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JANUARY - FEBRUARY REVIEWS
A
FLAW IN THE BLOOD
Every family has its tragedies,
secrets, and flaws. The family in question is the most powerful in the world:
Queen Victoria and her Prince Consort, Albert, had nine children – one,
Leopold, is a hemophiliac, meaning his blood doesn’t clot. A doctor of great
renown discovered that this defect is passed down from mother to son. Yet no
member of the English Royal family had this before. If this finding were to
become public knowledge, it might endanger The novel begins with the death of the
Prince Consort from what is officially Typhoid, but there are doubts. Her
Majesty summons Fritzgerald, an Irish barrister.
This incident sets off a chain of events that involve his beautiful ward
Georgiana Armistead. Georgiana is a doctor who studied and trained under her
uncle, Dr. John Snow, and was accredited by the The author seamlessly melds historic characters with fictitious ones to the point where I had to read the authors notes to figure out which were and weren’t. For anyone who loves historical mysteries this is a must read!
NOVEMBER - DECEMBER REVIEWS WHY
THE MERMAIDS SING WHY
THE MERMAIDS SING
is, at times, a difficult book to read because the murders are so graphic and
visceral. Young men of good families viciously cut down in their prime,
mutilated with tokens stuffed in their mouths. The men are from different walks
of life, and do not at first seem to be connected. Yet the bizarre manner in
which they are displayed openly connects them. The author holds little back.
Life in the early 1800’s was grueling for all but a few. Sebastian St. Cyr,
Viscount Devlin, investigates the murders. It takes Devlin a few more bodies to
discover that all are connected by a John Donne poem and the voyage of the
ill-fated ship Harmony, sailing back from This sweeping book
recounts a savage sea journey as well as the lives of people of all ranks in I do have one
hesitation in recommending this book. I found the resolution of the romance
between Devlin and Kat Boleyn contrived and far fetched. RUMPOLE MISBEHAVES I
gave RUMPOLE AND THE PENGE BUNGALOW
MURDERS a glowing if not gushing review.
I wrote, “I knew Mortimer would never let his readers down.”
Unfortunately, I was wrong. I do
feel let down by this Rumpole novel. While
RUMPOLE MISBEHAVES might be a good
novel for almost any other writer, it isn’t for Mortimer. This
novel is different because some chapters are written from the point of view of
She Who Must be Obeyed. I love Hilda
and want to get into her mind, but I didn’t feel these chapters gave her the
credit which she deserved. Hilda is having a plutonic affair with a judge. It
didn’t ring true to me. This
time around Rumpole, the world’s oldest junior (wasn’t he around when the
Magna Carter was signed?), is trying avoid having a QC, or what he refers to as
Queer Customer, as a leader. He
wants to go solo during high profile cases. He’s
up against it, though, because of his eccentric views and disposition. He smokes
cigars, believes everyone is innocent until proven otherwise, and believes that
boys should be allowed to play wherever they like. And apparently he is the only
person in all of Yes, there is a mystery and yes, Rumpole, with his usual unorthodox ways, gets out of having a QC leader during this case while he waits for his own QC, and solves it with his unflagging panache. He defends a man who avails himself of prostitutes, and yes, everyone tells him it’s hopeless. Yes, there are his confrontations with everyone else in chambers. He defends yet another Timson, this time a young boy who just wants to play soccer on the street. Still, despite some wit and a lot of Rumpolisms, it all seemed below the usual high standards I’ve come to expect from this series. I believe Mortimer should retire Rumpole, unless he can find a truly fresh approach. -
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