Customer Reviews

A Flaw in the Blood

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I've read and enjoyed Barron's Jane Austen mysteries, and I expected to like this one as well. But the plot--what there is of it--is deeply flawed, and the characters are cartoonish, from "Beautiful Lady in Peril" to "One-eyed Villian". The writing does move along quickly from cliffhanger to cliffhanger, but the illogical plot doesn't support all this melodrama. While I don't always object to fictionalizing historical figures, Barron's portrayals of Victoria and Albert are ludicrous and reflect only the most superficial connections to the individuals whose biographies she cites. Honestly, I can't imagine why Barron did such extensive historical research for this book; she certainly didn't make use of the material. I'm glad I didn't waste money on this book, having borrowed it from my local library; now I'm off to do something I very seldom do in returning it unfinished. Two-thirds of the book wasted more than enough of my time.

Stephanie Barron now delves into the Victorian period with her first novel being about Queen Victoria herself. As with her Austen series, Barron's research is impeccable, the atmosphere genuine, and the novel is certainly suspenseful.

I liked the alternating voices as a vehicle by which to tell the back story for the characters (although the character development could still have been better).

At the risk of spoiling it for others: My main objection was the vicious, sadistic strain that ran through the story in the guise of the villainous Count. The graphic descriptions of the rape (or near-rape) and the flogging seemed unnecessary to the plot, inserted only to titillate. I didn't appreciate the sadism and thought the story line would have stood better without it. I also didn't get the attraction between Georgie and Fitzgerald -- or rather, I can understand his attraction to her, but not her attraction to him, a man 20 years her senior and who has been serving as her guardian. That aspect should have been explored in more depth.

All in all, I enjoyed the book, especially the trivia about Victoria and Albert. The chapters written in Victoria's voice were absolutely excellent!

I did not enjoy the violence and sadism and I wish the author had found a way to move the plot without those elements being so liberally distributed.

A Flaw in the Blood by Stephanie Barron is a thrilling Victorian mystery. Irish barrister, Patrick Fitzgerald, and his ward Dr. Georgiana Armistead are on the run for their lives after the death of the Prince Consort, Albert. They are hunted throughout England and on the Continent by German Wolfgang van Stuhlen, but they have no idea who wants them dead or why. Much of the story is built on surprises in the plot, and I don't want to give too much away. Barron alternates chapters between Fitzgerald and Queen Victoria. Writing as the queen is a fabulous conceit, and Barron pulls it off with aplomb. Her fictional view into the queen's mind is delicious and frightening. The plot builds slowly, but as the threads come together, they tighten the plot making it a true masterpiece. Barron takes little known bits of history and re-imagines them with gleeful malice. I've always thought of Queen Victoria as rather boring and a bit stodgy, after this I'm off to read a biography. I look forward to Barron writing more books with this bent.

In 1861, amid rumors of typhoid, Albert, the Queen's Consort, expires after long days of illness. Devastated by the loss of her "Beloved", her "All in All", Victoria will soon cast herself into her greatest role to date, that of profoundly grieving spouse. But first she must attend to a nasty piece of business, forcing barrister Patrick Fitzgerald to sign a document renouncing a claim to throne to which he was witness twenty years prior. Fitzgerald refuses, earning Victoria's considerable enmity. As soon as Patrick leaves the castle to return to London, his coach is attacked, the driver killed, Fitzgerald and his companion, Edinburgh-trained physician Georgiana Armistead, barely escaping with their lives. Although Fitzgerald realizes the attack is not random, he has yet to understand the enormity of the danger to himself and his companion, returning to his offices the following morning to discover his law partner in a pool of blood, his skull smashed. Summoning help, Patrick goes in search of Georgiana, vaguely acknowledging a subconscious sense of alarm, but distracted in his anxiety to make sure the young woman is safe.

Not at home, Georgiana has already repaired to the slums of St Giles, where she is operating to save the life of a fourteen-year-old streetwalker, victim of a careless procedure by a local quack. Pressing Patrick into service, the operation has barely finished when a group of paid thugs storms the tenement in search of Patrick and Georgiana. Barely escaping along a rooftop gutter, the men are dispatched after considerable violence; by then Fitzgerald has realized the necessity of leaving London for a safer place. With little choice, he repairs of a remote island, where his long-estranged wife is in the final throes of a debilitating and fatal disease, Patrick's resentful son, Theo, raging against his father's intrusive return. But safety is not to be found even in this solitary place, Patrick fleeing with a now ill Georgiana Armistead, barely escaping the clutches of the queen's man, Count von Stuhlen. A gentleman of no scruples, von Stuhlen has been tasked to kill the pair, although he has not yet ascertained the queen's purpose.

In a plot that reaches across England, France and Germany, from the royal palaces to the slums, from drawing rooms to boarding houses, the quarry are always but a step ahead of von Stuhlen. Resorting to the most egregious acts to accomplish his mission for the queen, von Stuhlen is evil incarnate, the bitter, acquisitive face of power in pursuit of burying the truth at any cost. With unerring precision, the count stalks his prey, tracking their every move in a complicated puzzle that leads directly through the royal line to "a flaw in the blood" that will upset years of careful planning. Hunted across three continents with little money, a loyal servant and the occasional kindness of fate, Fitzgerald and Georgiana are relentless in their quest for answers- so relentless, in fact that they fail to perceive the danger looming at their backs. The pursuit is harrowing and enigmatic from the first chapter, a journey through blind alleys to a shocking revelation that is as masterful as it is thrilling. Luan Gaines/2008.

