Amazon.com Review
Retired Georgia sheriff John Le Brun had conceived his 1905 trip to London as an opportunity to test his intellect in "the hub of the learned world." He hadn't expected to also tackle a locked-room puzzle with international implications.
Set six years after the murder among moguls recounted in Brent Monahan's The Jekyl Island Club, this second Le Brun adventure shows the intuitive, lone-wolf lawman having lost none of his investigative prowess to advancing age. On hand to discover four men massacred in the gambling room of the exclusive Sceptred Isle Club, he finds that chamber's inside door bolted, and no sign of either a weapon or the money being wagered. When a small fortune is unearthed from a local policeman's garden, the case appears closed. Le Brun, though, isn't convinced. So, with assistance from Sherlock Holmes' creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle--wonderfully rendered here as an adventure-loving adulterer--and despite the distraction of a beguiling young coquette, he pursues his own solution, linking the killings to a longevity pool and the fight for Irish self-governance.
The Sceptred Isle Club's plot is rather conventional and slow to boil, and it reveals a twist from Jekyl Island, so these books should be read in order. Yet this yarn captivates with its Edwardian high-society atmospherics, frequent humor, and the conscientious development of Le Brun, a disarmingly keen, frontier-style sleuth. The only mystery left at the end of Monahan's novel is where his ex-sheriff will go "clubbing" next. --J. Kingston Pierce
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
Sheriff John Le Brun of Brunswick, Ga., who debuted in The Jekyl Island Club (2000), mingles with another club of powerful men in a mystery that brings a welcome Southern touch to the British historical. Retired at last, the 58-year-old Civil War veteran takes a trip in 1905 to London, where he hopes to meet some of the best minds in the "hub of the learned world." In his first adventure, the largely self-educated Le Brun rubbed shoulders with such financial giants of the day as Joseph Pulitzer and J.P. Morgan. Here he tests his mettle against a ruthless killer and matches wits with Scotland Yard and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in an effort to stop the slaughter. Le Brun happens to be a guest at the posh Sceptred Isle Club when two members of Parliament are shot dead in the gambling room. But for a chance stroke, his host, Trent Godwin, might have been among the victims. Thanks to his reputation as a crime-solver and a good word from Doyle, the American is able to perform a semi-official role in the investigation. Godwin's beautiful stepdaughter, Veronica, a very forward and forward-thinking young lady, provides a surprising romantic foil. Le Brun's quiet doggedness and resourcefulness serve him well as he plays his cards close to the vest while seeming to share with his British counterparts. Anne Perry fans may not know what to think of this unusual Southern detective holding court in gas-lit London, but others are sure to find this well-crafted and entertaining tale just their cup of tea.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
