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David Roberts worked in publishing for over thirty years, most recently as a director, before devoting his energies to writing full time. He is married and divides his time between London and Wiltshire.
A Grave Man
eBook
$4.99
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ISBN-13:
9781780334196
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- Publication date: 09/01/2011
- Sold by: Hachette Digital, Inc.
- Format: eBook
- Pages: 300
- Sales rank: 231,754
- File size: 513 KB
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A murder mystery featuring Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne.
Verity Browne and Lord Edward Corinth are attending a memorial in Westminster when the service is interrupted by a young woman's desperate cry for help. Too late, they find Maude Pitt-Messanger's father slumped in his seat, stabbed to death with an ancient Assyrian dagger.
Verity travels to Swifts Hill, Sir Simon Castlewood's Kent estate, to investigate the murder, where she begins to discover more about Maud's father: the old man was selfish and cruel, and had prevented Maude from marrying the man she loved, making his daughter's life miserable.
When Maud herself is stabbed to death with a dagger from Sir Castlewood archaeological collection, Edward and Verity join forces to unmask the killer. However, Verity's growing attraction to young German aristocrat Adam von Trott drives a wedge between the two friends - bringing them both unhappiness and endangering the outcome of their investigation...
Praise for David Roberts:
'A classic murder mystery [...] and a most engaging pair of amateur sleuths' Charles Osborne, author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie
'A really well-crafted and charming mystery story' Daily Mail
'A perfect example of golden-age mystery traditions with the cobwebs swept away' Guardian
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Publishers Weekly
Roberts's convoluted 1930s historical lacks the amusing spark of earlier entries in the series (The More Deceived, etc.). Lord Edward Corinth, unofficial troubleshooter for the British Foreign Office, and Verity Browne, foreign correspondent for the New Gazette, are attending a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, when an eminent archeologist is stabbed to death. After the police fail to make a speedy arrest, the pair agree to investigate quietly on their own. Unfortunately, this is about the last thing they agree on. Mr. Churchill, "a fat, over-the-hill politician," according to Verity, asks Edward to look into a foundation funded by Sir Simon Castlewood, who may be a Nazi sympathizer underwriting projects related to "racial hygiene." Lady Castlewood is a school chum of Verity's, so Verity goes to their home at Swifts Hill, where even a second murder can't make the protagonists see eye-to-eye. As usual, Roberts does a fine job of elucidating the politics of the period, but the cooling of relations between Lord Edward and Verity puts a definite damper on the crime solving. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
As ominous war clouds gather over Europe, Lord Edward Corinth and Verity Browne investigate a Nazi-related murder. After archaeologist Pitt-Messanger is stabbed while attending a memorial service for Lord Benyon (Dangerous Sea, 2003, etc.), his daughter seeks solace at Swift Hills, home of Sir Simon Castlewood and his wife, Verity's old school friend. Accepting her own invitation to Swift Hills, Verity meets a diverse set of fellow guests, including the talented surgeon Dominic Montillo, a man whose ideas on eugenics would make him right at home in the Third Reich. Winston Churchill, meanwhile, asks Lord Edward to look into Montillo's medical research facility, which is largely financed by Castlewood. Verity's dislike of Churchill strains her relations with Lord Edward, and when she falls for the anti-Nazi German Adam von Trott, their romance stalls. So does a cricket match at Swift Hills, when Miss Pitt-Messanger is found floating in a stream, stabbed with an ancient dagger. The action shuttles back and forth between England and the south of France, where the mysterious research facility is located. A large supporting cast, from Edward VIII to Castlewood's French mistress and a new love interest for Lord Edward, is introduced before the murders are solved. Like Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, the salt-and-pepper sleuths complement each other well. But this tale is a little too complicated by prewar politics and social mores to be satisfying.
From the Publisher
A gripping, richly satisfying whodunit with finely observed characters, sparkling with insouciance and stinging menace—Peter JamesRoberts just keeps getting better with each book ... highly recommended for fans of Love in a Cold Climate and Gosford Park—Publishers Weekly
Praise for David Roberts:
A really well-crafted and charming mystery story—Daily Mail
A perfect example of golden-age mystery traditions with the cobwebs swept away—Guardian
A classic murder mystery [...] and a most engaging pair of amateur sleuths—Charles Osborne, author of The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie