme of Death, Witch's Bane, Hangman's Root, Rosemary Remembered, Rueful Death, Love Lies Bleeding, Chile Death, Lavender Lies, Mistletoe Man, and Bloodroot. Bill Albert is the coauthor, with his wife, of more than sixty novels for young adults. They live in the Texas hill country.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425189090
• ISBN-13: 978-0425189092
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #268,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So, Dr. Doyle--how was your vacation, February 27, 2002

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Death at Dartmoor (Robin Paige Victorian 8) (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Elementary My Dear Sheridan, July 5, 2005

By 

Dennis Phillips "The Book Friar" (Bulls Gap, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death at Dartmoor (A Victorian Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Easy Mystery to Figure out but a Charming Tale anyway., January 14, 2003

By 

S. Schwartz "romonko" (alberta canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death at Dartmoor (Robin Paige Victorian 8) (Hardcover)

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.