The Parliament House [Hardcover]

Edward Marston (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2006

London, 1670. The completion of his new project could not have run more smoothly for Christopher Redmayne. Commissioned to design a new house for Francis Polegate, a merchant, Christopher is pleased that everything has gone without a hitch. To celebrate the success of the venture, Polegate throws a party and invites Christopher as an honoured guest. Also invited are Susan Cheever, Christopher’s sweetheart, her father, Sir Julius Cheever MP, and Bernard Everett, Polegate’s brother-in-law. But the party comes to an abrupt end when one of the guests is murdered upon leaving the house . . . With blood staining the doorstep of his new creation, Christopher can’t help but feel involved. With the help of his good friend, the Puritan Constable Jonathan Bale, and his dissolute brother, Henry, Christopher vows to find the killer and bring him to justice. However, preliminary investigations suggest that the victim was a well-liked man with no known enemies. Could it therefore have been a case of mistaken identity? In which case, just who was the intended target?

Editorial Reviews

Review

Marston’s revenge plot has all the swashbuckling thrills and romantic swagger of blood and thunder tragedies. --New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Edward Marston was born and brought up in South Wales. A full-time writer for over thirty years, he has worked in radio, film, television and the theatre. Prolific and highly successful, he is equally at home writing children’s books or literary criticism, plays or biographies and the settings for his crime novels range from the world of professional golf to the compilation of the Domesday Survey. He is also a former Chairman of the Crime Writers Association.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Allison & Busby; First Ed. edition (February 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0749082852
• ISBN-13: 978-0749082857
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,400,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Case of Mistaken Identity?, August 7, 2006

By 

J. Chippindale (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Parliament House (Hardcover)

I am always excited about a new book from Edward Marston. He is perhaps not as well known as some authors, but he is certainly in my top six and a new novel is always well worth waiting for.

Christopher Redmayne has just overseen the completion of a house he has been commissioned to design for a merchant. To celebrate the completion of the property, Francis Polegate the merchant throws a party and invites Christopher as an honoured guest, and also several people who are known to Christopher, including his sweetheart Susan.

The party is brought to an abrupt and sad end when news is brought that one of the guests, who recently left the house has been murdered. Christopher cannot help but feel involved and seeks out the help of a constable, Jonathan Bale, a man Christopher has had assistance from before, while he was involved in the solving of certain crimes. He also enrols the help of his wayward brother, Henry, and between them they set out to solve the murder of the unfortunate guest.

There investigations lead them to believe that there may have been a case of mistaken identity. The dead man was very well liked, he had no apparent enemies. If he had been murdered by mistake who was the intended victim?

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable read, February 22, 2006

By 

L. J. Roberts (Oakland, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Parliament House (Hardcover)

I had not read Marston before and admit to not being a huge fan of the amateur sleuth. However, I did find this a very enjoyable book with a wonderful range of interesting characters. The period details didn't always ring true to me, although they may well have been, but nothing to cause me great distress. There was some good suspense; the dialogue was well done and seemed appropriate to the period. To the negative, there were a couple coincidences, and I did suspect on of the characters part way through. All-in-all, it was a fairly quick, enjoyable read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and quick historical mystery, December 5, 2008

By 

Matthew Jackson (Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Parliament House (Christopher Redmayne Mystery) (Christopher Redmayne Mystery 5) (Paperback)

I read through this great book in just two evenings. Mr Marston has a great ability to create interesting characters who's future you care about and even better, able to bring historic London to life amid all his story-telling. An interesting read that has spurned me on to order another in this series!