Murder Will Speak [Hardcover]

Joan Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996

Return to the dazzling ballrooms and magnificent salons of Regency England for a delightful tale of mystery and romance. . . .
The lovely young widow Corinne deCoventry lived a wonderful life as sole female member of the Berkeley Brigade, a quartet of young aristocrats and acknowledged leaders of the ton. Yet when Corinne wore the famous deCoventry pearls to the mystery ball, she soon came to regret it.
Swept off her feet by a masked Robin Hood who stole a kiss before stealing her necklace, she unexpectedly landed in mystery . . . and murder. The dashing Lord Luten rallied to her side. But his intentions were suspect when Corinne discovered that the killer lurked dangerously close to home!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pallid both as a thriller and a romance (or a spoof), this Regency mystery features four foppish aristocrats in search of a killer. Corinne, Dowager Countess deCoventry, "still" ravishing at 24, has her fabulously entailed family pearls plucked from her throat by a rogue dressed as Robin Hood at a masquerade ball. She noticed that his hands were rough and he spoke with a French accent. Armed with this information, her three good friends?Lord Luten (the leader of the Ton, or fashionable London), Sir Reginald Prance (a witless dandy) and Coffen Pattle (agreeable and rich)?band together to track down the invaluable gems. Collectively known as the Berkeley Brigade (they all live on Berkeley Square), they ferret out a Drury Lane seamstress who provided the Robin Hood costume. She is obviously frightened and is later discovered strangled. Utilizing their best skills (mostly arrogant sneers, haughty smiles and bored drawls), the foursome discover the Robin Hood impostor, now also dead. A whirlwind farce follows, with interviews in glittering ballrooms populated with bejeweled women and rakish men. Enfeebled prose ("She had hair like spun silk... her lips were ripe and red as cherries") does little to enrich this hapless story by the author of over 100 Regency romances... and a few mysteries (Behold, A Mystery!, 1994).
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Veteran author Joan Smith turns in another delightful Regency mystery, introducing four young aristocrats turned sleuths. Corinne (Countess de Coventry), Lord Luten, and their Laurel and Hardyesque companions Coffen Pattie and Sir Reginald Prance constitute the Berkeley Brigade. When Corinne's perfectly matched pearls are stolen at a masquerade ball days before she must return them to their new owner, the Brigade springs into action--and into a tangle of murder and disguise featuring actresses, forgers, cutpurses, and disinherited French counts. Corinne and Lord Luten squabble to hide their mutual affection, France emulates Beau Brummel, and Pattle pursues meals and malapropisms with equal enthusiasm. The Regency slang may be laid on a bit thick for those new to the genre, but the four leads are lively and sympathetic in this cheerful comedy of manners. Roberta Johnson

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 217 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312143788
• ISBN-13: 978-0312143787
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,562,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I was pleasantly surprised., March 18, 2007

By 

J. Lesley "(Judy)" (Midsouth, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Murder Will Speak (Mass Market Paperback)

I read the two editorial reviews above concerning this book and was totally amazed at how different they were. One negative and sniping the other positive and complimentary. It left me with only two options, either pass or take a chance and order the book. I obviously decided to order it and I'm quite glad I did. The review from Publishers Weekly gives the entire plot of the book so I am free to just go straight to my comments on how this novel struck me.

This is my first time reading a Joan Smith Regency Romantic Mystery and I enjoyed it so much I have ordered a second book featuring the Berkeley Brigade. Naturally, as is sometimes the case in a work of fiction, some of the situations do not strike us as possible or even probable. This does not mean that the book cannot be enjoyed. It was published in 1996 but because of the very, very understated romantic aspect it seems to have been written much longer ago. The hero takes the heroine in his arms, but in a time of crisis. Even though he wants the time to be romantic, she does not give him enough encouragement for the episode to go any further. Corrine deCoventry and the Marquess of Luten have a history together and their friends know they love each other even if it has never been acknowleged. The next time Luten comforts Corrine they kiss. Compared to today's standard romance novel kisses this one passes almost unnoticed.

My take on this novel is to read it for the mystery, the Regency setting, and the unusual grouping of characters who make up the Berkeley Brigade. The romance does play a huge part in the novel but it is not the only aspect of this book to concentrate on. I am honestly looking forward to reading my next Joan Smith Regency mystery to see how this "mystery club" gets involved in their next case and how they go about solving it. Don't be put off by the snide comments from Publishers Weekly. Obviously those of us who read novels set in Regency times are well prepared to deal with the "sneering" characters that reviewer saw protrayed here.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it's a murder mystery, January 30, 2006

By 

L. hansen "bookie" (mi.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Will Speak (Mass Market Paperback)

it would be nice if the reviews that were printed didn't give away the entire plot of a book that is supposed to be a mystery unravelled by the reader. otherwise, joan smith is always a fun read.

2.0 out of 5 stars supporting characters outshine!, January 27, 2010

By 

kimbee - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Murder Will Speak (Mass Market Paperback)

The positive aspect about this book is its supporting characters hands down: Coffen Pattle & Sir Reginald Prance. These two are hilarious by being ridicously technical with each other that their bickering goes off tangent from their original topics.

Smith's developing story to find out the murderer was cleverly done. Only due to the mystery of this book did i not put the book down to figure out who was the criminal. I unraveled the murder just before half way of the book but not the mystery of why the murderer "stole" the necklace till the end.

Lastly, if one is looking for romance in this book, it's a real disappointment...at least to me. I really don't see what Marquess Luten see in the widow, Lady Corinne Decoventry. Luten is the usual hero: tall, dark, handsome, clever. Eventually, I got tired of him when his insecurities surfaces up a few times by him being jealous of other single male characters with Corrine & feels triumphant when she prefers his company. Yeesh. The heroine: Lady Decoventry is even more tiresome. Despite of her often-talked beauty, I find her character insipid, sort of impulsive & careless towards the 2nd half of the book (when she falls for the same trap twice & even Luten is exasperated by her naviete).

I gave it two stars because of the ill chosen characters of the protagonists in this book. If there was more exposure to the supporting characters and the protagonists took a back seat, then more stars.