A Bertie, Prince of Wales, mystery
In 1890 twelve guests gather at Desborough Hall for a week’s shooting party hosted by the beautiful Lady Amelia Hammond. Months of planning have left nothing to chance, for the main guests are the Prince and Princess of Wales. But events take a sinister turn when the vivacious Queenie Chimes collapses face down in the chef’s lovingly created bombe-glacée. More deaths follow and clues planted on the bodies point shockingly to a final tally of seven, one for each day of the week. Bertie is impelled to investigate.
Written in the tradition of the “golden age” detective story, the book was intended as a homage to Agatha Christie in the year of her centenary.
UK Publisher: Century, 1990 ISBN 0-7126-3471-1
US Publisher: Mysterious Press, 1990 ISBN 0-89296-399-9
UK Paperback: Arrow, 1991 ISBN 0-09-969620-7
US Paperback: Mysterious Press, 1991 ISBN 0-445-40858-8
Felony & Mayhem 2006 ISBN 1-933397-36-5
“This is a delightful and amusing period piece, particularly in the interplay between the libidinous Bertie and his rather more intelligent wife, Alexandra, who stoically endures his inclination to dally with anything in skirts.”
Jay Iliff, Sunday Express
“High-class Victorian entertainment written with wit.”
Marcel Berlins, The Times
“Seamlessly plotted, populated with a dynamic cast, and often howlingly funny.”
Les Roberts, Cleveland Plain Dealer
