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23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a deliciously dark read, March 4, 2008
This review is from: A Flaw in the Blood (Hardcover)
Hopefully Stephanie Barron isn't done with Jane Austen quite yet; in the meantime however, she's decided to delve into the Victorian era, and has successfully penned this deliciously dark and haunting novel about royal secrets and obsessions.
Even as her beloved husband, Prince Albert, lies dying, Queen Victoria mysteriously summons barrister, Patrick Fitzgerald, to Winsdor, demanding that he sign an affidavit denying every bit of evidence he had uncovered more than 20 years ago while defending the man accused of attempting to assassinate her. And when the carriage carrying his ward, the beautiful and unconventional Dr. Georgina Armistad, and himself away from Windsor Castle is brutally attacked, Patrick cannot help but wonder if the attempt on his life had anything to do with his visit to the royal household. A murderous attack on his partner in chambers and the shocking break-in at Georgina's home only confirms his suspicions. Resolved to discover why his death is suddenly so ardently desired, Patrick begins his quest to discover exactly who is after him and why, never dreaming how much his investigation could affect the fate of the current royal family...
Sweeping across the European continent, this tautly paced mystery novel was an exciting read from beginning to end -- not only was the entire mystery subplot a very riveting and exciting one, but the other two subplots that focused on Queen Victoria and the royal family, made for absorbing and compelling reading as well. I was particularly fascinated by the author's deliciously sinister portrayal of the Queen, thinking that it added a texture and darkness to the novel that made it unforgettable. And while it is true that the three distinct narrative voices did sometimes jar the smooth flow of the novel, "Flaw in the Blood" still was a very fast paced and incredibly suspenseful read. Well researched, "Flaw in the Blood" proved to be the kind of fascinating and deliciously dark novel that I for one would have no hesitation in recommending as a must read.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Victoria was not amused., March 2, 2008
This review is from: A Flaw in the Blood (Hardcover)
Stephanie Barron's "A Flaw in the Blood" opens in 1860. Something has caused Queen Victoria's Consort, Prince Albert, to fall into a deep depression. "He had wanted death. He had gone out that morning hunting for it." A year later, Albert is gravely ill, supposedly with typhoid (although his symptoms point to a far different malady). Victoria summons an Irish barrister named Patrick Fitzgerald to Windsor Palace. She makes no effort to hide her disdain for Fitzgerald, calling him "an uncouth lackey of the Irish rabble." Patrick incurred Victoria's eternal wrath in 1840 when he disseminated scandalous accusations implicating the Royal family in an assassination attempt on the Queen. Twenty years later, Victoria orders Fitzgerald to sign a paper stating that his statements were "nothing more than a fabrication of [his] own treacherous Irish mind." Patrick refuses, thus setting the stage for what proves to be a "battle royal."
Patrick's ward is twenty-six year old Georgiana Armistead, a woman twenty years his junior with whom he has fallen in love. Her previous guardian, the late Dr. John Snow, was a legendary figure who traced the 1854 cholera outbreak in London to a particular water pump on Broad Street. Snow was a genius, whose work inspired Georgie to study medicine in Edinburgh. Now she chooses to treat the poorest patients in London's most wretched and unsanitary slums. Patrick had promised Snow that he would keep an eye on Georgie, but she is a fiercely independent individual who answers to no one but herself. Soon Patrick discovers, much to his woe, how ill-advised it is to ignore Victoria's commands. The Queen dispatches the sadistic Wolfgang Graf von Stuhlen and his henchmen to hunt down and kill Patrick, Georgiana, and others whom she deems a threat to her rule. Von Stuhlen is a malevolent and vicious sociopath who harbors a long-standing grudge against Georgie. He embarks on his mission with zeal, relentlessly pursuing his quarry across England, France, and Bavaria.
