Read my short story collection featuring Victorian “lady detective” Meinir Davies now (in paperback, hardback, or on Kindle)! If you’re interested in reading my academic work about detective and crime fiction (free PDFs available), check it out here.
Review (4.5 out of 5)
Set in the religious community around Westminster Abbey, this great read has a wonderfully self-contained feel, an unusual spin on the country house mystery.
Orderly preparations for Easter at Westminster Abbey are interrupted by the Society of Antiquaries wanting to open a tomb, of Edward Longshanks. For anyone who’s worked in large legacy/historic institutions, there is still something so familiar about the chaotic intervention of something irrelevant that gets in the way of the actual work, so all my sympathy immediately goes to our poor heroine, Susan Bell, and her unfortunate widower father, the Dean of Westminster. The humour of the absurd, which can so often take over small communities, is a vital thread throughout the book, from the imitative parrot who takes to the King’s manner of speech, to the comedy of errors around the Dean’s prospective second marriage.
The crime itself — a dead body found at the tomb the day after the opening, and then a series of apparent hauntings and possible thefts that follow — is an interesting one. Was the man killed for gold? As part of a treasonous plot? Or by a vengeful ghost of a disturbed ruler? The twists and turns are effective, although the peril relatively mild. We see the bombast of the King (George III) and the arrogance of the young scientifically minded cousin, Lindley, in contrast to Susan’s patient and quiet investigations.
There are lots of nice historical touches, and it’s particularly fun to have the Society of Antiquaries at work in an historical fiction, layering their own on top of on our historical interest. I’m not sure the side appearance of William Blake adds a great deal (it has a certain air of Da Vinci’s appearance in Assassin’s Creed!), but it’s a nice period feature. Having worked alongside it for years, I’m a little ashamed to say I’ve never actually made it into Westminster Abbey, but I’d love to see the remains of any Roman temples!
Read my short story collection featuring Victorian “lady detective” Meinir Davies now (in paperback, hardback, or on Kindle)!
Dominique Gracia 
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