"To the ranks of great sleuths of ages past, add a new candidate - Julian Kestrel - a detective as historically authentic as Brother Cadfael and as dashing as Lord Peter Wimsey. Kestrel is the reigning dandy of London in the 1820s, famous for his elegant clothes and his unflappable sangfroid. One night he rescues a young aristocrat named Hugh Fontclair from a gambling house, and in gratitude Hugh invites him to be best man at his wedding. But when Kestrel goes to stay with the Fontclairs at their sumptuous country house, he is caught in the crossfire of the bride's and groom's warring families. Soon, discord erupts into murder. In a world without fingerprinting, chemical analysis, or even police, murder poses a baffling challenge. Undaunted, Kestrel sets out to solve the crime. With the help of his Cockney manservant, Dipper a (mostly) reformed pickpocket, Kestrel delves beneath the Fontclairs' respectable surface. What he finds is a trail of crime, deception, and forbidden lust that leads him at last to the killer. The combination of a new author, a charming new sleuth, and a strikingly original setting adds up to a smashing mystery that moves with force and intelligence - and expert suspense - from beginning to end." (from Goodreads)
My thoughts:
A well-crafted, good old-fashioned murder mystery featuring Regency era dandy, Julian Kestrel -- fans of Anne Perry's Victorian mysteries and the Georgette Heyer mysteries will enjoy the puzzle of whodunit in Cut to the Quick. Family secrets and scandals, an unidentified murdered body, and lots of twists and turns in the plot made this a promising beginning for the series.
Title: Cut to the Quick
Author: Kate Ross
Felony & Mayhem Press
2010
genre: mystery; Regency era
2 comments:
I'm glad you liked it! The series only gets better!
Yes, Christy, thanks for recommending this series! I'm looking forward to reading the next, The Broken Vessel.
Post a Comment