After reading several rave reviews of this suspense novel I expected to be wowed...sadly I wasn't. I thought the story line was a good mystery but the author just didn't develop the characters enough to make it moving.

Irish barrister Patrick Fitzgerald and his young ward Dr. Georgiana Armistead were nearly killed while traveling in Queen Victoria's carriage. It is clear that the coach was not attacked at random. But why? and who was the intended victim Fitzgerald or Georgiana? Fitzgerald is certain that they both need to flee to safety while they try to understand the reason someone wishes to harm them.

I love a fast paced suspense novel set in London in the 1800s with a head strong young woman doctor as a main character but this novel just seemed to plod along very slowly and disappointingly.

The characters seemed flat and one-dimensional, I didn't feel their love, anger, despair, fear, lust. I didn't feel the suspense of the chase.

The language seemed inconsistent the Irish brogue unconvincing and there were too many coincidences and instances of convenient timing.

The narration of this novel starts out with alternating chapters in the third person and in the first person from Queen Victoria's perspective. Then suddenly at chapter fourteen the narration of the two perspectives is included in the same chapter, it made for an awkward rhythm and was inconsistent.

There were at least three scenes of suspenseful conflict that were rather abruptly ended without the author telling us the details of how our hero and heroine escaped...

And sometimes I just had no idea what was being said. From Queen Victoria's narrative: "I took the fatherless child in my arms and thought what a picture we must make -- I so oppressed with loss, she a vision of bewildered innocence. I must direct the Court photographer to consider of our poses."

I have read similar novels recently including all of the Julian Kestrel Mysteries by Kate Ross, Silent In The Grave and Silent In The Sanctuary by Deanna Reybourn, A Poisoned Season, And Only To Deceive by Tasha Alexander. I thought they were all very good and well written with fully developed characters who's suffering I could identify with, unfortunately I didn't feel the same about A Flaw In The Blood.

I have long been a fan of Barron's Jane Austen mystery series and so I awaited this book with great anticipation. It was a bit of a shock to find it quite different from her Austen series, but this isn't really a bad thing. All in all, it was a good effort from a skilled author and a promise of more to come.

The great strength of the novel is its ability to transport the reader back to the days of Victoria and Albert. From the novel's afterword, it's obvious that Barron did her homework and it really pays off here. Her Austen novels are also very atmospheric so this wasn't a new quality to her writing but the setting is quite different from the Austen novels and serves to prove that Barron has the ability to master whatever time period she chooses.

What astonishes most about this novel is the central plot. Barron takes the story of Victoria and Albert and turns it on its head. She does an excellent job of portraying Victoria as a woman unwilling to relinquish her power and I certainly hope the real Victoria was nothing like Barron's version of her because Barron has created on scary character in her. The novel is really at its strongest when it is told from Victoria's point of view and we get a chance to witness the twisted inner workings of her mind and her strained relationship with her children. As for her love for Albert, Barron portrays it in a chillingly obsessive manner which makes their marriage something of a less than romantic fairy tale. To speak any more of the subject is to give away far too much.

Less strong, though, is the story of Patrick Fitzgerald and his ward, Georgiana Armistead. The two are ostensibly the real main characters of the novel but the inner workings of their minds, their hopes and feelings aren't as well written as those of Victoria. A great deal is alluded to about Patrick's past but what is given away is done in general terms. It would have served his character better, perhaps, to have some flashbacks to his past in which we see what he experiences in detail. We get these scenes when Victoria reflects on her childhood but not when Patrick reflects on his and it struck me as a bit odd. As for Georgiana, she is the least developed because little of the story is told from her perspective. The premise of the character is interesting and it's disappointing that she's not as well developed as she should be.

What makes this novel so different from the Austen mysteries is the bald violence of it. The novel includes a very sadistic killer and seeing things through his eyes can be quite disturbing. His inclusion certainly lends the novel a darker tone. The character falls a bit flat, though, and could have done with some additional development. There are reasons for his actions but more detail of his past would have led to a better understanding of what motivates him to act as he does.

The novel is solid and suspenseful and the concept is certainly unique but it doesn't entirely hit the mark. The plot and characters could have been fleshed out more and the ending seems a bit rushed but it is, nevertheless, a very well-written novel by an author with a great deal of potential. I certainly look forward to Barron's next effort, which is slated for release in 2009.

After reading this book, I'm not sure if I'm more disgusted or disappointed. I read this book after enjoying several Jane Austen mysteries. You can tell here that Barron knows how to write...many passages show her skill with the pen. However, she shows poor judgment in this book over and over again. 1) The book slanders Queen Victoria, who cannot defend herself and has living descendents to be hurt. After a little internet research, the reader can learn that the author's claims about Victoria's heritage are baseless (hemophelia occuring 30% of the time through a mutation and without inheritance and there are no likely candidates who could have been her mother's lover who had the disease) and Victoria's character in this book has no relation to her real-life personality. 2) Poor characterizations litter the stage. The female characters are portrayed as ridiculous; even the vivacious and well-educated doctor is just a silly girl in the end. The bad guys are ridiculous in their own way: the final threat and rescue of the lovely plays almost like s&m fantasy trash. I wince just thinking about it.