Whom the Gods Love (Julian Kestrel Mystery) [Mass Market Paperback]

Kate Ross (Author)

Book Description

Series: Julian Kestrel Mystery | Publication Date: April 1, 1996

Alexander Falkland hasn't an enemy in the world. Young, talented, charming, he shines in every field he enters: law, architecture, the investment market. But one night his luck runs out with a vengeance. In the midst of one of his famous parties, he is found in his study with his head smashed, a blood-stained poker beside him. No wonder the inscription on his gravestone reads: whom the gods love die young. When the Bow Street runners fail to solve the crime, Alexander's distraught father turns to Julian Kestrel, elegant dandy and intrepid amateur sleuth. Soon Kestrel is up to his ears in suspects. But the greatest enigma is Alexander himself. Who was he really? Social reformer or butterfly, devoted husband or rake? In this, his third murder case, Julian must peel off one mask after another, till at last he discovers an Alexander no one knew - except, perhaps, the killer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Julian Kestrel, introduced in Cut to the Quick, returns again to probe beneath the surface opulence of Regency London society. Until he was bludgeoned to death with a fireplace poker in his own study, charming Alexander Falkland fairly glittered in that society. At the request of the victim's barrister father, Kestrel investigates and finds that the dead man was "far more complicated than most people knew." An erudite correspondence with his father shows that Falkland was a man of depth and intellect; he had also cultivated the socially risky acquaintance of a Jewish investment advisor. Falkland had doted on his beautiful wife, and both humored and neglected his adolescent brother-in-law, who benefits financially from the death. Kestrel works efficiently with Bow Street Runner Peter Vance, who supplies added information about an unidentified woman found murdered only a week before Falkland's death. In a tale as sparkling as champagne (with a dash of arsenic), Ross motivates her characters with human desires ranging from the loftiest intellectual yearnings to the basest physical appetites. Offering this level of entertainment, her dandyish sleuth will never go out of fashion. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA?Julian Kestrel, a debonair man-about-town in early Victorian London, is asked to investigate the murder of Alexander Falkland. The charming aristocratic victim's distraught father turns to Kestrel when it seems that the Bow Street Runners have failed to turn up any clues. Nothing has been taken from the elaborate house, no one could have entered unnoticed in the middle of one of Falkland's famous parties, and everyone professes to have been on the best of terms with the deceased. As Kestrel delves into the case, he begins to find many people without adequate alibis, including Alexander's lovely widow. He is baffled by the solid wall of silence that he encounters; intrigued by the protective behavior of the servants; and, finally, starts to piece together Falkland's true character. With flair and quick-moving drama, the amateur detective is able to make the necessary connection between this murder and that of a servant in an abandoned brickfield. Kestrel, a true man of his times, treads carefully to maintain the correct conventions even as he digs deeply into the London lowlife. In this third novel about Kestrel, Ross builds on and develops her character so that readers recognize his strong personality, thus adding depth and dimension to the story.?Mary T. Gerrity, Queen Anne School Library, Upper Marlboro, MD
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 014024767X
• ISBN-13: 978-0140247671
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #354,963 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I mourn Julian Kestrel, February 10, 2002

By 

Jacquelyn Bailey (Ft. Washington, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Whom the Gods Love: A Julian Kestrel Mystery (Hardcover)

I mourn Julian Kestrel, and even more, I mourn Kate Ross, the gifted writer who created him. I would have read ten, twenty or more Kestrel books, but alas, there are only four. In WHOM THE GODS LOVE, Kestrel investigates the death of a "golden boy" who turned out to have a nasty way of ferreting out other people's secrets and turning them to his advantage. The question is, which of Alexander Falkland's many victims finally killed him? Like Anne Perry, the late Ms. Ross touched on the social problems of the time, but her touch was lighter. I recommend WHOM THE GODS LOVE and all the other Kestrel books to anyone who enjoys the work of Anne Perry and Dorothy L. Sayers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book, August 25, 2001

By 

Gray (midwest) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whom the Gods Love (Julian Kestrel Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

As I read this historical mystery, I kept wondering why I had not previously heard of Kate Ross. Her wonderful ability to use the written word and her fascinating discription of London society in 1825 created exactly the kind of book that I enjoy. The mystery part of the book was good, but the author's ability to "turn a phrase" is the thing that sets Kate Ross apart from other good mystery writers in my opinion. The "detective" in this mystery, Julian Kestrel, is a young English gentleman who moves in high society in London in 1825. He is witty and urbane and totally charming. Ms. Ross wrote four Julian Kestrel books before her death. This is the third book in the series. Normally, with excellent authors such as Ms. Ross, it is best to start a seies with the first book in the series. If you like history and a little romance and a brilliant command of the English language mixed with mystery, you will find Kate Ross to be very satisfying.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kate Ross' death put an end to beautifully written books, March 28, 2002

By 

Golden M. Wilson (Cooper City, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Whom the Gods Love (Julian Kestrel Mystery) (Mass Market Paperback)

I have read all of Kate Ross' books and was enthralled by each one! Go right now and order her four books. I can't put into words how much I enjoyed them. You will too. Julian Kestral, the protagonist, is one that you will not easily forget. I loved all of them.