Although most of the book is written in the third person, some revealing chapters are narrated by Victoria herself. These poignant passages offer insight into the Queen's traumatic history and complex psychological makeup. Victoria discusses her lonely and troubled childhood, her ascension to the throne, her ardent love for the moral and straight-laced Albert, the nine children she bore (some of whom bitterly disappointed her), and her determination to maintain her position at all costs. Barron portrays Victoria as an imperious, arrogant, and unforgiving monarch who is obsessed with silencing her enemies. Fitzgerald is a courageous and resourceful protagonist who harbors shocking secrets of his own. The gifted and idealistic Georgiana is willing to risk her reputation and even her life to fulfill her professional and personal responsibilities. Patrick and those closest to him know that they can never live in peace until they discover exactly what Victoria has taken such great pains to conceal. "A Flaw in the Blood" is an engrossing and well-researched blend of fact and fiction (slightly marred by occasional touches of melodrama) that explores the ways in which each one of us, from the lowliest peasant to the most exalted sovereign, is subject to the same needs, passions, and human imperfections.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Flaw in the Plot?, December 13, 2008
The plot in A Flaw in the Blood centers around the death of Queen Victoria's beloved consort Prince Albert and the question of how hemophilia entered the Hanover-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha bloodline. If you're expecting the standard prissy widow in serious morning version of Queen Victoria be warned, this Victoria has a secret diary and isn't afraid to confide in it. The narrative is split between third-person accounts of the adventures of English Doctor Georgiana Armistead and Irish-born lawyer Patrick Flanagan, the dastardly efforts of German Count Wolfgang von Stuhlen to silence them and Victoria's secret diary. The action lives up to its "A Novel of Suspense" subtitle by constantly putting Georgiana and Patrick in mortal danger, usually at the hands of von Stuhlen. But is he acting on Victoria's orders or is she just another mark in his game?
I'm hard pressed to explain exactly what didn't work for me in this book without giving away key plot points. I don't want to do that because this book isn't bad at all, it's decently written and I'm sure many an intelligent mystery fan would find it enjoyable. So I'll try to convey my reservations without treading too close to the plot. The writing in general is solid. Barron does occasionally write dialog in phonetic dialect, something that bugs me beyond measure when it's over done but it was tolerable here.
There are a few problems here thought and chief among them being the characterizations of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, both of which strain credibility. It's ingenuous, I suppose, to have the Little Miss Perfect who ruled England for over 60 years be diabolically ruthless but I couldn't quite swallow that. Strong-willed, spoiled and a little wacky after Albert died, yes. Sex-obsessed and potentially murderous? Not so much. At first her diary confidences are merely surprising - the idea that Victoria desperately needed an outlet for her true feelings rings true. But would Victoria really have written about Albert's "erection surging"?
Nor could I buy the idea that Prince Albert was SO principled and so innocent that he would give up his hard won personal power. Or that he was so principled he couldn't tell when what was "right" might in fact cause national if not international turmoil. An "Angelic Being" is one thing, a village idiot is quite another. Of course, I think I'd buy that quicker than I would that he was a feminist.
Georgiana and Patrick are the least fleshed out characters in the book. Part of the problem is that keeping thinking and saying the same things. Georgiana can't let too long go by without declaring "I'm a doctor" and Patrick has to moon over her at least once a chapter. It doesn't leave them a lot of room to grow. It also got a little tiring for me but then I'd rather "observe" a character than be "told" about them. Patrick thought about how much he worshipped Georgie but I was never too sure what the attraction was for him. Same with Georgie who's too frequently reminding Patrick and anyone else within earshot that she is a doctor! I'm all for a little anachronistic I-am-woman-hear-me-roar but Georgie veered into sandwich board territory at times. Also, what drove a woman to make such an unconventional choice against such enormous odds? Sure she was intrigued and her "guardian" was a famous doctor but that's not exactly depth of characterization. By contrast the villain Von Stuhlen and even the revisionist version of Queen Victoria are better drawn. You can't help but get the feeling that Barron had more fun writing for those two. Von Stuhlen has a key advantage over all the other characters in that he has a motivation for his actions that makes sense.
The plot is intriguing enough. But even there the links to Georgiana and Patrick were too stretched to be convincing. If you can believe that Prince Albert, an arch traditionalist in most matters, would consult a woman doctor on the topic of cholera and public sewage, than you're doing better than me and you probably stand a better chance of enjoying this book.
Even the most talented writers are entitled to the occasional misstep. Stephanie Barron is clearly a capable author and despite my disappointment over this book I'm still eager to check out her highly praised Jane Austen series.
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