Guilty Knowledge (Virago Crime) [Paperback]

Clare Curzon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2000 | Series: Virago Crime

When policemen arrive at the Earl of Sedgwick's estate to enquire after a missing Italian gentleman, the Earl's daughter-in-law, Eugenie, realises that buried secrets may not remain concealed much longer. Secrets that have bound her to her dangerously unstable sister-in-law - the Honourable Isabelle Delmayne - ever since a trip abroad years before. Then, as the newly graduated daughter of a fashionable dressmaker, Eugenie had thrilled at the chance to accompany the young and beautiful, recently widowed Isabelle through Europe and Africa. But once embarked, the gloss of expectation had rapidly been tarnished by the bitter reality of Isabelle's capricious temper and her taste for subterfuge and unsuitable men. Torn between the demands of duty and station, and an increasing desire to be free of Isabelle, Eugenie had unexpectedly fallen secretly and deeply in love. Isabelle however, had been keeping a secret of her own - one that she intended Eugenie to keep too. Now, with the Italian's body dredged up from a river on the Earl's estate, Eugenie finds the only way to clear her name is to break from Isabelle's tyranny and the duplicity of the past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Departing from her successful Thames Valley mystery series, Curzon tells with her usual elegance an intriguing tale of two very different women at the turn of the 20th century. Eugenie, Viscountess Crowthorne, and her sister-in-law, Lady Isabelle Delmayne, share an intricate seven-year relationship involving intimate secrets, blackmail and murder. The discovery of the body of an unknown foreigner near the family estate forces Eugenie to reflect on the possibly tragic consequences of the past. Fresh from school, Eugenie had accompanied the newly widowed Isabelle on a tour of the Continent. Only a few months go by after this tour before Eugenie learns the extent to which Isabelle will go to protect her own reputation at the expense of others, sacrificing even Eugenie's budding romance with an army officer in Egypt. The deceitful Isabelle blackmails Eugenie into helping disguise an illicit pregnancy and later into covering up the possible murder of an Italian doctor who knows too much. When Isabelle's child, Lucy, whom Eugenie adores, becomes a bargaining chip, Eugenie must make some painful personal decisions. The despicable Isabelle retains a few redeeming qualities, while the na?ve Eugenie develops into a discerning young woman. The identity of the dead man and his murderer, revealed at the climax, is almost secondary to the fascinating character study.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

When police investigate the death of a foreigner found near the home of two aristocratic women in Edwardian England, they chance upon deep secrets in the women's past and another murder. A departure from the author's well-known Thames Valley police team series but just as well written.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Virago (January 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1860496873
• ISBN-13: 978-1860496875
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,498,710 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clever historical mystery, July 15, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Guilty Knowledge (Hardcover)

In Edwardian England, sisters-in-law, Viscountess Eugenie Crowthorne and Lady Isabelle Delmaye share an intimate bond centering on murder and blackmail. For the past seven-plus years, at least since the honorable Isabelle became a widow at twenty, the two women have spent much of their time either hiding secrets, trying to trump one another, or simply blackmailing the other. The amoral Isabelle almost always triumphed in their battle.

However, a new murder interrupts the game of one up-woman-ship. The police investigate the death of a foreign visitor and soon begin to unravel a similar happening several years ago regarding an Italian doctor who knew the inner secrets of the two ladies. Did one of the women kill the foreigner just like they most likely murdered the Italian?

The who-done-it in GUILTY KNOWLEDGE is cleverly designed, but the tale is more an intricate look into two aristocratic women at the beginning of the twentieth century. Isabelle and Genie are fascinating charcaters whose motives and mannerisms are lucid so that the audience understands their actions and reactions. The support cast provides a feel for Edwardian England even as they cement the insight into the lead characters. Clare Curzon has written many superb novels (under several names) for over four decades has written one of her best books with this keen perceptive examination of a bygone era.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars full of bizzare transitions and plot inconsisticies, January 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Guilty Knowledge (Hardcover)

This book more full of holes than my old fishnet stockings. Characters marry, get sick, committ murder, and act in inexplicable ways. They appear and disapper without entering or exiting the room. By the end I was frantically paging back and forward through the book trying to figure out where a character was injured, or married or did some of the things that are noted. I even checked page numbers wondering if somehow a few chapters had been omitted from my copy. AWFUL.