A Rendezvous with Death (Victorian Murder Mystery Series) [Hardcover]

Sally Spencer (Author), Alan Rustage (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0727859323 | ISBN-13: 978-0727859327 | Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Description Rivalling Anne Perry, a new Victorian series by the author of the much-loved Chief Inspector Woodend books, Sally Spencer As the fog clears, a brutally murdered corpse turns up, caught in the ropes of a barge in the Thames. Ordinarily, this would be a run-of-the-mill incident, but in this particular case, Inspector Blackstone quickly realizes he is well and truly out of his depth. The clothes may belong to a poor man, but the face does not; and to Blackstone, the aristocracy are in themselves a mystery whose authority far outweighs his own. Blackstone's horizons are to be widened still further as the investigation leads him to Little Russia, an emigre area where he finds still more people who aren't used to taking the British bobby remotely seriously.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Spencer was born and brought up in Cheshier. She has been a teacher in England and Iran.

Fans of Alan Rustage's Woodend books will find in this brand new series the same ingenious plotting and entertaining turn of phrase. But this time the sharp eye for period detail turns to Victorian London - and a hero who is undeniably a little more of a daredevil.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Severn House Publishers (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0727859323
• ISBN-13: 978-0727859327
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,887,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good historical background, May 24, 2004

By 

Valerie Adolph "Coast Journal" (Pacific Northwest) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Rendezvous with Death (Victorian Murder Mystery Series) (Hardcover)

This is a well-researched piece of English social history, revealing life in London at the end of the nineteenth century. The focus is on the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. The protagonist, Scotland Yard Inspector Sam Blackstone, is led through the streets of the poorer area of London and becomes involved with the emigres and outcasts of Russian society who have formed their own community there.

This is well plotted, but the social history and the period are much like those of Anne Perry, and comparisons between the two writers are inevitable. Anne Perry has nothing to worry about - this is a poor imitation of her work. This is actually quite a good book but it falls a long way short of Anne Perry's prose. A completely different setting might have shown this writer to better advantage.

This shows the obligatory comparisons between the life of rich and poor in Victorian England; it has a sympathetic and well realized protagonist and even a beautiful Russian spy. It's a decent, workmanlike book - but it ain't Anne Perry.