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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN num: 9780425167823
ISBN number: 0425167828
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: March 01, 1999
Publishing house: Berkley
Sale Popularity Level: 90147
Studio: Berkley
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Rated by buyers -
I enjoy this series because so much research is invested in them, and it shows. The authors manage to bring a great deal of historic detail to their work, bringing actual events into the story to make it more plausible. Here the author Rudyard Kipling and his family, including his aunt, the social activist wife of a famous painter, are introduced to the reader in the small town of Rottingdam. The actual town's history of smuggling activity is woven into a very plausible plot of murder and intrigue which is resolved by the sleuthing duo Lord and Lady Sheridan with the help of a small boy and the famous author.
Although I usually have some difficulty divining the culprit because of the abundance of blue herrings that twist through the plots of these works, I was already well on the culprit's trail this time. Knowing--or at least suspecting--the guilty party in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the work, however. As with any well crafted panopoly of characters and colorful settings, the "visit" is what makes the whole work worth while.
Rated by buyers -
I love this series. Not only are the stories well told but I love how the books include real authors from the period in the story lines. This is usually done with fairly minor characters but Rudyard Kipling plays a major role in this book. The books are also very well researched and in this particular book I learned a great deal I had never known before about the smuggling that went on in England. These mysteries are also very family friendly. I would recommend them to anyone.
Rated by buyers -
At the end of the last book of this series, Sir Charles and his wife Kate were happily residing at Kate's ancestral home at Bishop's Keep. In the interval between that book and this one, Sir Charles' brother has died and the couple is now Lord and Lady Sheridan. Being the fifth Baron of Somersworth has placed a great deal of added responsibility on the couple's shoulders not the least of which is Lord Charles' seat in the House of Lords. While in London, the pregnant Kate ventures into the slums to aid in the care of the sick and becomes sick herself. Not only does Kate almost die but she also faces a far different future based on the permanent physical damage caused by the disease. Her feelings about this change in circumstances are bottled up inside as are the feelings of her husband and this background story ends up playing a large role in the plot as a whole.
Lord Charles has promised Kate a holiday away from London where they can spend time together like they did before Charles inherited all of these new responsibilities. They head for Rottingdean, a little village on the Channel taking along only Amelia and Lawrence, their two most valued servants. They arrive just after the body of a Coast Guard has washed up on the beach, a death the local constable writes off as a suicide. Soon another Coast Guard is found shot and by a gun the likes of which Charles has never seen. Unfortunately for Charles, he is at a party with the Crown Prince when news of the second death arrives. Remembering the bang up job Charles had done in a previous investigation that saved the Crown a great deal of embarrassment, His Royal Highness put Lord Charles in charge of the case. So much for their quite holiday!
Charles and Kate are soon hard at work and slowly they begin to uncover what seems to be a vast conspiracy. A conspiracy that at face value doesn't make any sense at all. They are aided immensely by a local boy named Patrick who knows far more than he is willing to tell at first. He is after all quite fond of some of the people who are very deeply involved in the conspiracy. I have a feeling that we will see more of Patrick in future books.
Besides the Prince, the other historical figure who shows up in this book is the famous author Rudyard Kipling, who also aids the investigation a great deal. The appearance of these real people in this series adds a greatly to the stories as does the very realistic atmosphere. The authors are to be commended for their skill in story telling and their willingness to do a lot of research to make everything so believable. These stories are so realistic that while reading a previous book in which the characters must have drank gallons of tea, I started craving tea and had to break out the Earl Gray. In this book they drank lemonade and I ended up sending to the store for some of that. It takes a very talented storyteller to take a reader that deeply into a story. This is just a marvelously fun and suspenseful book that will keep you glued to it's pages from beginning to end.
Rated by buyers -
Loved the story , maybe I am being biased for I am lucky enough to live in Rottingdean. I was able to read the story while sitting by the village pond & on the beach.The historical research into the area is very first class. Great read for the Summer or a seaside holiday.
Rated by buyers -
This is an excellent addition to the Kathryn and Charles series. In this book we find out about another aspect of Victorian England - smuggling and other nefarious schemes. There are actually two storylines in this book, and the authors deal with both of them very well. They certainly keep their readers interested. I like the obvious research that goes into each one of these books, and the totally different view that we are given about life in England just before the turn of the last century. The books are always enteratining and we get a history lesson too.
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